Getting any of the top 4 (mich, Fantilli, Bedard and Carlssson) would be such a huge step forward for us,
These 2 things weren't alike on draft day, Kucherov took a while to develop and wasn't considered "generational" or even really close to it on draft day....well because he wasn't.
It still doesn't make it a good comparison as no one ahs a crystal ball and I'd take Michov 10 times out of 10 over Fantilli in the 23 draft but that doesn't really mean anything either as development isn't linear and not all "sure things" pan out as sure as they seem.
Agreed, taking Michkov out of the conversation due to the extraneous circumstances, Carlsson for me is the clear #2 pick in this draft. Talent wise I do think it’s Bedard and Michkov, and then a pretty large drop off, although Carlsson has closed that gap quite a bit. To me there’s no question he’s better now, and has a much more protectable game than Fantilli. Personally, I struggle to see Fantilli as a successful NHL’er.
I said what I said lol I don’t think Fantilli will ever be a good checker at the NHL level and I personally don’t think he thinks the game well enough to ever be a good top 6 forward. I think he’ll struggle to translate his game to the pro game. He isn’t the first and won’t be the last player who had impressive physical tools that struggled to put it together. He’s a really good skater and has impressive 1 on 1 skills, but he doesn’t make a ton of plays or create for his linemates, his shot isn’t anything spectacular nor is a consistent shooting threat on the ice, he struggles to play a cycle game and wear D down that way. He’s not very creative or crafty with the puck either. He has a ton of hype because he destroyed some of the worst D1 teams in the entire ncaa, equivalent in talent to a middle of the road CIS team in Canada. This isn’t based off of 1 game and 3 pre tournament games, I’ve been watching him since he played up a year with the Toronto redwings. I hope he proves me wrong but I personally don’t see it with him.
It’s not me underrating him, I see the tools he has. But tons of prospects get drafted high and never materialize, it isn’t dumb to predict that with Fantilli. He’s a classic example of all tools and limited toolbox, and that is something that can’t be taught. He’s had this issue for years now, but luckily for his sake, he’s always been on very good teams surrounded by a lot of quality talent that the faults don’t get exposed. I think he’s a good prospect in the sense he has very good athleticism and is a top notch skater, but besides that, I think he’s very average in comparison to other elite prospects.
Teams want good players so of course he will play on great teams. The exemption to that will be in the NHL.
You do realize only Jack Eichel has produced similarly as an undrafted NCAA player, right?
Production-wise he's actually closer to Parise's draft season now than Eichel's.
You’re the one that claimed his production is closer to parise than an eichel
this is not necessarily an accurate representation of skill. Eichel was by far a more dominant player and his strength of schedule was undeniably better in those first 16 games with a way worse supporting cast.
Production wise sure but Eichel did it with a dog s*** team and was overall way more dominant and its not really a debate.
