The Michigan freshman and 2023 draft prospect earns the big trophy, plus: Could Tampa host the World Juniors? And how do coaches feel about the transfer portal?

TAMPA - The Hobey Baker Award was announced Friday night at an outdoor ceremony in Tampa and Michigan center Adam Fantilli took home the hardware as the top men's college hockey player in the nation. Fantilli, a top 2023 NHL draft prospect, was also named NCAA rookie of the year thanks to his dominant play with the Wolverines. He led the nation in scoring with 64 points in 35 games.

Fantilli had come to Michigan from the USHL's Chicago Steel and while the 18-year-old made college look easy, he was grateful for how this season helped him grow as a player.

"These guys are a lot bigger, faster and stronger," Fantilli said. "They take away space pretty fast so learning to adapt to that type of play was pretty important. Our entire freshman class was able to do that pretty well and it carried us far."

Fantilli also gave kudos to a fellow rookie; head coach Brandon Naurato, who only recently had the "interim" dropped from his job title. But make no mistake - Naurato was a big part of Michigan's run to the Frozen Four during a season with a lot of illness, injury and roster turnover.

"He's one of those people that I wouldn't be here without," Fantilli said. "He had a lot to prove this year, I felt I had a lot to prove this year, so coming together, doing video and talking about what we can do better every day is something we both fed off."

Another big name in Fantilli's life is older brother Luca, who is also his roommate and a defenseman on the Wolverines. It's up in the air whether Fantilli will return to Michigan next season - he could go straight to the NHL based on his size and skill set and he wouldn't commit either way at today's ceremony - but at the least, the brothers got to spend at least one season together in Ann Arbor.

"Not many people get to experience the feeling of looking across the locker room and seeing your brother ties his skates while you are and going out and battling with him," Fantilli said. "I'm so grateful. I can't even put into words how happy I am that he's here."

With Michigan eliminated by Quinnipiac in the semifinal, it was worth asking Fantilli if he's going to chill until the NHL draft - which will be an even bigger stage than the one he just came off.

"I don't know, I think I have an exam next week," he said with a laugh. "So I probably have to go study for that."

With Tampa's third turn as Frozen Four host at the midway point, it's fair to say that the city has already become a favored destination for the tournament, though the next cycle won't be announced for more than a year. Minnesota, St. Louis and Las Vegas are the next three hosts, in that order.

But what about the World Junior Championship? The United States is slated to host in 2026 and I hear Tampa could be in the mix for hosting the holiday classic then. Amalie Arena is an obvious headquarters for the big games, but keep in mind there is an ECHL rink about two hours south in Estero, where the Florida Everblades play. Hertz Arena seats around 7,200 for hockey, which would be more than enough to host games in as a secondary rink.

Other markets believed to be interested are Seattle, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Detroit and Minnesota.

And one last note for today: The topic of the transfer portal came up a couple times, including at the NCAA's annual State of the Game press conference and during Minnesota's off-day availability. Gophers coach Bob Motzko had an interesting take on what some in the industry have called "college free agency," while acknowledging that Minnesota had been approached by players who wanted to transfer over to the Gophers in the summer.

"I went out, watched a few of our (committed recruits) in the USHL. And when you like your players - and I liked the returning players - we didn't go to the portal because I liked our guys.

I bet on it. And here we are. And the big key for us was our returning players that chose to come back and play for us: Brock Faber, Jackson LaCombe, Ryan Johnson - guys that had reasons to leave."

Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin, who was part of the State of the Game panel, made his opinion very clear.

"Me personally? I don't like the messaging," he said. "The messaging that you can just...leave. That's all I'm going to say."