2023 NHL Draft: Adam Fantilli, Gavin Brindley taken by same team in final mock
Michigan hockey is expected to be represented early in the 2023 NHL Draft, headlined by Hobey Baker winner Adam Fantilli. In any draft that does not feature a generational talent like Connor Bedard, Fantilli might have had a case to be the No. 1 overall pick.
Fantilli earned Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year honors, first-team All-America, Big 10 Tournament MVP, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, College Hockey News and USCHO Player of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten, Big Ten All-Rookie Team and NCAA All-Regional Team honors in his first season. He had 65 points this season at Michigan with 30 goals and 35 assists on the year.
In the final mock draft released from The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, Fantilli follows Bedard as the No. 2 overall pick in the draft to the Anaheim Ducks.
“The belief is that Fantilli remains the frontrunner to go second to the Ducks, with Leo Carlsson a bigger part of the conversation than the rest of their peers,” he writes. “But almost all of what I’ve turned up, combined with what the Ducks have drafted in recent years and are trying to build, has still brought me back to Fantilli. The speed. The competitiveness. The athleticism and physical frame. Those all advantage Fantilli and there are pieces of each of them in recent first-round picks used on centres Mason McTavish and Nathan Gaucher. Building around that identity down the middle and adding a player in Fantilli who also has first-line potential offensively with that mix, just makes a lot of sense.”
Fellow Michigan forward Gavin Brindley could find his way into the first round, but slid to No. 33 in Wheeler’s projection, making him the top pick of the second round. It would also send him to the Anaheim Ducks, joining his Michigan teammate Fantilli.
“The Ducks took two teammates last year when they drafted Tristan Luneau and Noah Warren from the Gatineau Olympiques. After taking Fantilli in the first, they now go back to the Wolverines to take Brindley, a competitor and high-end skater who Fantilli has called the best teammate he’s ever had.”
Brindley had 38 points last season at Michigan with 12 goals and 26 assists.
The 2023 NHL Draft starts at 7 p.m. ET from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Round 1 airs on ESPN on Wednesday night, while rounds two through seven will be on NHL Network and ESPN+ on Thursday at 11 a.m.
