Blackhawks analysis, commentary: Exploring Frank Nazar’s encouraging rookie season

The Blackhawks’ prospect pool has often been criticized for favoring quantity over quality -- a fair assessment, in many respects -- but that’s what made Frank Nazar’s strong rookie campaign, capped by an impressive finish, all the more encouraging. For Chicago to return to contention, they’ll need a few young talents to rise above the pack, and based on what we saw this season, Nazar is on the right track to be one of them.

In his rookie campaign, Frank Nazar offered a compelling glimpse of the impact he could have in a Blackhawks sweater for years to come. With a dynamic mix of offensive skill, dependable two-way play, and a knack for delivering in key moments, Nazar\'s debut season points to a promising future in Chicago. This piece zeroes in on Nazar’s offensive development, charting his growth and increasing impact as the season wore on.

After narrowly missing the Blackhawks’ roster out of training camp, Nazar made the most of his time in the AHL, easily becoming the best player on the IceHogs roster during the first half of the season. The 2022 first-rounder finished with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in just 21 games with Rockford, a production pace that earned him a well-deserved call-up to Chicago in mid-December. Although it was likely disappointing for Nazar to not start with the Blackhawks, he said the time with the IceHogs helped with the graduation from NCAA to professional hockey and built up his confidence:

Frank Nazar shares how he has developed his game and how important starting in Rockford was to that growth 👏

Full Interview: https://t.co/JufJuhBNSu pic.twitter.com/3bmOwYTXXh

— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) June 12, 2025

Once up with the big club, Nazar started off slow in terms of production -- a respectable but not quite top-six 0.39 points-per-game rate in his first 26 games -- but the skill, speed and his high compete level were obvious from the jump and it always felt like it was just a matter of time before the scorecard reflected that. And it did: from mid-February onward in his final 26 games of the season, Nazar increased his points rate to 0.58, including going over a point-per-game in the month of April with five goals and four assists in those final eight games. He ultimately finished the season with 27 points (13 G, 14 A) in 53 games, which was already quite a good showing on it\'s own. But it really was the drive at the end that had Nazar\'s stock soaring.

Neither the latter half of the season nor (especially) the less eight-game sample at the end is large enough to conclusively say Nazar will be a star in the NHL, but his underlying numbers definitely make a case that he has the skill to produce sustainable, top-end results if put in the right situation on the ice.

Please note: all stats mentioned are at 5-on-5 unless otherwise stated.

As with many of the Blackhawks\' emerging young talents, skating has been the foundation of Nazar’s early NHL success -- particularly his explosive straight-line speed. But it’s not just about how fast he moves -- it’s how he uses it. Nazar combines top-tier acceleration with relentless effort, which shows up most in his transition numbers, especially when it comes to puck retrievals. Nazar was arguably the best forward in terms of retrieving the puck and making it possible to exit the zone on the Blackhawks. His retrievals leading to exits (7.68 per 60) was the best by a solid margin and he had the lowest botched attempt rate (1.14 per 60) on the team. He was in good company on the exits as well, with having similar rates as players like Jack Eichel (7.47), Connor McDavid (6.98), Nathan MacKinnon (6.33), Jack Hughes (7.08), and more. Considering how important zone-exits and retrievals have been in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year , it\'s great to see Nazar thriving in this area.

Nazar using his speed to catch up to an opponent in the defensive zone and forcing a turnover:

Look at the burst from Frank Nazar who catches Doughty pic.twitter.com/wNrOcK8V30

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 4, 2025

Nazar\'s zone-entry numbers are a bit more of a mixed-bag but still with a lot of potential. He attempted to enter the zone the second most among Blackhawks forwards (25.14 zone entries per 60) and his rate for controlled entries (16.57 per 60) while his carry-in percentage (65.9 percent) was third. However, despite Nazar\'s success at getting into the zone with possession, the shot and chance results weren\'t particularly high overall. His rate of 7.43 shots off the rush is a little below league average, an unexpected number as rush attempt rate of 0.71 is above average (and best on the team). This is likely due to him not having as many rushes with numbers -- which are more successful -- while still having a high quantity of individual breakaways. He also needed to improve when he shot while on the rush as he had just 1.71 scoring chances per 60 off the rush, third worst on the team. Now, his shots and chances after a transition event absolutely soared in the final 10 or so games, so there is a good chance Nazar can continue trending positively there, even if he\'s still more potential than realized product at the moment.

For some clips of what the numbers above look like on the ice, here\'s a zone entry followed by a spin-move in-zone to keep possession and get a shot off:

Nazar spin move to create a look👀 pic.twitter.com/zmruyt01dO

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 12, 2025

And another entry with a scoring chance:

Frank's got wheels pic.twitter.com/gakB57hJJD

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 13, 2025

And here are a few examples of rush attempts working thanks to Nazar having numbers with him. In this first one, Nazar gained the zone, got a pass through several opponents and maintained his drive to the net to score:

Chicago goal!

Scored by Frank Nazar with 19:29 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Oliver Moore and Patrick Maroon.

Washington: 1 Chicago: 2 #CHIvsWSH #ALLCAPS #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/vqbCUVM5Dv

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 5, 2025

In this one, Nazar\'s rush created a rebound opportunity for his trailing linemate:

foligno goal 🤝 Frank Nazar's first NHL assist pic.twitter.com/RzONeNOCgI

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 24, 2024

Finally, Nazar is able to have a give-and-go with his linemate to get around an opponent and closer on net for a goal:

Short-handed goal for Chicago!

Scored by Frank Nazar with 01:05 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Teuvo Teravainen.

Chicago: 1 Pittsburgh: 0 #PITvsCHI #Blackhawks #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/pP0yAfhkyx

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 6, 2025

Interestingly, Nazar excelled more at creating off the cycle than off the rush, despite how many of his highlights involve him being on end-to-end breakaways. His 11.43 shots off forecheck was best on the team, well above league average and honestly quite impressive considering the Blackhawks were not a good cycle team (again). This really shouldn\'t be surprising: despite being smaller, Nazar is quite adept at winning board battles and using body positioning to gain the puck and keep possession. Combine that with his passing and high hockey sense, it\'s easy to see how he can help keep the puck alive on the cycle and find the best offensive in-zone opportunities.

Here Nazar is using his speed to move the puck along the boards on the cycle and then find the soft spot on the ice to score:

Chicago goal!

Scored by Frank Nazar with 05:55 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Artyom Levshunov.

Chicago: 4 Winnipeg: 3 #WPGvsCHI #Blackhawks #GoJetsGo pic.twitter.com/8lFoLqkhrl

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 13, 2025

In terms of pure offensive generation, Nazar was one of the best on the Blackhawks in many categories, though he needs work in others. When looking at quality only, Nazar was the top forward on the team in terms of generating general scoring chances (7.97 per 60) and high-danger chances (3.81 per 60), which obviously led to the best expected goals rate on the team (0.78 per 60). Considering these numbers are so good with Nazar\'s rush chances being low, it\'s easy to see how productive he could be when put in a situation where he\'s a dual threat off the cycle and off the rush. It also helped that Nazar played with Bedard more as the season progressed as Nazar found open areas easily for Bedard\'s excellent playmaking.

Examples of the two combining for goals:

Bedard ➡️ Nazar ➡️ 🚨 pic.twitter.com/YvXSnp3fXF

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 25, 2025

FRANK NAZAR WINS IT pic.twitter.com/QtfoMxDPVE

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 16, 2025

Quantity is where Nazar\'s shot numbers need improvement: his shot attempt (11.95 per 60) and shots on goal (6.02 per 60) rates were seventh and sixth on the Blackhawks, respectively, and both of those numbers are league average. Just think of what even a small increase in shot volume could do for Nazar\'s goal results.

Nazar\'s passing at the micro level was also decent although, for a playmaker of his caliber, he also has room to grow. His primary shot assist rate of 7.42 per 60 was fourth on the Blackhawks and basically league average, but like with his own shots, you\'d expected Nazar\'s numbers to be higher than that. The high-danger pass rate from Nazar (1.14 per 60) was also above league average but below what he\'s capable of as a player.

Here\'s Nazar with a high-danger, cross-crease pass leading to a goal:

Power play goal for Chicago!

Scored by Tyler Bertuzzi with 01:20 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard.

Montreal: 2 Chicago: 1 #CHIvsMTL #GoHabsGo #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/OCBF2skaJC

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 14, 2025

This is where playing with Bedard may have negatively impacted Nazar in these numbers somewhat: the former took the primary playmaker role on when the two were on a line together and Nazar tended to be more open in high-danger areas (hence the team-leading 1.17 shots off high danger passes). If Nazar can improve his playmaking numbers while maintaining (or improving) his shooting habits, he could really solidify himself as a top-six, dual-threat forward in the league -- and possibly more.

Nazar\'s hockey season didn\'t end with the Blackhawks: he went on to play a leading role in helping Team USA capture its first gold medal since 1933 at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, ending the 92-year drought. The forward, who led his team in scoring with 12 points (6 G, 6 A) in 10 games, was named one of the top three players of the tournament for the US, along with Logan Cooley (Utah Mammoth) and Conor Garland (Vancouver Canucks). Team USA had the youngest roster at the tournament.

https://twitter.com/SEllisHockey/status/1926288920746086885

Here are all six goals scored by Nazar at Worlds:

All 6 Frank Nazar goals at Mens Worlds #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/7v1nCrsIeI

— Haddy (@haddychi) May 18, 2025

Nazar told The Athletic \'s Scott Powers that his confidence in his skill and ability to be an NHL player was really solidified this season -- and the play at Worlds helped too:

“I’m going to definitely be more comfortable and more, I don’t really want to say confident, I think it’s more just like a belief in my skills. I know it’s pretty similar, but I’ve always been a confident player and very confident in what I can do on the ice and knowing my game. But I really think it’s just being comfortable out there and understanding the game and knowing what I could do and when to make plays and all that stuff.”

Frank Nazar wasn't sure whether he should accept Team USA's invitation to the Worlds after the NHL season.

Nazar, the U.S. and the Blackhawks are now glad he did.

My story on Nazar ⤵️ https://t.co/zshDiOyJTR

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) June 13, 2025

What\'s next for Nazar? Ultimately, it was exciting to watch Nazar take major strides on the offensive end this season, but it also felt like it was just the beginning for him as he has room to really grow as a player in this league. He’s not quite a breakout star yet—but the trajectory is impossible to ignore.

Looking back at Frank Nazar’s encouraging rookie season

Talking Points