Michigan forward Adam Valentini has been drafted 96th overall by the Utah Mammoth. 

Valentini only turned 18 in April and was one of the youngest players in the NCAA all year. He's also just five-foot-ten. Still, he was a great contributor to a strong Michigan team despite all of that. Valentini joined as a center but shifted to left wing. He's a high-energy player who applies a lot of pressure on the forecheck, and he has a good scoring touch. 

What stands out about Valentini is his work ethic. He's a hustler, first to every puck or at least trying. He's not the smoothest skater, but he makes up for it in sheer effort. Despite his size, is actually a very physical player. He's not overly concerned with the size of his opponent and can take a hit and throw one in equal measure. Michigan coach Brandon Naurato repeatedly described him as "fearless." 

“Adam Valentini is an absolute dog,” Naurato said Mar. 31. “As a 17-year-old turning 18 on April 11, he is a winning hockey player. You think that these young, talented players, it's about points and their stick skills, and obviously [he] had a nice power-play goal the other game. I think he's got 26 or 27 points on the year, which is impressive for his age.

"With how we roll our lines, he's not playing 25, 30 minutes a night, but watch his back checks. Watch him blocking shots. Watch him get run over in the boards by our bench just to get the puck out. And then he gets back up after getting hit by Brady Cleveland, who's, you know, six-foot-four and 220 pounds. And then he goes and runs a guy over later in that shift. He's a hockey player, and this isn't an endorsement for the draft. I'm just talking about him. But start watching this kid and dive deep, because he's a guy you want to bet on.” 

Valentini slipped farther than people thought as many had him in the second round, but he's an excellent player and Utah gets great value.