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Player Discussion: Adam Fantilli

All good stuff. All I can add is that in Ollie’s interview on BobbyMac’s podcast he called Fantilli ‘Fants’.
 

Two-way force​

First-year Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason made a big deal out of the clean slate he was bringing to Columbus, how he wasn’t watching previous game film and didn’t want insights or opinions on his new players from the holdover assistant coaches on his staff.

It didn’t take him long to see that Fantilli needed work, almost entirely from the red line back. But Evason was not alarmed in the least. This is fairly typical of young, uber-talented players who aren’t challenged physically and mentally in hockey until they hit the NHL.

Evason and his staff went to work both on the ice and in the film room, and they encountered a player who was eager to learn. (This is not always typical of a young, uber-talented player.)

Fantilli opened the season between veterans Kevin Labanc and James van Riemsdyk on the Blue Jackets’ third line, but quickly played his way higher in the lineup, settling into the middle of the No. 2 line behind veteran Sean Monahan on the top line.
In January, Evason was asked if he’d ever had a 20-year-old center that he trusted as much as Fantilli. He said he hadn’t, but that answer made him smile.

“If you would have said to us two months ago that ‘Mo’ (Fantilli’s given first name is Adamo) would be playing 24-plus minutes at this point, I would have thought you were crazy,” Evason said. “But I think it’s a credit to him and what he has done, and the work he’s put in … not as a skilled hockey player, but as a pro, to be able to play in all situations.

“There’s been a lot of video teaching to Adam Fantilli by every single coach in there. That’s fantastic, and it’s a credit to the coaching staff, but for him to buy in is even more exciting.”
The coaching went beyond Evason’s staff, though.

Monahan is one of the most complete and professional players to ever set foot in Nationwide Arena. The way he prepares for practices and games, and the quiet confidence he carries with him both during games and in the dressing room, are something young players learn to emulate.

And the little things he does on the ice — the stick lifts, the way he supports a player under pressure, the small-space passes he makes to alleviate pressure and create space — are almost awe-inspiring to fellow players.

Monahan saw how Fantilli was playing frantically in the defensive zone, but his well-intended attempts to play hard were successful. Monahan’s suggestion sounded counterintuitive.

“Slow down,” Monahan told him.

Fantilli said he was taking himself out of position by over-responding to shifts in play. He was flying the zone in anticipation of possession, and even when that didn’t backfire, he was often too far ahead of his linemates to rely on each other moving up the ice.

After his hat trick on Sunday, Fantilli deflected the accolades for the steps he’s made this season.
“I’ve said it so many times, that I’ve gotten to watch some pretty amazing centermen,” Fantilli said. “I had to learn how to chill out and slow down in my (defensive) zone, and that’s helped me produce offense, in a weird way. The better you are there and the less time you spend, the quicker you get to the offensive zone.

“A lot of credit to Sean Monahan and Boone Jenner. I’ve been playing behind them for a long time.”
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He's improved so much in his ability to pick his spots, the in season improvements have been absolutely unreal. I like the mention of his "well-intended" attempts, he's never been lazy but was reactionary instead of reading plays and knowing his place on the ice.

Moving forward for him I'd like to see him add some size and strength. He's incredibly explosive and people have made mention he's been in a man's body for awhile now but now that he's evolving from a pure rush player to a more rounded player more strength will benefit him greatly
 
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CBJWerenski8 said:
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Really good article, it is a perfect example of why I subscribe to The Athletic. Not just for AP but many of the hockey writers do outstanding work there. Also love their hockey podcasts. Entertaining and knowledgeable without all the sophomoric humor of the other guys.

I don't follow the NBA or MLB but people tell me the Guardians writer is top notch. I read the Buckeye football stuff, his writing is fine (I miss the previous writers) but he gives me a good 30,000' view of the team in general. I also read the Browns stuff, Zac Jackson is solid but I have just lost most of my interest in pro football since POS-DW was acquired by the team.
 
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Doggy said:
Really good article, it is a perfect example of why I subscribe to The Athletic. Not just for AP but many of the hockey writers do outstanding work there. Also love their hockey podcasts. Entertaining and knowledgeable without all the sophomoric humor of the other guys.

I don't follow the NBA or MLB but people tell me the Guardians writer is top notch. I read the Buckeye football stuff, his writing is fine (I miss the previous writers) but he gives me a good 30,000' view of the team in general. I also read the Browns stuff, Zac Jackson is solid but I have just lost most of my interest in pro football since POS-DW was acquired by the team.
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I got my subscription way back when porty joined (I like his articles) and have never left. Love all the articles that come with the subscription.

CBJ beat used to be a lot better when Reed and Lukan were there too (and I think front and nationwide really misses Lukan and a true podcast style rather than a Q&A session. They’re fine, but I do miss porty and Lukan talking about the state of the team) but it’s still very good.
 
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CBJWerenski8 said:
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This is not particularly surprising. We were recently watching Fantilli just beginning to learn how to cycle the puck, with Voronkov and Marchenko in the games before the team's big scoring drought. Other than that Fantilli is as pure a one-and-done rush player as I've ever seen. And those players always lose the territorial battle. We get five seconds in the offensive zone and the opposing club gets the rest of the shift. Thankfully we will score a lot in those five seconds, because he's that damn talented.
 
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majormajor said:
This is not particularly surprising. We were recently watching Fantilli just beginning to learn how to cycle the puck, with Voronkov and Marchenko in the games before the team's big scoring drought. Other than that Fantilli is as pure a one-and-done rush player as I've ever seen. And those players always lose the territorial battle. We get five seconds in the offensive zone and the opposing club gets the rest of the shift. Thankfully we will score a lot in those five seconds, because he's that damn talented.
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Yeah I think the question regarding Fantilli and the roster is so you play him with other dynamic rush players hoping to capitalize or do you play him with complimentary players?
 
Double-Shift Lasse said:
Yeah I think the question regarding Fantilli and the roster is so you play him with other dynamic rush players hoping to capitalize or do you play him with complimentary players?
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Yeah I've never felt comfortable slotting Fantilli with one type of linemate or another, he doesn't work super well with either. There's only one lineup spot that I've felt comfortable with and that was Fantilli-Monahan-Marchenko. And they crushed together in their one game, before I imagine there were some impassioned pleas "but he's a center!", or perhaps "but I'm a center!", and the experiment was discontinued.
 
majormajor said:
Yeah I've never felt comfortable slotting Fantilli with one type of linemate or another, he doesn't work super well with either. There's only one lineup spot that I've felt comfortable with and that was Fantilli-Monahan-Marchenko. And they crushed together in their one game, before I imagine there were some impassioned pleas "but he's a center!", or perhaps "but I'm a center!", and the experiment was discontinued.
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Need to find him a Fabbro.
 
Double-Shift Lasse said:
Yeah I think the question regarding Fantilli and the roster is so you play him with other dynamic rush players hoping to capitalize or do you play him with complimentary players?
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prefacing this by saying that for a guy in his D+2 season, fantilli has been excellent for the last 40ish games. his development is going well.

it's not necessarily that fantilli needs dynamic rush players or 'complimentary' guys on a line, it's that the forward group as a whole lacks some particular elements. there's talent all over but the group itself is far from a finished product.

the forward group needs more play connectors. monahan is an elite play connector. marchenko has moments where he's excellent at it. the rest of the roster? not so much. although JVR does have some of those elements in his game.

fantilli and KJ are both high-skill guys who show excellent passing traits, but they generate a lot of one-and-done offense and struggle to keep possession alive at times. lots of rush generation but not much else.

that's why jenner in particular was a very bad fit with them imo. good player but not a play connector or gifted passer. lots of low-danger shots from distance on the rush.

imo they should look to add two top-six wingers this summer who can fill that type of role. nyquist and duchene are both great UFA targets for that, boeser has a lot of that in his game, too. but the trade market looks better, with mccann and tuch standing out as top targets.
 
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