Go big or go home, eh?
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson chose the former, selecting 6-foot-6 right winger Vaclav Nestrašil with the 25th pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Nestrašil, 18, hails from the Czech Republic, but joined the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks briefly in the 2023-24 season. Spending the entire year with the Lumberjacks last season, Nestrašil played 61 games, tallying 19 goals and 23 assists, racking up 51 penalty minutes along the way.
He is currently committed to the University of Massachusetts for the 2025-26 season.
A high-energy bowling ball, Nestrašil’s forté is his forechecking and defense, aided by his length, though he remains somewhat raw as a goal scorer. However, Nestrašil’s puck movement is relatively impressive considering his size and rather understated skill set.
“[Nestrašil] possesses an elite skill set at his size, has great vision and makes great plays with the puck,” described UMass head coach Greg Carvel. “He goes to the net and uses his size and ability to score goals around the net. Fans will enjoy watching Vaclav develop over the years.”
But he’ll need to bulk up significantly to compete at the NHL level. Despite his 6-6 stature, Nestrašil weighs in at just 185 pounds. For reference, Matt Rempe, the tallest forward in the NHL at 6-9, weighs 255 lbs. Adam Klapka, the second tallest at 6-8, weighs 235 lbs.
Nestrašil is a project and will likely require a somewhat lengthier developmental process before reaching the league. But it’s the type of swing Davidson could feel aggressive taking after selecting center Anton Frondell with the third pick.
Frondell might not crack the organization this season, but his development into a second-line center follows a more straightforward and more linear path.
Davidson wasn’t done.
Dealing two second-rounders (No. 34, No. 62) and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Blackhawks found themselves back on the clock with the 29th pick, and their third in the first round.
Another giant and another project, Davidson opted for 6-foot-6 high school quarterback Mason West from Edina, Minnesota.
That’s not a typo. West, 17, will return to Edina High School for his senior football season. He scored 51 goals and added 63 assists in three seasons with Edina High before joining the USHL’s Fargo Force for 10 games, where he tallied nine points.
So why did Davidson move back into the first round for a prospect even rawer than Nestrašil? West’s skating ability fits the mold the Blackhawks’ GM has sought out in drafts since taking the reins in 2021.
But West’s return to Edina for football, despite being a first-rounder in the NHL Entry Draft, isn’t just for the love of the game. West told KARE 11, a local news station in Minneapolis, “I try to set goals for the football and hockey year to try to win a state championship in both. I’ve been able to do that in hockey, but not football yet. So that’s kind of the reason I have to go back and maybe win one.”
Oddly enough, West isn’t the first NHL-bound prospect to take this path. Anders Lee, the current captain of the New York Islanders, also hails from Edina, where he played quarterback in high school.
West’s football career has helped him fill out his large frame, too, already weighing 215 pounds.
Frondell, Nestrašil, and West make up Davidson’s third class in four drafts with three first-round picks. In last year’s draft, Davidson brought in defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who has since debuted with the NHL club, center Sacha Boisvert, and winger Marek Vanacker.
