Adam Fantilli of the University of Michigan will file a draft diary for NHL.com this season leading up to the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on June 28-29. The 18-year-old freshman center (6-foot-2, 195 pounds), who was born in Nobleton, Ontario, is a projected first-round selection. He has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in four games this season, and was a First Team All-Star after scoring 74 points (37 goals, 37 assists) in 54 games with Chicago of the United States Hockey League in 2021- 22.
Hello hockey fans:
I’m so glad I’ll have an opportunity to keep a draft diary this season for NHL.com. For my first post of the season, I thought I’d provide a little background.
My grandparents came over from Italy and my dad never really played hockey but as soon as they got here, they were big fans and watched it all the time. That’s how I became a big fan. I think two weeks after my second birthday, my dad had me on skates and I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t on them.
I played other sports, just not as high a level as hockey. I played lacrosse, golf and we would travel to go snowboarding, so I did a little bit of everything.
I’d say I’m a fast, two-way, skilled forward. I like to emphasize my offensive ability as much as possible while possessing the puck in the offensive zone but also not forgetting about the importance of the defensive zone and how important it is to defend.
I chose to play hockey at Michigan because I trained there in the summer and got quite a few good looks at it. My brother (Luca) committed here about two years before I did. The school is pretty close to home and a lot of my friends committed as well so it was a pretty good choice. I was also heavily recruited by North Dakota, but I decided on Michigan.
It’s great to be playing with my brother at Michigan. We were together at prep school in New Hampshire, went to Chicago in the USHL for two years and now we’re here in Michigan. Not a lot of people get to experience playing with your brother but it’s good to have a piece of family with you when living away from home.
Luca is a very smart, underrated defenseman. I feel he’s smaller in terms of weight (6-0, 183 pounds), and probably needs to put on a little bit more and get stronger, but he has a very good hockey brain. He’s a great skater and he’s offensive when he can be and has a really good stick, defensively.
I can’t even explain how dialed in we are at Michigan. Our upperclassmen are phenomenal guys. Our sophomores are amazing, and we have such a big freshman class and there’s so much knowledge to be gained. You can sense winning is a culture thing here and not at the expense of development. The way everything is structured, the way we approach every day is attacking it, getting better, preparing ourselves for the upcoming weekend. We expect to win every game so that’s kind of the culture we’re building here. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. We obviously are very hungry to prove something this year and I think our upperclassmen will tell you the same thing in terms of how things ended for them last year.
Interim coach Brandon Naurato has been amazing. He’s obviously learning just like all of us, but he’s doing a phenomenal job in terms of how to implement the style he wants to play, create drills for us to execute and learn. He’s a very smart, very intelligent man, and knows what he’s talking about. He has a good control of our room and I’m really excited to see how he can morph our team into something special this year. He played here at Michigan (2005-09), so he knows what it’s like. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so dialed into video in my life. He’s got hard drives upon hard drives of video and every situation that whenever you ask him about it, he can pull up NHL clips, college clips, whatever you need.
Finally, as far as personal goals, I’m not really outcome-oriented right now. I’m just focused on the process of trying to be the best player I can be for our team and fill a certain role so that we can accomplish what we want to accomplish. That’s the most important thing for me. Hopefully, at the end of the year, we’re hoisting a trophy… that’s all that matters.
Thanks for reading this month and enjoy the NHL season!
Photos: Michigan Photography
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