It was a banner year for Wolverines center Adam Fantilli and he was rewarded for his efforts on Friday by winning the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in the NCAA. He beat out Golden Gophers forwards Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies.
Fantilli’s freshman year was nothing short of dominant with Michigan. The 18-year-old leads the NCAA in scoring this season with 30 goals and 35 assists in 36 games; he collected at least a point in all but three of his appearances. That also helped him take home National Rookie of the Year honors earlier today. Fantilli also suited up at the World Juniors for Canada where he picked up five points in seven contests. His performance this season has him as the consensus second-overall selection in the upcoming draft in June.
Cooley was the third-overall pick by the Coyotes last summer and had a dominant freshman year, notching 22 goals and 38 assists in just 38 games for the University of Minnesota with one more contest to come tomorrow in the championship game. That puts him second in college scoring this season behind only Fantilli. Cooley also dominated at the World Juniors with seven goals and seven assists in just seven games and while that had no bearing on the voting for this award, the Coyotes have to be thrilled with the progression of their top prospect. It’s possible that he’s a one-and-done player with a decision on that front to come likely early next week.
Knies, a second-round pick of the Maple Leafs back in 2021, has been one of the more prominent power forwards at the NCAA level while often playing alongside Cooley on the Golden Gophers. The 20-year-old has 21 goals and 21 assists in 39 games this season, good for a tie for 15th in NCAA scoring, and can add to those totals tomorrow against Quinnipiac. It’s widely expected that he will turn pro after Saturday’s championship game with his entry-level deal likely to begin immediately, giving Toronto a bit of extra depth heading into the first round against Tampa Bay later this month.
Fantilli becomes the third Wolverine to win the award since it was first handed out in 1981, joining former NHL players Brendan Morrison (1997) and Kevin Porter (2008).
Last year’s winner of the award was goaltender Dryden McKay. An undrafted free agent, McKay eventually signed a two-year AHL deal with Toronto. A full history of Hobey Baker Award winners can be found here.
Anyone think there’s a chance he goes ahead of bedard?
Not me.
I hear people on message boards say that, but I have yet to see an actual ranking by a professional writer rank Fantilli over Bedard, and I’ve read a few dozen. There’s not a real flaw in Bedard’s game, and he’s got an NHL quality shot….as in Pastrnak, or even Ovechkin.
People saying Fantilli goes before Bedard are just being contrarians.