The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
8 — Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Adam Fantilli’s hockey journey worked toward development, not 
comfort

On a long car ride from Chicago to 
his home in Nobleton, Ontario, Adam 
Fantilli’s family made a pit stop — a 
detour years in the making.
Stopping in Ann Arbor to visit 
the Michigan hockey program — 
which his older brother, Luca, had 
committed to a few months prior — 
Fantilli got an up close look at one of 
the many options for his future. As 
one of the top prospects for the 2023 
NHL Draft, he had the opportunity 
to play anywhere he wanted, but 
Fantilli’s focus was to pick a home that 
would help him grow the most as a 
hockey player.
“I’m a late birthday,” Fantilli told 
The Daily. “So I thought playing three 
years of major junior before being 
even eligible (for the NHL Draft) was 
not really the way I wanted to take 
things because it’s hard to make the 
NHL as an 18-year-old.”
That meant that Fantilli wouldn’t 
immediately sign a major junior 
contract like so many other top 
Canadian peers had done — he needed 
another path.
And in the quest to find the right 
one, he found overlap with his 
brother. From playing for Kimball 
Union Academy in New Hampshire 
to the United States Hockey League’s 
Chicago Steel, the Fantilli brothers 
played side by side.
But their journey wasn’t scripted 
like that. They never planned to don 

the same jersey each night — one with 
their first initial squeezed ahead of 
their last name. It just so happened 
that the same programs filled each 
brother’s separate needs — needs that 
led both brothers to the Michigan 
hockey team. 
***
Adam’s decision to choose the 
NCAA came quickly once he saw Ann 
Arbor. He liked what he heard from 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson, and 
made his commitment shortly after 
the visit.
But that decision went against the 
grain of everything a Canadian hockey 
player hears growing up. For decades, 
most top Canadian junior players have 
chosen to play in Canadian major 
juniors leagues. Rarely have Canada’s 
best young players taken the NCAA 
route. 
Of the top 10 Canadians picked in 
the past 10 NHL drafts, just 11 played 
college hockey — and that includes 
last year’s picks Owen Power and 
Kent Johnson, both of whom did 
so at Michigan. Top Canadians in 
college hockey continues to be a rare 
occurrence.
But that didn’t distract Adam — and 
Luca — from taking that option.
“They always said they wanted to 
pursue hockey, so we felt it was always 
best for them to keep all their options 
open,” Adam’s father, Giuliano, said. 
“And we made sure that their marks 
were always really good, Adam always 
took extra courses in the summer to 
get ahead.The NCAA was always an 
option from day one.”

Keeping options open meant that 
even though he was one of the premier 
prospects in his age range, Adam 
couldn’t play major junior hockey 
because it would take away his NCAA 
eligibility. He continued the common 
development route in his local AAA 
league, the Greater Toronto Hockey 
League’s U16 league, but he needed to 
make sure his next hockey destination 
didn’t shut any doors.
Luckily, his brother had already 
found it. Luca had gone to the States 
to play for Kimball Union Academy, 
and he loved the program. After 
visiting, Adam did too, in addition to 
being close to his brother. So Adam 
made a decision that baffled some of 
his Toronto neighbors. He packed his 
bags and joined Luca to play American 
prep school hockey.
“We’ve always kept their hockey 
careers separate,” Giuliano said. “… 
When (Adam) went to visit his brother 
down south, he missed him. And then 
he saw the caliber of play down there, 
which we aren’t normally exposed to 
up here in Toronto, and he was like, 
‘Wow, this would be a great option for 
me.’ ”
Playing with Luca was just the 
icing on the cake, as their father 
described it.
But beyond that, the experience 
provided plenty of benefits. Playing for 
former Maine coach Tim Whitehead 
— who won 250 games behind the 
Black Bears’ bench — both Fantilli 
brothers 
sharpened 
their 
skills 
against top American competition. 
Both thrived playing for the Wildcats, 

KATE HUA/Daily

and soon other junior programs 
pursued them.
After he honed his game against 
a higher level of competition, Adam 
decided to push himself even harder, 
and that took him to one of the best 
prospect development programs in 
America: the United States Hockey 
League’s Chicago Steel — yet another 
team that his brother already played 
for.
“It kind of happened by fluke,” 
Giuliano said. “… If it was a better spot 
for Adam somewhere else, he would 
have definitely done it. He wasn’t 
going somewhere because of his 
brother, that’s for sure.”
Chicago fit Adam’s needs perfectly. 
It allowed him to play other elite 
junior players without closing off a 
path to college hockey. In fact, that 
was the path that almost every one 
of the brothers’ teammates took, 
committing to an NCAA school. By 
not committing to a major junior 
program, Adam found himself in a 
college hockey feeder system.
Still, major junior hockey was 
never fully off Adam’s radar. The 
USHL simply offered an opportunity 
to play tougher competition without 
jeopardizing his NCAA eligibility. As 
a top prospect with his pick of junior 

programs to play for, he prioritized 
keeping his options open.
“It’s not like they’re closing the door 
on the OHL or the Western League or 
Quebec,” Chicago Steel coach Brock 
Sheahan said. “That is still an option 
for them. But if you go the other route, 
you’ve closed off college.”
So Adam skated for Chicago 
alongside his brother and Michigan-
committed 
forward 
Mackie 
Samoskevich.
But back home in Canada, some 
of his neighbors questioned Adam’s 
decision. Sheahan noted that Adam 
received hate mail for his decision, and 
Giuliano fielded plenty of questions 
about why Adam was playing in the 
States.
“Other people just have Canadian 
Major Junior (in mind), that’s all they 
want you to do,” Giuliano said. “They 
want you to stay in Canada and play 
junior hockey, and they think it’s the 
best route. And it is a great route for a 
lot of kids. 
“When people actually ask, and 
we give an explanation on why we’re 
doing what we do and we take Adam’s 
birthday into account I think they 
understand a little bit more.”

ICE HOCKEY

CONNOR EAREGOOD 
Summer Managing Sports Editor

Photos courtesy of Chicago Steel

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