NHL EDGE stats behind debuts for Frondell, Yakemchuk

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we identify the key advanced metrics takeaways from the NHL debuts of Anton Frondell and Carter Yakemchuk.

Two elite prospects, Chicago Blackhawks forward Anton Frondell and Ottawa Senators defenseman Carter Yakemchuk, had impressive debuts Tuesday, and each player boasts strong advanced metrics to begin his career.

Frondell, the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft from Sweden, had one assist and two shots on goal in Chicago's road win against the New York Islanders, accounting for the primary assist on Ilya Mikheyev's goal in the first period. The 18-year-old played mostly on a line with elite forward Connor Bedard and also saw time on the first power play with other young players Frank Nazar and Artyom Levshunov, giving the Blackhawks a glimpse of their bright future.

Yakemchuk, the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from Canada, had a multipoint game (one goal, one assist), including a power-play assist, and two shots on goal in Ottawa's road win against the Detroit Red Wings. The 20-year-old saw time on the first power play with Ottawa’s high-scoring forwards Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens.

Chicago, which has missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past five seasons, is out of contention in the Western Conference but has been playing spoiler over the past few weeks with the youngest roster in the NHL (average years: 25.99). Ottawa, which made the postseason last year, has overcome its slow start to this regular season to move into playoff position with 11 games remaining; Ottawa is tied with the Islanders for the second-wild card spot in the Eastern Conference (85 points each).

Here are some key underlying metrics storylines behind the debuts of Frondell and Yakemchuk:

1. Average shot speed

Although it’s a small sample size, Frondell ranks in the 99th percentile among forwards in average shot speed (73.90 mph in debut), much higher than the NHL average at his position (53.17). Yakemchuk ranks in the 99th percentile among defensemen in average shot speed (81.52 mph), much higher than the NHL average at his position (67.81).

Yakemchuk registered his hardest shot attempt of the game at 84.96 mph, while Frondell recorded his hardest attempt at 79.07 mph.

2. Yakemchuk’s offensive zone time

Although it’s a small sample size, Yakemchuk ranks in the 99th percentile among defensemen in offensive zone time percentage (51.3 in debut), much higher than the NHL average at the position (41.8).

Yakemchuk had three shot attempts in his debut, with each coming at 5-on-5 (tied for most 5-on-5 shot attempts among Ottawa defensemen). When Yakemchuk was on the ice, the Senators had their best 5-on-5 shot attempts differential (plus-5; 15-10).

3. Midrange shots on goal

Yakemchuk scored a midrange goal on his only midrange shot on goal in his debut. He also added one long-range shot on goal.

Both of Frondell’s shots on goal in his debut were from midrange zones. Frondell had five shot attempts in his debut, tied with Bedard for the most among Chicago forwards.