2025 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Frank Nazar remains No. 2

The 2025 version of Second City Hockey’s Top 25 Under 25 rankings continues with our Top 10, which will contain a lengthier breakdown of each individual who made it into that group.

Frank Nazar

Position: Center/Wing

Birth date: Jan. 14, 2004 (21)

Acquired via: First-round pick (13th overall) in 2022 NHL Draft

2024-25 team : Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) | Rockford IceHogs (AHL)

2024-25 NHL stats: 26 points (12 G, 14 A) in 53 NHL games

2024-25 AHL stats: 24 points (11 G, 13 A) in 21 AHL games

Size: 5-foot-10, 190 pounds

Contract: One year, $950,000 AAV (entry-level contract) followed by seven years, $6,599,991 AAV

Rankings: 2 (Everyone)

Last T25U25 ranking: No. 2 (tie), no movement

About three weeks ago, the Blackhawks signed Nazar to a massive 7-year contract extension worth $46.2 million, carrying an annual cap just shy of $6.6 million. It\'s a deal that could be a mild overpay in the short term with the potential to be a massive underpay down the road, should Nazar continue to build on the promise he displayed during his first full professional season in 2024-25. Much of that was already summarized in the article linked above and the one directly under this sentence:

https://www.secondcityhockey.com/looking-back-at-frank-nazars-encouraging-rookie-season

That article offers a deeper look into the encouraging underlying numbers behind Nazar\'s production from last season, a 26-point season (12 G, 14 A) in 53 NHL games, which would put him on pace for 40 points across a full 82 games. But there are plenty of reasons to suggest Nazar could produce at an even higher rate next season, and this outlet is not the only place where that possibility is being entertained:

Seven NHL sophomores poised to break out in 2025-26, from @SEllisHockey :

These players didn't win the Calder but could come out swinging in Year 2: https://t.co/EOsVYjSK1y

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) September 15, 2025

What could that breakout season look like for Nazar? Here\'s the early career trajectory of some other developing young forwards taken near Nazar\'s spot at No. 13 in the drafts prior to his selection in 2022:

2019 Draft

No. 12 pick Matt Boldy went 15-24-39 in 47 games (0.83 PPG) in 2021-22, then went 31-32-63 in 81 games (0.78 PPG) in 2022-23.

No. 15 pick Cole Caufield went 23-20-43 in 67 games (0.64 PPG) in 2021-22, then went 26-10-36 in just 46 games (0.78 PPG) in 2022-23.

2020 Draft

No. 9 pick Mario Rossi went 21-19-40 in 82 games (0.49 points per game) in 2023-24, then went 24-36-60 in 82 games last season (0.73 PPG).

No. 13 pick Seth Jarvis went 17-23-40 in 68 games (0.59 PPG) in 2021-22, then had a modest 14-25-39 in 82 games (0.48 PPG) in 2022-23 before his real breakout in 2023-24 with 33-34-67 in 81 games (0.83 PPG).

2021 Draft

No. 9 pick Dylan Guenther had a brief taste of hockey with 6-9-15 in 33 games (0.45 PPG) of the 2022-23 season, followed by 18-17-35 in just 45 games (0.78 PPG) in 2023-24 followed by 27-33-60 in 70 games (0.86 PPG) last season.

The Seth Jarvis career arc is there to remind everyone that the lack of a breakout season in 2025-26 won\'t spell the end of the long-term hopes for Nazar, although it should also be stated that Jarvis\' breakout 2023-24 season would be on the same timeline as Nazar in the upcoming one. But the other four players detailed above suggest the possibility exists for a significant leap forward in production from Nazar this season. Feels like a 50-point season -- that\'s a 0.61 PPG pace in an 82-game schedule, for comparison to the numbers above -- is a decent target for Nazar in the upcoming season.

After the promise of Nazar\'s rookie season, though, surpassing the 50-point plateau 2025-26 would feel like steps on the path towards where he could end up as his career unfolds.

2025 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25 list (so far): No. 3: Alex Vlasic No. 4: Sam Rinzel No. 5: Artyom Levshunov No. 6: Spencer Knight No. 7: Anton Frondell No. 8: Roman Kantersov No. 9: Kevin Korchinski No. 10: Oliver Moore No. 11-15: Lardis, Del Mastro, Kaiser, Boisvert, Reichel No. 16-20: Dach, Nestrasil, Commesso, Greene, Vanacker Nos. 21-25: Allan, Slaggert, Behm, Spellacy, Mustard Honorable Mentions: Pridham, Savoie, West

Frank Nazar

Talking Points