2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Frank Nazar climbs to No. 2

The 2026 version of Second City Hockey’s Top 25 Under 25 rankings moves on to our Top 10, which will contain a lengthier breakdown of each individual who made it into that group.

Frank Nazar

Position: Center/Wing

Age: 22 (Jan. 14, 2004)

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

2025-26 team: Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)

2025-26 stats: 41 points (15 G, 26 A) in 66 NHL games

Size: 5-foot-10, 190 pounds

Contract: Seven years, $6,599,991 AAV (RFA)

Rankings: 2 (Dave, Eric, LBR), 3 (SCH)

Last T25U25 ranking: No. 4, up two spots

Frank Nazar is another player who entered last season with breakout expectations after the way he finished the previous season and, while that leap didn\'t quite materialize, he still showed plenty of signs that there\'s another level to his game. Even without reaching that next level, Nazar has already established himself as one of the Blackhawks\' most talented young offensive players and, at worst, a capable middle-six play driver. His combination of speed, playmaking and transition ability gives him tools few other forwards on the roster possess, with room for those strengths to translate into more production as both he and the team around him continue to develop.

Frank Nazar scores his second goal of the season and celebrates in the most Frank Nazar way after being released from the bottom of the pile. Hilarious. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/d03SbG6GS1

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 16, 2025

Nazar started the season extremely hot, using his speed and creativity to consistently generate offense while looking increasingly comfortable in a significant NHL role. That pace eventually cooled, as was probably inevitable, but he continued producing at a respectable rate until a knee/leg injury in November slowed him down and then a broken jaw suffered in December kept him out for roughly a month. It took Nazar a little while to completely find his game again after returning, but he eventually ramped back up and finished the season well. All told, he recorded 41 points (15 G, 26 A) in 66 games, which comes out to roughly a 51-point pace over a full season. Considering the injury and just how bad the Blackhawks were offensively, that\'s a pretty successful season for a 22-year-old center, even if it wasn\'t quite the jump some were hoping for.

Frank Nazar scores the first goal of the 2025-26 season for Chicago. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/wnQ5cXHR2w

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 7, 2025

Two one-handed passes set up Frank Nazar for a speedy drive where he draws a penalty: pic.twitter.com/bk3qFbaQlZ

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) December 5, 2025

More importantly, the underlying process still points toward the possibility of a player capable of taking another step. Skating and transition remain the backbone of Nazar\'s game and the area where he already looks like a potentially high-end NHL player. His skating allows him to excel at retrieving pucks in the defensive zone, supporting breakouts and then accelerating through pressure, frequently turning possessions into controlled rush opportunities. He was excellent at both exiting and entering the zone with possession, and his ability to generate chances off the rush was one of the most consistent parts of his game. The biggest area left for Nazar to develop offensively is turning his excellent transition game into more sustained offense. Some of the lack of results can certainly be attributed to the Blackhawks\' overall offensive struggles, but finding a better balance between playmaking and creating his own opportunities could unlock another level of production.

🚨FRANK NAZAR GOAL🚨

Hawks up 1-0 in the 1st period: https://t.co/ZnGMgXiElX pic.twitter.com/8vL7WYreKW

— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) December 19, 2025

Connor Bedard sets up Frank Nazar, who scores his 7th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/kRxzdnL8vX

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 31, 2026

Ladies and gentlemen… FRANK NAZAR

His 3rd goal in 4 games 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Vu6R1ePlFj

— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) March 13, 2026

Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill spoke about skating being key to Nazar\'s performance and progress as the season went on:

\"I think when Frank plays his best, he\'s skating, and that -- to me -- is his superpower, so to speak. And so I think he\'s done a better job of attacking the game using his speed, as opposed to maybe trying to kind of slow it down and go through people. I think he\'s way better when he\'s going around people. He\'s just such a dangerous player. And that starts probably in our breakouts, kind of getting into pockets low, where then once he gets the puck, he can attack. And sometimes when you\'re pressing, you get too high because you want to take off, and you take off too early. So, I just think his timing has been better. All that goes with confidence. Like, again, he\'s in his second ... this is his first full year, right? So, it\'s part of the confidence that you kind of grow and learn from.\"

Defensively, Nazar is better than some of his overall results last season might suggest. His speed and anticipation allow him to track back effectively, disrupt plays and recover when necessary, and he generally showed that he can be a responsible two-way player. He really just needs to learn consistency and how aggressively he can push for offense without sacrificing that defensive responsibility. That\'s a common developmental hurdle for a young, offensively minded player, and Nazar already has the tools to be effective on both sides of the puck. Finding the right balance between the two should help determine just how high his ceiling ultimately reaches.

Nazar's speed eliminates a shorthanded opportunity: pic.twitter.com/2bd0SazL3h

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 10, 2026

For a more detailed breakdown of Nazar\'s previous season, check out our recap from this summer:

https://www.secondcityhockey.com/where-frank-nazar-took-steps-forward-this-season-and-where-theres-room-for-more/

That balance also matters when considering Nazar\'s ultimate ceiling. At this point, there shouldn\'t be much doubt that Nazar is an NHL player or even that he can play in the top six, but there is still a question in exactly how high within a lineup he can climb. A roughly 50-point pace at 22 years old is already encouraging, particularly on a team that provided very little offensive support, so he\'s already demonstrated over a meaningful NHL sample that he can produce and drive play at this level, which is more than we can say about any other player below him on this ranking currently. But it still feels like there is still more that he can achieve.

The good news is that Nazar doesn\'t need to reinvent his game to take another step. If he can stay healthy, maintain the transition ability that already separates him and turn more of those rush opportunities into sustained offense, there is a realistic path toward another substantial increase in production. The upcoming season should be particularly exciting for Nazar as he tries to finally hit that breakout we\'re all dreaming of for him: the production is already solid, the process underneath it was even more encouraging, and now he just needs to connect the two more consistently.

Jeff Blashill on Frank Nazar:

"Frank had a great end of the year. What happens then is expectations rise. Frank could play almost the exact same, but the expectations are different, so his game has to rise. It can't stay the same. And I think Frank knows that."

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) September 26, 2025

Speaking of of this upcoming season, where Nazar ultimately lines up is also worth watching. He played predominantly at center last year, and in June, GM Kyle Davidson specifically mentioned Nazar alongside Connor Bedard and Anton Frondell when discussing the players the Blackhawks envision playing down the middle. Still, there is some thought that Nazar\'s skill set could benefit from a move to the wing, where he would have a little more freedom to use his speed offensively without carrying as much defensive responsibility. And during informal pre-training camp practices with other Blackhawks players, Nazar has often skated on the wing alongside Patrick Kane and Roman Kantserov . Those combinations obviously aren\'t guaranteed to carry over once training camp officially begins, especially considering the general size of such a line, but they at least make Nazar\'s position something to keep an eye on, even if being a center seems most likely (at least to start). Whether he remains at center or gets an extended look on the wing, finding the role that best maximizes his transition and offensive abilities should be more important than locking him into one position.

At the very least, there is hope that Nazar can learn some of the offensive lessons needed from a player like Kane, and it certainly sounds like the Nazar is excited for that opportunity:

Frank Nazar on his excitement for Patrick Kane coming back to the Chicago Blackhawks:

“It’s great, just being able to see him on a day in day out basis. To learn from him, see how much skill he has, how good he still is after 20 years in the league, it’s awesome to be able to… https://t.co/6mkcLkMy2l

— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) September 9, 2026

2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25 list (so far): No 3: Anton Frondell No 4: Roman Kantserov No. 5: Wyatt Kaiser No. 6: Sam Rinzel No. 7: Artyom Levshunov No. 8: Nick Lardis No. 9: Oliver Moore No. 10: Kevin Korchinski Nos. 11-15: Greene, Nestrasil, Villeneuve, Commesso, Vanacker Nos. 16-20: Boisvert, Behm, Roobroeck, West, Mustard Nos. 21-25: Del Mastro, Gajan, Spellacy, Slaggert, Alalauri Honorable Mention: Samuel Savoie

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