The Blackhawks have turned to a pair of young centers to fill the defensive shutdown role — and take on the accompanying assignments — that Jason Dickinson used to singlehandedly occupy.
So when the Canadiens visit Chicago on Friday, their top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky should expect to see a lot of Anton Frondell’s line (with Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen) and some of Ryan Greene’s line (with Cole Smith and Jordan Greenway).
Hawks coach Jeff Blashill doesn’t have an established Dickinson-esque matchup stalwart to lean on, but he still needs to free up Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar’s lines for offensive situations. This is the solution.
Last Tuesday against the Penguins, for example, Frondell was tasked with wrangling Sidney Crosby while Greene took on Evgeni Malkin.
“Looking in [Crosby’s] eyes before faceoffs wasn’t something I really thought would be possible a couple years ago,” Frondell told reporters afterward.
Then Thursday against the Jets, Frondell and Greene split the matchups against Mark Scheifele’s line.
Blashill decided not to “hard match” Saturday, however, due to the depth of the Stars’ talented lineup. It didn’t help that Frondell and Greene both had poor individual outings.
Blashill added Tuesday that Frondell’s off night is of “no concern,” though. The coach has otherwise lauded the 19-year-old Swede throughout the past month, and deservedly so.
Frondell seems to showcase a new, never-before-seen skill almost every game, and just 21 games into his NHL career, he’s already an all-situations player. His opponents and teammates have all taken notice.
“Playing those top-line minutes against the best lines, that’s extremely hard to do, so credit to him on that,” Greene said. “I love his puck protection — his ability to get his body in front of guys and protect pucks. He uses his size really well.”
Anton Frondell saw a lot of Jets star Mark Scheifele last week.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Greene, meanwhile, has shifted into a different role than the one he often occupied last season alongside Bedard.
The 23-year-old Canadian has sneaky-elite hockey IQ, which enables his versatility. But his subpar finishing skills make him better-suited to fill a bottom-six role long-term.
“I’ve always kind of played defensive,” Greene said. “It’s just [that] this year, I’ve had to put more focus on prioritizing that for the team.”
The Hawks have long tried to help Greene improve at winning puck battles — he needs to get his body involved instead of relying on his stick — and that process remains ongoing.
“If you become elite defensively, that’s a great tool. You’ll play a long time,” Blashill said. “I can’t sit here and say today [that] he’s there. But he’s a young guy that’s growing.”
The Hawks are also searching for someone to emerge as their go-to faceoff guy, as someone they can count on to win crucial draws in the defensive zone to protect late leads. Nobody has yet, though.
Greene has won just 40.8% of his draws, down from 42.7% last season. Frondell has won 43.1%, although he has had some good nights.
“To be honest, I haven’t been nearly as good as I know I can be in the faceoff dot,” Greene said. “It’s something I’m putting extra time into right now to try to figure out. I want that to be a strong suit of my game.
Combined, Greene and Frondell have taken 108 defensive-zone draws — largely determined by handedness, since the former is a righty and the latter is a lefty. No other Hawk has taken more than 21.
“Sometimes you get stapled into trying one or two different things in the faceoff dot, but [I need to] find all kinds of ways to win draws,” Greene added. “Guys catch on pretty quick to what you’re trying to do in a game, so it’s almost like a chess match. You try to figure out his next move before he figures out yours.”