Islanders shouldn’t sleep on Anton Frondell at No. 1

Could the NY Islanders go wrong with any of the projected top-five picks? Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, Porter Martone, James Hagens, and Anton Frondell could all be in the running. Schaefer and Misa are high-octane players who nobody would bat an eye at if they picked either. 

I’d rather roll with Misa if I were in charge, because going into 2025-26 with a playmaker as the new face of the franchise would work wonders for the Isles. But Schaefer would make sense, especially if the Islanders planned on keeping Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov on the island. That’s one brewing trio in the defensive rotation and one I’d rather not face a few years from today, if even then. 

Still, why is nobody talking about Anton Frondell, who enjoyed a good outing as a youngster in HockeyAllsvenskan, scoring 11 goals and putting up 25 points in 29 games. Frondell is likely a year away from playing in the NHL, but again, it goes back to the entire retool vs. rebuild debate. 

If the Islanders drafted someone like Frondell, it wouldn’t be a surprise

Just three years ago, the Montreal Canadiens passed on the projected top pick, Shane Wright, to draft a player who looked good at the international level, Juraj Slafkovsky. As for Frondell, he’s got the production both at the second-tier pro level in Sweden, plus internationally, where in 19 games, he put up 18 points and eight goals. 

Frondell’s size would also help him, and if he spent another season in Sweden, as projected, he can work on building even more muscle, refining his game’s weak spots, and working toward going over a point per game points-wise. Plus, he’ll likely excel in international play. 

That said, if I were an Isles fan, I wouldn’t be disappointed in the slightest if they called out Frondell’s name. It would surprise some, but when you break things down further, it shouldn’t be all that surprising, considering what Frondell’s done this past season. 

Not surprising but still not likely as the draft draws nearer

I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing the Islanders snag Frondell No. 1 overall, even if I’ll acknowledge he’s more of a dark horse. Still, Frondell has proven that teams should mention his name in the same sentence as Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, Porter Martone, and James Hagens. 

If I were to rank the five of them, I’d put Frondell at No. 4, above Hagens and behind Misa, Schaefer, and Martone, in that order. Should the Isles take Frondell at No. 1, I’d expect 2025-26 to be the season that would see the Isles transition into one of those full rebuilds. 

There are definite pros to this approach, especially if they felt Frondell had a higher ceiling than Misa, Schaefer, Martone, and Hagens. Plus, should Frondell end up in the system and he proved to be a fast learner on North American ice, the pick would look even better in hindsight, even if that wasn’t the case in foresight.