(Ann Arbor, Michigan) Saturday evening, at the end of November, we arrive at the post-game interview with Adam Fantilli a few minutes late. The other interviews of the evening were somewhat overflowing, and being backstage at the Yost Ice Arena at the University of Michigan obviously requires a degree from the said University of Michigan.
Despite the approaching 10 p.m., he doesn’t take offense at the delay and doesn’t look like a guy who’s gone to count his minutes. Tipped as one of the three best hopes for the 2023 draft, this young man already has a certain status in the world of hockey. Some players of this status could grow impatient with the situation. Not him.
He is teased with a bad shot by the team’s publicist, who tried to make him believe that The Press had demanded an interview entirely in French.
“I took French lessons for eight years at school, but I wasn’t very good,” he admits.
“I come from a background where even English was sometimes broken. My father’s family is Italian, my mother’s is Polish.
– You speak Italian ?
– I understand it a little, about one word out of three, so I have an idea of what is being said.
– And Polish?
– Not at all… There are characters that don’t even exist in English! »
It must be said that summary research on his subject announced that we would have before us a charismatic individual. For example, one of the photos that appears on his HockeyDB page is, say, peculiar. It’s a nod to Seattle Kraken’s Brandon Tanev, who makes a point of rolling his eyes in his official photos.
PHOTO FROM HOCKEYDB WEBSITE
“We were in Pittsburgh for a USHL event,” he recalls. I was talking about it with my teammate Jackson Blake, we thought it would be fun to do that. Then the rest of the team arrived and several players were ready! So six or seven guys did it, the photos were relayed everywhere. I didn’t think the photo would serve that much, I thought it was a photo like any other! »
Regrets ? “Not at all, it was just funny, it amused people. I love it, my photo! »
This Adam Fantilli, therefore, is not like the others. A student of sports administration, he says that if his career ended abruptly, he would opt for psychology.
“I see how much sports psychology can help players,” he believes. Himself, who has just celebrated his 18th birthday, has already called on a sports psychologist. “It varies from person to person. I do it to help me stay in the present moment, so I don’t think too much about the future. My shrink is amazing. »
His idol ? Again, he goes against the grain. “Marc Savard”, he replies tit for tat. Its number 19 is also a nod to the 91 worn by Savard. “I always wore 91, but in Chicago (USHL), you had to take a number lower than 30.”
It is important here to remember that Fantilli was only 6 years old when Savard took his last steps. “I was little when Matt Cooke inflicted a concussion on him, but I was really sad,” he recalls. He scored a big goal in the playoffs, at a crucial moment. I was on my couch and I was crazy. I was wearing 33 for Zdeno Chara and I told my father that I was changing my number. His vision of the game was crazy. »
He names Patrice Bergeron as another player who inspires him. And that’s where he spills the beans: he’s a fan of the Bruins, his father’s favorite team. “They play the right way, I love their culture,” he explains.
A self-respecting Bruins fan must hate the Canadiens, then? “It’s a really good rivalry, but I’m pretty good friends with Cole Caufield, we skate together in the summer and he’s a good guy. So I have nothing against the Canadian! »
His personality is exciting, and that’s good: his game too.
After 16 games, he already has 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points. If he keeps up that pace, he’ll be hard to ignore for the Hobey-Baker, awarded NCAA Player of the Year. This trophy is usually out of reach for players, like him, in their first year of university. The only two rookies to have won it? Messrs. Jack Eichel and Paul Kariya.
During our visit, Fantilli seemed like a guy who could do anything. He tried — unsuccessfully — for a Michigan-style goal, a play he’s already managed in the USHL.
The Ontarian, however, recovered by serving this major league pass to Mackie Samoskevich.
In addition to getting a slew of scoring chances, he got physically involved. On several occasions, his rivals were on his case and he replied every time. At 6’2″ and 195 lbs, he’s got the size to go where it gets hot.
It must be said that it was hot on this Saturday night in Michigan. First because it was the second duel in 24 hours against Harvard.
Then because the campus was overexcited, a few hours after the victory of the Wolverines, in football, against Ohio State. Midway through the second period, during a break, members of the football team came onto the rink, some even hugging the Michigan goaltender. And the crowd began to sing Mr BrightsideKillers, because that’s what happy people do.
“You saw the atmosphere. It’s electric and it’s easy to feed on it, to get emotionally involved, ”says Fantilli.
It is this set of tools, for a center player, in addition, which ensures that Fantilli is unanimously perceived as one of the three best prospects in the 2023 draft.
The enthusiasm of the hockey world is evident. Before the game, we spoke with Ted Donato, head coach of Harvard, who therefore faced Fantilli for the second night in a row. Donato told us that several of his players had played with Fantilli in Chicago in the USHL.
“So you know all his tendencies”, we submit to him.
Donato starts laughing. “Bah, that’s like saying you know the tendencies of…a great player. That doesn’t really help you! “We clearly felt the modesty of not naming a big name in the NHL. But with a size much more advantageous than Connor Bedard, he will turn heads.
Is he aiming for first place in the next repechage?
“Obviously it’s every youngster’s dream to be the first choice, and that’s my goal, I’m going to do everything to make it happen. But I’m not obsessed with it. I’m focused on improving on a daily basis, and when it’s draft time, we’ll see what happens. »