As we get to the start of prospect showcases/tournament around the NHL, more rankings of top young players continue to come out. We get another new list on Tuesday, this time from the folks at NHL Network — and the Blackhawks were well represented once again.
This list was limited to 25 prospects, and their criteria was players who are “younger than 26 years old. Skaters must have played fewer than 25 NHL games and goalies fewer than 15 NHL games.”
Here’s where the three Blackhawks prospects ranked, and what the folks at NHL Network had to say about each:
16. Artyom Levshunov, RHD
The No. 2 pick by Chicago in the 2024 NHL Draft, Levshunov split his time between the Blackhawks (six assists in 18 games) and Rockford of the AHL last season (five goals, 17 assists in 52 games). The 19-year-old defenseman averaged 20:19 of ice time per game in the NHL. Levshunov had 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) in 38 games with Michigan State in 2023-24, finishing second in the NCAA in points among freshman defensemen and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
12. Anton Frondell, C
Frondell had 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games with Djurgarden of Allsvenskan last season as a 17-year-old (he turned 18 in May), helping them earn promotion into the SHL this season. He made his Allsvenskan debut at 16 and had an assist in nine games with Djurgaden in 2023-24 before the Blackhawks selected him with the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The center also had three points (one goal, two assists) in five games for Sweden at the 2025 U18 World Championship to win silver.
9. Sam Rinzel, RHD
The 21-year-old defenseman made his NHL debut on March 30 after completing his sophomore season at Minnesota, where he had 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) in 40 games and was named to the Big Ten First All-Star Team and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. That came one season after he had 28 points (two goals, 26 assists) in 39 games and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and Second All-Star Team. Rinzel, the No. 25 pick by Chicago in the 2022 NHL Draft, had five assists in nine NHL games last season.
Here’s their full list:
Blackhawks prospect ranking comparisons
As a reminder, we’ve already looked at a few other recent lists of top prospects/players.
- Corey Pronman’s U-23 player rankings (The Athletic)
- Steven Ellis’ top 75 affiliate prospect rankings (Daily Faceoff)
- Elite Prospects’ top 100 affiliated prospect rankings
For this most recent list from NHL Network, Ellis’ list and the rankings from Elite Prospects — the three that only considered “prospects” and not established NHL players of a certain age criteria — here’s where the three Blackhawks prospects ranked in each:
| Elite Prospects | Daily Faceoff | NHL Network | |
| Sam Rinzel | 16 | 12 | 9 |
| Artyom Levshunov | 10 | 13 | 16 |
| Anton Frondell | 26 | 14 | 12 |
Once again, I present this information with the caveat that each outlet, analyst and/or writer has their own perspective of individual players and systems. How they view the player, their talent and development path is clearly different than someone else’s perspective. It’s valuable to consider all of the opinions and perspectives — and take them all with a grain of salt as we attach our own projections (and hopes).
written by
Tab Bamford
Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of three books about the Blackhawks: "The Future: Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks' New Era,"(Triumph Books),"100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab
