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 still 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 selected Swedish center Leo Carlsson over Fantilli, whom the Blue Jackets then selected third, adding yet another Michigan standout to go with three already playing in Columbus.
"I think we got a great player, as I said all along, that I think we're going to get a great player at No. 3, and we got Adam and we're very pleased," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "It's exactly what we need, exactly the kind of player we're always looking for, a 200-foot player that plays the game the right way, who produces, but not just with skill. He's got determination and character and will, (and) those players are rarely available. So, we're very pleased to have him."
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Having a player of Fantilli's caliber fall right into their laps with the third pick is considered by most experts to be a stroke of luck that has eluded the Blue Jackets in the first round 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.
"He's a tremendous skater, he's got great speed, he can transport the puck to the neutral zone with speed, but I think the competitiveness and the edge that he plays with, those (things), the character and heart, they're a big part of this equation, always, for us," Kekalainen said. "It's not just about the skill or the points."
Fantilli is the only player to 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 No. 1 center, whether it happens this year or gets put on layaway for 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 older brother, Luca, a Michigan defenseman, and he could also refine some facets of his game.
"I've tried to prepare myself my entire life for this moment and hopefully, if that's the decision that's made, for me to try and step in, hopefully I'd make an impact and be the type of guy I want to be," Fantilli said. "If the decision is to go back, I know I have other areas of my games I can still work on and try to polish, so I can see both sides of it."
Either way, the Blue Jackets are thrilled to add a projectable impact center for a system already filled with high-end prospects. Fantilli is the sixth first-round pick the Blue Jackets have added in the past three drafts, including one taken fifth overall ( Kent Johnson , 2021), one sixth overall ( David Jiricek , 2022) and two 12th overall ( Cole Sillinger , 2021) and Denton Mateychuk (2022).
"I think you compare him more to the young players with the mix that we have," Kekalainen said. "We have some skilled young players, as well, and I think he fits perfectly within that mix with the style of play that he has. He's also a clutch player, which I like. The bigger the moment this year, when we watched him play, he always rose to the occasion."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets select center Adam Fantilli third in NHL draft
