Columbus Blue Jackets select Michigan star Adam Fantilli No. 3 overall in NHL Draft
For a seventh straight year, Michigan Wolverines hockey had either an incoming recruit or current player selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, with forward Adam Fantilli being chosen No. 3 overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Coming into the draft, Fantilli was widely expected to go No. 2 behind Connor Bedard, who was picked No. 1 by the Chicago Blackhawks, but the Anaheim Ducks went with Leo Carlsson out of Sweden instead.
He joins former Michigan standouts Zach Werenski, Kent Johnson and Nick Blankenburg with the Blue Jackets. Fantilli is Michigan’s 32nd first-round pick in history.
Fantilli has yet to decide whether or not he will return to Michigan next season. His brother, Luca Fantilli, remains on the Wolverines’ roster. Fantilli helped lead the Maize and Blue to the Frozen Four in head coach Brandon Naurato‘s first season.
“I’ll wait until after the draft before making a decision,” Fantilli told NHL.com in a recent article. “Obviously, losing in the semifinal round against Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four left a bitter taste in my mouth because I wanted to win that game and the game after that to win the national championship.”
Fantilli won the 2022-23 Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s top college player. Fantilli led the nation in points this season with 64 (29 goals) in 35 games, including 1 goal in a Frozen Four loss to Quinnipiac.
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Fantilli was the named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman First Team, the All-Big Ten First Team, and earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
“Fantilli is your prototypical two-way, top-line NHL center,” wrote Benjamin Sweiman of DraftKings Network. “He has good size and skating ability. What really stands out is his hockey sense. You know those NHL players where the plays kind of follow them? When it feels like every second they are on the ice scoring is happening? That feels like what Fantilli will bring. He also brings leadership qualities that stem a lot from his relentlessness. He’s not afraid to get dirty on the forecheck, win a puck battle, make a play to the net or set up a teammate for a scoring opportunity. Those are the types of players who win the NHL. Plain and simple.”
Michigan forward Gavin Brindley is projected as a late first-round pick, according to most mock drafts. He notched 12 goals and 26 assists as a freshman last season.
