I think comparing Fantilli to Eichel is overdoing it.
Eichel is an MVP candidate for Vegas. He was an MVP candidate the last season he wasn't injured for Buffalo. When healthy, which hasn't been too often the last few years, he's a top 10 player in the NHL.
I do not see that potential from Fantilli. I compare him to Beniers, who is turning into a very good NHL center. However, watching Beniers you see a player who lacks a little pop in his offensive skillset. Not really the type of player you look at as the guy you go to late in a game when you need a play. I liked to compare Beniers to Larkin, and if you want to compare Fantilli to Beniers, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to then look at Larkin for Fantilli.
Larkin is a very good player. 60 points per 82 games for his career, very fast, good defensively. He's a 1C, but he's not one of the elite 1C's. I don't think Beniers will be that, and I don't think Fantilli will be that either.
With Bedard and Michkov, if these guys hit their ceilings, they are 100 point players in their primes. And while you can say they are small, I don't think they are completely one-way players either.
Bedard is really strong on FO's for a 17 year old in the WHL. His listed height/weight also isn't as concerning as it was maybe a year or two ago. You'd be concerned about if a 5'9 165 pound guy can play center in the NHL. 5'10 185 is a different story. I also think the defensive effort Bedard plays with is better right now than Hughes did at the same age.
I could be wrong, but doesn't Michkov kill penalties for the SKA farm teams? He's also grown the last few years. Everyone talks about him being small, but he's 5'10. Thats not that small for a winger. He needs to get stronger, but he has years before he'll reach the NHL. With his hockey sense, I'm not predicting against his defensive ability once he's in his mid 20's. If you get someone with a real ethic to how they coach, they'll demand him to be a two-way player that plays a good defensive game as opposed to being happy with 60 power play points and not caring about the rest.
Don't overthink it and take the guy who you view as safer due to size/skating when the reasonable upside of the other selections is that much higher. If you're picking between players like Yager or Benson and Fantilli who don't have such higher upside or any higher upside, the size/skating argument isn't a bad one, but picking Fantilli over Bedard/Michkov could put you in a position where you're wondering why you have a caveman mentality and picked the 60 point 1B center over a perennial 100 point player who is simply a lot better at hockey.
