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Adam's Eve - May. 22, 2023 – Vol. 76, Issue 13 - Ryan Kennedy

Adam Fantilli has taken an interesting road to the 2023 NHL draft, one that is uncommon for a kid who grew up in the ultra-competitive Toronto hockey scene. But when you think about the lessons he learned, the growth he experienced and the relationships he forged along the way, it’s hard not to see just how golden that path was.

While buddy Connor Bedard has taken up a lot of the oxygen on the airwaves, Fantilli was doing some scorching of his own by leading the NCAA in scoring – and doing so as a freshman who only turned 18 in October. Fantilli led the Michigan Wolverines to the Frozen Four semifinal and even earned a spot on Team Canada at the World Championship in May, where his teammates were NHLers. “He’s a generational talent,” said Michigan linemate and fellow 2023 prospect Gavin Brindley. “I’ve played against him since I was 10 years old, and we’ve had lots of battles growing up. He’s a pro, and with that frame of his and what he can do out there, it’s pretty special.”

Whether or not Fantilli returns to the University of Michigan for a sophomore kick at the national-title can likely won’t be decided until well after the draft, but the kid has all the tools to go straight to the NHL. How did he get to this point? Family has been a big factor.

The son of Giuliano and Julia, Fantilli was born in Toronto but raised in the small town of Nobleton, north of the city. With older brother Luca also in the fold, the Fantillis wanted some room for the kids to bomb around, and luckily, they were happy to do so together. “They were best friends and continue to be best friends,” Julia said. “When Luca would bring his friends over, Adam would always want to be there, playing mini-sticks, going to the rink or out at the pool. He wanted to be active with his brother and his friends. And thankfully Luca was the inclusive type and let him do it.”

Luca, who is two years older than Adam, easily could have pulled the “big brother” card and ditched the tyke, but in being that Good Dude, he inadvertently helped his sibling’s hockey passion along the way. And that’s something Adam appreciates: “Sometimes, you don’t want to have your little brother constantly around, but I was lucky enough that he had let me come out and skate with his age group. That helped my development, because I was always trying to catch up to them and to him. We don’t take our time together for granted.”

By the time Fantilli was 14, he was already a star in the vaunted Greater Toronto League, playing up a year on a Toronto Red Wings team that featured future NHL draft picks Francesco Pinelli (LA), Justin Ertel (DAL) and Luca Del Bel Belluz (CLB). That team made it all the way to the 2019 OHL Cup championship final, losing a 6-5 instant classic in overtime to a Don Mills Flyers squad led by Shane Wright (SEA), Brandt Clarke (LA) and Brennan Othmann (NYR).

Fantilli switched over to the Toronto Jr. Canadiens the next season, but he didn’t stay long. The GTHL can be intense when it comes to hype, and another option opened up in front of his eyes.

That season, Luca had left to play hockey at Kimball Union Academy, a prep school in a quiet part of New Hampshire that nonetheless boasted a solid history and an incredibly experienced guide behind the bench in Tim Whitehead, who was the NCAA coach of the year with Maine back in 2002. Coming over to visit Luca during Canadian Thanksgiving, the Fantillis all had a realization: soon there would be two of them at the school. “When we got to Kimball that weekend to visit Luca, we just knew Adam had to be with his brother,” Julia said. “He saw Luca out the car window and, I’m getting emotional just thinking about it again, he ran and hugged him. We underestimated how much they would miss each other. When we saw the look in their eyes, we knew it was the right call for Adam. It was hard from a mom standpoint, but it was the right decision for them, and that’s all that matters.”

HE’S A GENERATIONAL TALENT…WITH THAT FRAME OF HIS AND WHAT HE CAN DO OUT THERE, IT’S PRETTY SPECIAL– MICHIGAN TEAMMATE GAVIN BRINDLEY

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The fringe benefit was that Fantilli got a new challenge on the ice. And like fellow Canadian phenoms Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews – both of whom went to the U.S. to play prep hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota before going to the QMJHL and NCAA, respectively – he would also get to play under much less searing circumstances by leaving Toronto. “The GTHL is kind of a crazy place to play,” Fantilli said. “It’s a hotbed. Kids are crazy, parents are crazy, so it was good to get out of there and play with guys that just love the game, guys that were bigger, older and faster. You try to get better while also learning how to live away from home, so it was really beneficial for me and my brother.”

That season also marked a great run for the siblings, where they got the rare (non-Sedin-twins category) opportunity to play together for four straight years after leaving home. From Kimball Union, the Fantilli boys took their talents to the USHL and the Chicago Steel, a franchise that was already in the midst of becoming an NHL prospect factory thanks to names such as Owen Power (BUF), Sean Farrell (MTL) and Matt Coronato (CGY). “Especially my first year, I was surrounded by so many amazing players that I was just chasing them, watching and learning,” Fantilli said. “It’s a lot about the environment and the staff but also the players they put in the room that help make each other better are top-tier.”

With Adam at center and Luca on defense, the Fantillis arrived in Chicago and immediately made an impact – and vice-versa. “I’ll start with the gym aspect, they go really hard over there,” Fantilli said. “They’re all about themselves, they don’t worry about the opponent. They focus on their systems and individual skills. Adam Nicholas (now director of hockey development for the Montreal Canadiens) goes in and works with their guys. They structure their days with gym, skills, then you go to lunch, then video, practice, and if you want to stay out after, you can. If you want to get better, it’s really hard not to.”

On a loaded squad that finished first in the USHL with a .750 winning percentage, Fantilli stepped up his game in the post-season and earned playoff MVP honors with eight goals and nine points in eight games, helping Chicago win its second title. One year later, he was a first-team all-star in the league.

But the big challenge came this year, when Fantilli joined the University of Michigan as a true freshman, just 17 years old when he started classes in the fall.

Yes, he had size with his 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame, and his skating had always been a strong suit, but what could be expected of a kid who was now playing against competition as many as five or six years older, with all the weight-room time that goes along with such a head start?

ADAM IS SOMETHING THAT YOU DEFINITELY DON’T GET TO SEE TOO OFTEN. AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, HE’S A GREAT PERSON– MICHIGAN TEAMMATE DYLAN DUKE

On This Date In Columbus Blue Jackets History: The CBJ Draft Cole Sillinger & Kent Johnson The 2021 NHL draft party for the Columbus Blue Jackets was a special night. Not only was it a chance for CBJ fans to see their team pick three times in the first round, but it was a chance for Jackets fans to come together as a group for one of the first times since the COVID pandemic gripped the world. 

As it turned out, it was no big deal. Fantilli trampled the competition with a career-opening eight-game point streak, six of those outings featuring multi-point games. “Adam is something that you definitely don’t get to see too often,” said teammate and Tampa Bay pick Dylan Duke. “He’s probably the best player I’ve ever played with. Owen Power and Matty Beniers are right there with him, but he does a lot to make himself better. And at the end of the day, he’s a great person. That’s why he has so much success on the ice. He treats us all with respect. And he’s like the rest of us. He doesn’t act like he’s supposed to go first overall, second overall, whatever he’s going to go. He’s just a special person.”

This season also continued Fantilli’s run of finding like-minded individuals to riff off. Not only did he form a potent trio with Brindley and Winnipeg Jets first-rounder Rutger McGroarty, he had a coach in Brandon Naurato who was in a similar situation as him: new to the job with a lot of hype. Naurato was named interim coach of the Wolverines after Mel Pearson was fired in August. Naurato, just 38, came to Michigan with a skills background and had previously worked for the Detroit Red Wings. “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.”

From the start, Naurato praised Fantilli for his motor and his competitiveness, but as the season went on, he also got to see the kind of person Fantilli was. When coaches or hockey-ops folks brought their kids out to skate, Fantilli was one of the players who’d hang out with the little ones and make sure they felt included. “It’s the culture that these guys have created,” Naurato said. “It’s a credit to them, and Adam’s a part of that. He doesn’t want to be treated like a high-end draft pick or think he’s above it. They’re just teammates and buddies and enjoying the ride.”

And Fantilli once again had big brother Luca by his side – literally, since they shared a dorm together. When Adam won the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA player of the year, it was Luca giving the crowd in Tampa insights into his teammate/bro, revealing their Odd Couple-esque relationship in terms of tidiness. “They do have different personalities,” Julia said. “Adam is more focused. He has a schedule, and he adheres to it. Luca is more carefree, and, to be honest, they balance each other out. Adam helps Luca with his organizational skills, and Luca checks Adam, he helps him calm down and relax a bit.”

That also explains why half their dorm was a mess this year. But school itself was a respite for Fantilli. Yes, he was recognized more around campus toward the end of the year, but he was still just another student in most settings. “It was actually truly amazing,” he said. “Going to class, being around the student body, seeing your classmates at your games and around campus…then being in the dorms was so good for networking and meeting people outside of hockey. I enjoyed the off-ice just as much as the on-ice. It was so much fun.”

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In terms of Fantilli’s other foil, he and fellow 2023 phenom Bedard have known each other for years and won gold together with Canada at the World Junior Championship in Halifax. The time together also gave the two gifted centers a chance to hang out with someone in the same situation – and apparently to playfully plot against the hockey media. “He’s a great kid,” Fantilli said. “We’re pretty good friends, and anytime we see each other at big events, we joke around, try to mess with you guys sometimes. Like, ‘What would happen if I hit him really hard or he sticked me?’ See what you guys would write. We mess around like that.”

When it comes to Fantilli’s on-ice future, he’s all business, however. He took advantage of an opportunity to join Canada at the World Championship in the spring, and at the draft in Nashville this summer – where he’ll have about 100 supporters joining his family – he’s not going to let the moment psyche him out. “Mentally, I’m preparing to try to become the best player I can be,” he said. “Whether or not it’s in a different league than I am in now, I’m going to execute.”

Taking things step by step has been a mantra for Fantilli and his family. Julia doesn’t remember ever thinking her son was going to be heads and shoulders above most of his peers; it just wasn’t part of the calculus when he was growing up. “We always just focused on what’s next, becoming a little better, following his passion, having fun and making the right choices,” she said. “Yes, he was phenomenal at hockey, but he worked at it. If he found an area to improve on, he would continue to work on it. It was more about enjoying the journey as a family.”

The next step in that journey? It’s a big one. But if we’ve learned anything about Fantilli to this point, it’s that he knows how to take on a challenge and meet it with authority. 

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From The Archive: Blue Skies Ahead For Jackets The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features.

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