NASHVILLE ― A month ago, it was nearly unthinkable.
Adam Fantilli, 18, was as safe a bet to become the second player taken in the 2023 NHL draft as “generational talent” Connor Bedard was to go first to the Chicago Blackhawks. Leading up to the start of the draft Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena, most analysts were convinced the Anaheim Ducks would make that formality a reality and select Fantilli second.
As it turned out, that prediction wasn’t all it was quacked up to be.
Anaheim instead selected Leo Carlsson over Fantilli, whom the Blue Jackets then selected third, adding yet another Michigan standout to go with three already playing in Columbus.
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Having a player of Fantilli’s caliber fall right into their laps with the third pick is considered by most draft experts to be a stroke of luck that has eluded the Blue Jackets in the first round of drafts for much of their 23-year existence.
How lucky did they get?
Based on Fantilli’s freshman year at Michigan plus his contributions for Canadian national teams that won gold medals at the world junior championship and men’s world championship, it’s like discovering a winning lottery ticket after the one they’d held in the “Bedard sweepstakes” didn’t pan out.
Fantilli is the only player to ever win the NCAA’s Hobey Baker Award as a freshman and win gold medals at the world juniors and men’s world championships in the same season. He’s just the third freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player, joining Jack Eichel (2015, Boston University) and Paul Kariya (1993, University of Maine).
Eichel, selected second overall in 2015 by the Buffalo Sabres, just won the Stanley Cup as the Vegas Golden Knights’ top center. Kariya scored 402 goals and finished with 989 points in 989 games during a 15-year NHL career, centering a top line for the Ducks in a run that took them to the 2003 Stanley Cup final.
Mike Babcock, whom the Blue Jackets reportedly will hire as their new head coach, was the Ducks’ head coach that season. Columbus now has their own future No. 1 center for him to deploy, whether that happens this year or gets put on layaway for Fantilli to play another season at Michigan.
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Fantilli is open to taking either path, but there’s not a lot left to prove at the collegiate level. Already possessing an NHL frame (6-2, 195), he had a freshman year for the ages with 30 goals, 35 assists and 65 points in 36 games ― a remarkable average of 1.81 points per game. Returning to school would give Fantilli the opportunity to play one more season with his older brother, Luca, a Michigan defenseman, and he could refine certain facets of his game.
Either way, the Blue Jackets are thrilled to land a projectable impact center for a developmental system that’s filled with high-end prospects from the past three drafts.
bhedger@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets select center Adam Fantilli third in NHL draft
