No. 3 overall pick Fantilli ‘over the moon’ to be a Blue Jacket
Adam Fantilli spent Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena thanking people who’d helped him become the Blue Jackets’ selection with the third pick in the NHL draft.
Most analysts felt Fantilli would be picked second by the Anaheim Ducks, but that pick was spent on Swedish center Leo Carlsson. Fantilli dropped to the Blue Jackets, who wasted no time adding their fourth University of Michigan player. Perhaps a “thank you” should be directed toward Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek, who declined to trade the second pick to Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen and then chose Carlsson.
Fantilli wasn’t disappointed. In fact, his feelings were just the opposite.
“I’m ecstatic about it,” Fantilli said.
It’s been quite a year for Fantilli, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound pivot who’s expected to step right into the Blue Jackets’ lineup. He was the third player to win college hockey’s biggest individual honor, the Hobey Baker Award, as a freshman and became the only player to garner that honor plus gold medals at the world junior championships and men’s worlds in the same season.
Here are three things to know about Fantilli, who’s “over the moon” to become a Blue Jacket:
Fantilli is a ‘playdriving’ force
After the Chicago Blackhawks took Connor Bedard first, the draft gained intrigue.
Verbeek had his choice of three centers, all ranked at the top of the class with Bedard, and all three offered different playing styles.
Carlsson is an elite playmaker who likes the puck on his stick while circling for open pass options. Fantilli is a vertical threat who uses speed, size and a strong shot to put opponents on their heels. Will Smith, selected fourth by the San Jose Sharks, is a smaller combination of Carlsson and Fantilli.
Once Verbeek opted for Carlsson, Kekalainen took the best organizational fit for the Blue Jackets. Craig Button, a former NHL GM and TSN’s top prospect analyst, thinks they hit the bullseye.
“Adam’s game is predicated more on speed,” he said. “It’s a frenetic pace. He’s going to drive the scoring area. He’s attacking. He’s going to put defenders back on their heels. He’s determined, he’s competitive, he’s got a ruggedness to him. That’s the style of game Adam plays.”
Carlsson isn’t as adept at skating as Fantilli, but the two aren’t trying to do the same things either.
“Leo is more of a playmaker,” Button said. “His game is more, ‘The puck’s on my stick and I’m going to see who’s open and what wingers are there.’ That’s the difference. Both are clear cut No. 1 centers, in my view, in the National Hockey League, but they’re different.”
‘We feel he’s ready’
Kekalainen likes to remind reporters that 18-year old players don’t usually affect a team’s roster the following season.
Fantilli could be one of the rare exceptions, which the Blue Jackets’ GM confidently stated after the conclusion of the first round. Kekalainen anticipates signing Fantilli to an entry-level contract and carving out a spot on the Blue Jackets’ 23-man roster.
“We’re going to talk to him about it, but we feel he’s ready and we’re going to make sure he knows that we feel he’s ready,” Kekalainen said. “I think he’s already accomplished so much at the college level — winning the Hobey Baker in his first year and producing almost two points per game, playing in the men’s world championships, playing in the world juniors — that he’s ready for the next challenge. We feel he’s ready.”
Since his freshman season ended with Michigan losing in the NCAA Frozen Four, Fantilli has played it down the middle about whether or not he’ll return for a sophomore season. Before the draft, he said a decision wouldn’t happen until after getting input from his NHL team and that remained his plan after pulling on a Blue Jackets jersey for the first time.
“I don’t know yet,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to talk to the team and the people around me, and we’ll see what decision will come.”
Fantilli honors ‘village’ with suit
As soon as Kekalainen called out the Blue Jackets’ pick, Fantilli started giving out hugs to his family. As he turned around, the back of his three-piece suit vest showed a lot of names written on the back above the phrase “It takes a village.”
The names are friends, family members, coaches, teammates, trainers, advisors and others he wanted to thank. Fantilli estimated that 130-140 names were included on the vest and many of those folks showed up in Nashville to continue their support.
He worked on the list of names for nearly a year with his parents, Julia and Giuliano.