The Michigan freshman won the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s top hockey player

TAMPA, Fla. – Brendan Morrison and Kevin Porter now have company in Michigan’s hockey hobby.

On Friday, freshman Adam Fantilli became the third player in Wolverines history to win the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to college hockey’s top player.

The NCAA’s leading scorer with 65 points (30 goals, 35 assists) received the award in front of fans, family, coaches and teammates at Sparkman Wharf in Tampa, Fla., beating Minnesota freshman forward Logan Cooley and sophomore forward Matthew Knies, both playing in the national championship game Saturday night Boston University on Thursday 6-2 in Tampa, the site of the Frozen Four.

Fantilli, widely projected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, just finished one of the best seasons for a recent freshman. In 36 games this season, he had at least one point in 33 of them, including a goal in Thursday’s 5-2 semifinal loss to Quinnipiac. He also had 19 multi-point performances.

He’s a generational talent, freshman and linemate Gavin Brindley said. I’ve been playing against him since I was 10 years old. We’ve had a lot of fights growing up. Playing in the same team now, it’s pretty special, and now on the same line. He’s in my dorm watching hockey every night after practice. He has grown so much as a person too, I guess since the beginning of the year, just maturing. His game, it’s obviously something special to watch. He is a professional with a frame and what he can do there.

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Michigan’s hockey program has produced dozens of NHL players since Hobey Baker was first honored in 1981, but only Morrison in 1997 and Porter in 2008 have previously claimed college hockey’s top individual award. Fantilli is just the third freshman to win it, joining Hall of Famer Paul Kariya in 1993 and Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel in 2015.

The college hockey world watched as Fantill dominated this season, helping lead Michigan to a 26-12-3 record and the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Without him this season, the Wolverines went 2-3.

His brother Luca Fantilli, the team’s freshman defenseman, has been watching the work he does behind the scenes for years.

“I’ve never seen anything like what he’s doing,” Luca said last month. It’s actually amazing. We joke on the bench the whole time when he goes out and rips it off the blue line and it goes perfectly into the top corner. It’s like, what is this guy? What is he doing? We were just trying to find out how well he is doing.

Seriously, it’s no surprise. It’s not a coincidence. I have never seen a man so dedicated to his game and habits on and off the ice. He definitely worked for what he gets and to me it just pays off for him.

Along with the ice game, strength of character is one of the criteria that the selection board takes into account when voting. Although Fantilli has racked up 67 penalty minutes this season, Naurato explained Wednesday why he believes Fantillis’ character is one of his most important attributes.

Topher Scott (Michigan director of hockey operations) brought his daughter out to skate the other day, Naurato said Wednesday. She’s 6 years old, and a couple of guys, Adam being one of them, go and hang out with their daughter for 15 minutes on the ice. I have an 8 and 6 year old and they have been swarming around. These guys have all been amazing to them. That’s the culture these guys have created. I think that’s a credit to them, and Adams is part of that. He doesn’t want to be treated like a top draft pick or think he’s above it. They’re just teammates and buddies and enjoying the ride.

The Wolverines’ run in the NCAA Tournament ended with a loss to Quinnipiac on Thursday, and Fantilli wanted to focus on the team after the game rather than his individual performance this season. Fantilli was not on the team last season, but Michigan also lost in the semifinals. It is 1-7 in the national semifinals since its last title in 1998.

I’m not going to lie, it’s really hard not to focus only on this, Fantilli said in the locker room after the game. Yeah, it’s all great (personal achievements). Everything that happened was great. After all, it’s a bit awful to be out this early.

After winning the award on Friday, he was asked about his future at Michigan and the factors that could determine whether he returns for his sophomore year or turns pro after being drafted in June.