Spencer_12

The more I read about Fantilli the more I don’t see how the Ducks pass on him. His floor seems to be what Beniers is now, and his ceiling is an elite #1C. Evaluators seem to think he has a strong chance at reaching that. Even if take the middle point between where Beniers is now, and a 100 point center, how in the world do you pass on that? Especially when the package this comes in is exactly what the Ducks need. They need someone with size who plays with a crazy energy and physical edge. If you look at Carlsson, he has barely even played center. Even if you think he’s got a smaller chance at being more elite than Fantilli (I’m talking about the scouts who put him #2, which seems to be a minority), he doesn’t seem to have the floor of Fantilli and he doesn’t have the same game - the exact kind of game we are missing. As for Fantilli vs a hypothetical Michkov in the above scenario, I still take Fantilli. Even if Michkov ends up putting up more points than Fantilli, all the other things Fantilli brings is really valuable.

The other thing I wondered about was the fact that the athletic purposely sought out scouts from playoff teams so as to not get opinions from scouts who may have been considering drafting them. Sounds good in theory, but I would think those teams wouldn’t have spend resources having their scouts analyzing those two players to the extent a lottery team’s scouts did. Which is to say, how well do these 4 scouts actually know Fantilli/Carlsson compared to say someone like Madden and our scouts?

I just read the article and I think I see how they came to their conclusions even if they didn’t spell it out. Those 4 seem to be in love with Carlsson’s tools (skill), and the way he thinks/sees the game. Since amateur scouts’ jobs are to project they see that package with that frame and think about what he could be. One of the scouts even admitted that Fantilli is the better player right now. When they talk about Fantilli, these scouts used language that was more results based. They see a guy who skates well and competes like crazy, and that’s why he was a good as he was. To them, getting results that way isn’t as impressive as the ceiling Carlsson can hit with his tools. One of the scouts said something like, “You want to reward Fantilli by putting him at #2 based on the year he had.” Again, that’s results-based language versus the projection-based language they used for Carlsson. In addition, one of the scouts was unsure of Fantilli remaining at center. I guess it just comes down to how these 4 scouts evaluate prospects. Maybe these 4 just care more about the aspects Carlsson has going for him, and put less value to the ones Fantilli has.

If Carlsson is the pick he’ll play one more year in Sweden. If it’s Fantilli, I wouldn’t mind him starting the season in San Diego unless he really shows he’s ready by dominating at the World’s and in preseason. Zegras played about 20 games in the AHL, and McTavish would have played much more there if he wasn’t forced to go back to junior. San Diego should have Pastujov, Gaucher, Zellweger, and Mintyukov as fresh blood there. It would be nice to see them not being a dumpster fire, and it wouldn’t hurt to see Fantilli dominate that level for around 15 games. But again, that’s assuming he’s not already better than what Zegras and McTavish were when they got their 1st cup of coffee. We’ll see.

Bill Muckalt, University of Michigan associate head coach In his six seasons behind the Wolverines bench, Bill Muckalt has coached names like Power, Luke and Quinn Hughes, Matty Beniers, and Kent Johnson. But he’ll tell you without blinking that he has “never seen a freshman have the impact at the collegiate level that (Adam) has had.” He uses only one word to describe what he witnessed this year: “Historic.” He also believes he’d be the consensus No. 1 pick in just about any draft. “Whoever drafts him is getting a first overall-type player,” Muckalt said. “What he has done for us this year has been incredible to watch to be honest.” He lauds the way he became a go-to faceoff guy and penalty killer as the season progressed. He can tell you about all the season-saving plays Adam made in Michigan’s run to the Frozen Four, always against the toughest matchups. But what really makes him different, Muckalt insists, is this: “He can play it in the back alley and he can play it in the front yard.” “He can play the game any way you want to play it,” Muckalt said. “And he makes plays while doing it. Flat out. He’s a special player. He’s special.” Muckalt’s not shy about his belief in Adam’s NHL readiness, either. “This guy is ready to go in and contribute,” Muckalt said. “He might be ahead of where Matty Beniers was after his sophomore season and (Beniers is) going to win the Calder Trophy.” —————-———————————————————The article is terrific at showing his work ethic and the type of person he is, but I really liked this part. Can’t wait for him to be a Duck.

lol I just remembered this and had to go back to find it. This was during a stretch when the Ducks picked up 10 points in 7 games and were playing well (eventually it became 16 points in 13 games before we really started losing again). Things were looking realllllllllly bad. Depressing reality was hitting us in the face. But then a miracle happened! We got some injuries/Terry baby on the way, and a beautiful 13 game losing streak to end the season. Then a little lottery luck. Welcome home Fantilli. Welcome home.

I think we’ll eventually have that 3-headed monster… with Zegras on the wing. I’m not star level high on Gaucher, but I’m feeling like he’s going to be the perfect #3 center for us. Maybe in a good year he’ll crack 50 points, but he’s going to dominate in other areas of the game. With Fantilli, McTavish, Gaucher down the middle, and Zegras and Terry on the wings the Ducks are going to be scary. And that’s not even counting 2 more top 6 wingers we’ll have either through signing/trade, or draft development (here’s hoping Perreault finds his game and/or Pastujov figures out the pro game). Add in hopefully hitting on a few of our defensive prospects… look out league. We’re coming.

I’ll just go top 4 is Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson, and Smith. Michkov drops to #8 (Washington).

lol this just reminded me of what drove me fraking nuts about Fantilli. During the Michigan games I watched he was ALWAYS banging his stick on the ice whenever he wanted someone to pass him the puck. It was obnoxious. Seeing him do it for Canada too… It’s ok to do it once in a blue moon but he does it soooooo much. He better dial that Dehydrated Donkey Dung back in the pros.

I’d consider it but wouldn’t do it. Mainly because our defensive pipeline is so stacked. If there was a hotshot winger prospect at Jiricek’s level Columbus was willing to trade just for one extra spot in the draft then that becomes harder. To me it would depend on how far of a gap the Ducks believe exists between Fantilli and Carlsson/Smith. Some think there’s a decent gap, others not so much.

Stock is relative to the draft as a whole. If Fantilli was in the draft last year he’d be talked about like those other players were. I’d rather pay more attention to what the players actually did in their respective leagues, and to that end Fantilli compares very well to those 3.

From the last 10, I’m seeing 5 he’s absolutely #1 in. One he is for sure not (McDavid). One probably not (Ekblad - at the time people were saying he would 100% be a franchise type #1 defenseman and those guys are more rare than forwards). Then there’s 3 tossups: MacKinnon, Matthews, and Hughes. I think he goes over Hughes. Maybe not Matthews. Not sure on Mackinnon. But yeah, the fact that there’s only 2 times in the last 10 years he for sure wouldn’t is pretty incredible. We are very fortunate to win the #2 pick. That said… you can also make the argument Carlsson would be #1 over some of those other guys too. So Columbus shouldn’t feel too bad either.

hoooooooooo close for the Ducks too.

There’s this too. Canucks came so close to getting Bedard. Not sure if we were even in the ballpark if we didn’t have any 4-5-9 combos.

Here’s video of the actual draft being carried out. It’s a shame they don’t just televise it like this. Skip to 13:10 to see the Ducks winning pick #2.

I’d be shocked rather than mad. It would be wrong to say I know better than people who do this for a living, so after the initial shock I’d just think that the Ducks better be right.

Now I hope the plan/hope is to have McTavish and Fantilli as our top 2 centers, and Zegras is on board with becoming one of the best wingers in the league. There’s no reason he can’t turn into Patrick Kane-like player with the way Kane was able to carry the puck and make plays affecting the game on the wing. Lessen his defensive responsibility, forget about faceoffs (he’s been 40% on them so far in his career, which is terrible), and just go cook.

That’s probably true because that’s how I was feeling. When it slipped out that Columbus was #3 I paused for a second like we all did, but then thought, “no way…. We just got Fantilli!!!!!!” Obviously Bedard would be better, but Fantilli is such an amazing get. I truly never believed the Ducks were going to be able to tank hard enough to get him, and then be lucky enough to stay at/move up to #2. As Ducks fans, we’ll probably always feel a little like we missed out as we watch Bedard’s career, but my prediction is we won’t feel it nearly as much as we do with Crosby/Ryan. Fantilli is going to be that good for us.

Absolutely not. And there’s 0 chance Fantilli plays more than 1 more season in college. Frankly, I’d give it a 60% chance he’s in the NHL next season. He could play in the AHL too.

Yes, there’s two lotteries. You can’t fall into #2, you have to win it. Well, there’s one scenario where #1 can fall to #2 without winning it, but it’s really out there and didn’t happen this time.

Unfortunately, I believe so. Though, I don’t really anticipate the Ducks being so bad for so long that they will be hoping for a top 2 pick more than 1 more time over the next 4 years. Also, Fantilli would be a #1 overall pick many years so it’s not so bad.

Production error. Since it’s known ahead of time I think they had Weekes record those lines where he says something after each pick is announced ahead of time. Whoever was editing the show accidentally put it in before the commercial break. Either that, or he was looking at his script and forgot about the commercial break, but the flow of the show suggests the former to me.

We got Fantilli!! Never thought that was going to be possible.

Wouldn’t be the worst outcome with SJ being pushed out of the top 4.

This. Many Ducks fans weren’t even watching the games towards the end of the season. We put our reps in. My god those final weeks were horrible to watch seeing if we were going to screw the whole season up. That was true nervous times. What a rollercoaster that was, and what an amazing night the final game of the season against the Kings was. I have no nervousness today. There’s anticipation for the hail mary chance at Bedard, but our work is done and it’s a job well done no matter how it pans out.