The disappointment on May 8 at Nationwide Arena was palpable.
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That was the evening the Blue Jackets were eliminated from the Connor Bedard sweepstakes despite finishing 31 st of 32 teams last season. One of only two teams who dropped for the large market Chicago Blackhawks to jump up third-best odds to get Bedard — a "generational" talent ― the Blue Jackets' front office felt a visceral sting after another gut punch that followed an injury-fueled face-plant of a season .
Regardless, the team's president of hockey operations, John Davidson, and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen assured their disappointed fanbase that a future star center would still be available third overall.
They were correct.
Adam Fantilli , widely expected to be the Anaheim Ducks ' pick second overall, was still there for the Blue Jackets after Swedish center Leo Carlsson surprisingly followed Bedard to the stage in Nashville . He's now centering the Jackets' top line as the halfway point of the NHL season approaches, showing why he's nobody's consolation prize. Here are five reasons Fantilli is an elite rookie:
Fantilli's skating ability at 6 feet 2, 194 pounds made him nearly unstoppable in the United States Hockey League (Chicago Steel) and as a dominant freshman last year for Michigan, where he won the prestigious Hobey Baker Award as collegiate hockey's top player.
His straight-ahead playing style with impressive speed and power allowed Fantilli to take pucks hard to the net at lower levels to create havoc and a lot of goals. Those traits will eventually allow him to do the same in the NHL, where he's already impressing. According to "NHL Edge" statistics , Fantilli is one of the league's fastest skaters.
That's especially true with speed bursts, where after 34 games he ranked in the 98thpercentile of skaters in both 18-20 mph bursts (313) and 20-22 mph bursts (121). Fantilli also had eight speed bursts of 22 mph or faster in those games, which ranked in the NHL's 95thpercentile.
To put those numbers in context, the league averages for skaters after 34 games were 139 in 18-20 mph bursts, 33 in 20-22 mph bursts and one in bursts of 22 mph or faster. Fantilli's top speed of 22.70 mph ― recorded Nov. 14 against Pittsburgh — ranked in the84th percentile.
Jenner's absence cracked the door open for somebody else to lead the team in individual scoring chances, and Fantilli now leads that statistical ranking at even strength.
According to Natural Stat Trick , he's four ahead of Kirill Marchenko with 68 individual scoring chances and only trails Marchenko by two (90-88) when factoring in all strengths. Fantilli is seventh in individual high-danger chances (23), but that number could skyrocket once he figures out how to use his size and speed while beating NHL defenders to the net.
Fantilli also leads the Blue Jackets with 87 shots, is second with 180 attempted shots and ranks first with 26 rebounds created during all strengths. Those are indicators that Fantilli's production will likely climb significantly in the years ahead, and maybe the remainder of this season too.
He's already one of the Blue Jackets' top scoring options.
Fantilli's 9-10-19 scoring line just 34 games into the season ranked third among NHL rookies in points. He trailed just Bedard (12-17-29) and Minnesota 's Marco Rossi (11-10-21) despite averaging about four minutes less per game than the former and one minute fewer than the latter.
Fantilli's 87 shots also ranked second among NHL rookies, behind only Bedard's 103 for the Blackhawks. Tyson Foerster 's 72 for the Philadelphia Flyers was a distant third.
One of the few games when Fantilli "fought" the puck was the Jackets' recent 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils at Nationwide Arena.
He was demoted to a wing on the fourth line for the third period of that game, which drove a vocal, highly irrational segment of Blue Jackets fans crazy. What's impressive about Fantilli is that it didn't faze him in the least. He returned to the top line to center Johnny Gaudreau and Justin Danforth the very next game and helped the Blue Jackets rout the Buffalo Sabres, 9-4, at KeyBank Center .
Fantilli had a goal and assist in that game, and then played one of his best overall games Thursday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals . He didn't get on the scoresheet with a goal or assist, but Fantilli logged a career-high 20:10 in ice time on 20 shifts, won 59% of his faceoffs and hounded the puck all game long.
The more he plays with Gaudreau, the more chemistry is evident between the two. That could help Fantilli's scoring and get him past the mental hurdle commonly referred to as the "rookie wall" halfway through a player's first full NHL season.
As most expected, Bedard's 29 points in his first 32 games put him in lead position for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. Fantilli, however, isn't far behind in measures other than assists and points.
His nine goals in 34 games were only three behind Bedard's 12, despite the Blackhawks rookie averaging significantly more ice time. Fantilli's faceoff win percentage of 42.7% was slightly higher than Bedard's 41.4%, each had scored one winning goal, and their even-strength numbers were neck-and-neck.
At even strength, Bedard's 11-8-19 was just four points higher on three more goals and one more assist than Fantilli's 8-7-15 and they were tied in primary assists (five each). Bedard also held slight edges in shots (69-66), shooting percentage (15.9% to 12.1 %), individual expected goals (7.58 to 7.14) and individual high-danger scoring chances (25-18).
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Bedard held wider leads in total scoring chances (78-62) and rush attempts (10-2), but Fantilli led by sizable margins in individual shot attempts (136-119) and rebounds created (20-10).
In other words, both are living up to their pre-draft expectations.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 ways Blue Jackets' Fantilli is proving to be elite NHL rookie
