There Has Been An Adam Fantilli Development
God bless the machinations of junior hockey, which is busy making #content when the rest of the sports world slumbers.
There has been a Palpable Development in Adam Fantilli's recruitment, and since Fantilli looks like the kind of generational talent who could end up going first overall in the NHL draft it's worth talking about. The development: Fantilli signed a tender* with the USHL's Chicago Steel.
This does not necessarily mean he's headed to college. Folks are correct to point out that this is peak OHL draft manipulation season, especially if they're going to expose local bloggers to incredible names:
Just last year Davis “T-Bone” Codd signed a tender w/ Youngstown and report to Saginaw a week later.
— Sam Stern (@SternScouting) March 25, 2020
Have to wait and see.
Getting "T-Bone" to stick as your kid's nickname is a major Dad Achievement Unlocked moment. I've been calling DRC "Hambone" since his birth and I have to admit I don't think it's gonna catch on.
[After THE JUMP: it could happen]
Uh anyway: T-Bone Codd went through the whole press release quote song and dance after the fictional tender. So Fantilli doing the same thing with Chicago doesn't necessarily mean he's going to land there. Some optimism might be warranted since Chicago presciently chose Luca Fantill in the 19th round last year, and they've also announced him:
“A really big factor in Adam and my decision was the fact that we can get another year of playing with each other,” said Luca. “It’s a really special thing to be able to play with your brother and something you grow up dreaming about - a chance to hop on the ice together. This is a great opportunity on an amazing team with amazing coaches and I’m super-excited to be a part of the Steel.”
Adam, of course, followed Luca to Kimball Union Academy last year. And Chicago is probably the best college feeder program outside the NTDP. It's the spot you'd want him to land if you were a person with an interest in watching him at Yost.
FWIW, even guys who mostly hear stuff from the OHL side of things are reporting that this is real.
Adam Fantilli, the top #OHLDraft prospect and a top #2023NHLDraft prospect, commits to the Chicago Steel of the USHL.
— Tony Ferrari (@theTonyFerrari) March 25, 2020
From everyone I've talked to, Fantilli wants to go the NCAA route and could join his brother at Michigan for his NHL draft season. Huge get for the USHL. https://t.co/0oSs8oIwxR
The OHL draft is April 4th; we should know shortly after if this was a ploy or not. Looks like "not" to me.
If it's not then Michigan is the favorite to land him, probably for 2021. That would mean he plays two years in college before getting drafted. The first would probably have a rough adjustment period. The second would be pretty good.
As long as we're on the topic. USA Hockey announced the latest edition of the NTDP U17s. Michigan commits Seamus Casey, Hunter Brzustewicz, and Frank Nazar made it. There are seven uncommitted players on the team, an unusually high number, as this class is the one transitioning from the older recruiting rules to the new ones. Next year's team will be almost all uncommitted guys unless cracks in this new unenforceable regime start showing. Gonna be weird.
*[USHL teams are allowed to sign up to two guys before the USHL entry draft. The first tender costs the team its first round pick; the second costs their second rounder. In exchange the team agrees to play the player tendered in at least 55% of their games. This system allows high end players to bypass the draft and land in a preferred spot.]
obligatory.
"That would mean he plays two years in college before getting drafted. The first would probably have a rough adjustment period. The second would be pretty good."
Given Michigan's luck over the past 20 years holding onto their most talented players, that means he's going to leave after his first season.
Where would he be leaving to exactly ? If I understand correctly, the soonest he could get to the NHL would be his possible junior season. He’s gonna be suiting up for his first college game as a 16 year old.
Always a possibility he decides scoring 150 goals in the OHL is a better showcase for his abilities in his draft year than the typical 1-1 tie sludgefart games in college hockey.
Didn't seem to hurt Toews's stock at all back in the day, and Fantilli would have two years in college before his draft rather than just one (and come into college hockey at 16 at a similar size or bigger than Toews came in at 17).
IIRC guys can peace to the OHL any time if they want. I know we had two great goalies peace out like back to back. One was John Gibson who I think actually made it to Ann Arbor for a hot second before leaving. The other wasss........Jack Campbell (had to dig in YostBuilt's archives for that one). Both were top prospects, both looked solid to Michigan, both bailed. This is some good reading if you want to read his chronicles of Michigans fight with the O over time
OHL or overseas as a pro are both potential options. An OHL team WILL draft him, and he can choose to go play there at any time. Jack Lafontaine left Michigan a few years ago to go play juniors (albeit not CHL) and ended up going to play for Minnesota. You are certainly not stuck in college by any stretch of the imagination.
Took a gander at that NTDP roster and found it includes a "Rutger McGroarty" and a "Cruz Lucius". Since when did hockey start churning out NOTY candidates? Alas, they are not among the seven uncommitted.
At least in Lucius' case......when "elite" amateur hockey became the domain solely for the insanely wealthy.
Sometimes when I watch the NHL, I wonder if any of the guys on screen would actually be in the NHL if hockey was as affordable to play as basketball or baseball or other sports are. I suspect most of them would not be there
I had an Uncle Hambone. Well he was my Grandma's sister's husband. Henny and Hambone.
Brian, I'm guessing it was down to either Hambone or Flippy, amirite
March 25th, 2020 at 11:20 PM ^
Can someone direct me to an article that explains hockey recruiting? All this OHL USHL and amateur drafts and shit has my head spinning. And then you’ve got a potential 16 year old college player and you have other guys who are freshmen in their 20’s,
Basically you have various juniors leagues where college level prospects go. USHL, BCHL and to a lesser extent the NAHL are probably the most common. With the US NTDP playing a USHL schedule and being a major feeder program.
The CHL, comprised of the OHL, QMJHL and WHL are considered a professional league by the NCAA. So any player who signs with a CHL team is automatically ineligible. That’s why Fantilli committing to a USHL team is big.
Juniors teams get kids from ages 15-20. Your freshman year doesn’t start until you start college, so as a college you can let kids ride out their junior eligibility and wait to bring them in until they’re 20. So it allows for some year-to-year flexibility. Obviously hard to push off enrollment for NHL caliber talent so they’ll pretty much always come in at 18 years old. A lot of the smaller schools will be competitive by pushing off the enrollment of their players, making their teams significantly older than most powerhouse schools.
As for getting 16 year olds, it again goes back to your college eligibility starting when you start college. If the 16-17 year old is talented enough and has enough credits to graduate high school, they can graduate early and enroll in college. Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski are examples of guys who did this a year early, but doing so two years early is something I haven’t heard of.
Hockey recruiting is typically done 3-4 years in advance. But the flexibility of when a kid enrolls allows Michigan to bump a kid who was staying in juniors an extra year or two if an incoming commit drops out late.
Thanks! This was extremely helpful
March 26th, 2020 at 11:37 AM ^
I keep trying to get "O-Dawg" to stick for my son Owen, but so far, no one else has picked up on that. He's 15. I suppose I should just give up.
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