Personally, my bar for Adam Fantilli’s rookie season was high. I thought he would topple about every franchise rookie record. He was never able to put together long stretches of offensive contribution over the course of the season. Then again, point me to someone on the team who didn’t experience the same problem.
To truly evaluate his season, you need to take a deeper look at the numbers. He only averaged 12:31 per game at 5v5. That was good for 7th among the forward group. In terms of points per 60 at 5v5, he was 2nd on the team, behind only Chinakhov. In fact, his points per 60 at 5v5 were 95th best in the league, ahead of Connor Bedard, Jack Hughes, Dylan Larkin, and many others. That was despite sharing large amounts of ice time with bottom-six forwards like Emil Bemstrom and Justin Danforth.
Fantilli was also held back by the Blue Jackets’ abysmal power play. Connor Bedard tallied 22 power play points over the course of the season – Brock Faber, a Calder finalist, had 16. How many did Fantilli have? A whopping 3.
There’s another dimension somewhere where Fantilli challenged Bedard for the Calder. If he had played for a better-coached team with a competent power play, along with playing a full season, his point totals could have looked a lot different. Unfortunately, he had to play the cards he was dealt. Fortunately, the sky is still the limit for him.
2023-24 Stats
Games: 49
Goals: 12
Assists: 15
Points: 27
Plus/Minus: -21
PIM: 16
5v5 Corsi%: 46.48
5v5 Fenwick%: 44.72
Off Zone Start %: 70.66
Contract
Fantilli’s ELC runs through 2025-26 and has a cap hit of $950,000. He’s eligible for up to a $3.2m performance bonus in each season.
High Point
His first and only three-point game came against the Islanders on December 7th. One of his two goals included a between-the-legs pass and a one-timer after a nice passing play.
Low Point
Fantilli suffered a cut on his leg on January 28th that sidelined him for the rest of the season. At first, there was hope that maybe he would return before the season ended, but unfortunately, he did not.
Report Card
A–
This was a tough grade. Fantilli, like many others on the team, was jerked around the lineup quite a bit. His point totals weren’t impressive, but he did well with what he was given. If he had seen more consistent top-six minutes with top-six teammates, as well as an opportunity to play on a competent power play, his season would have gotten a lot more attention.