The nation’s top scorer has been given the nation’s top award.
University of Michigan forward Adam Fantilli has been awarded the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in men’s NCAA hockey action for the 2022-23 season.
The Hobey Baker is awarded to the most outstanding NCAA player each year. Dryden McKay, currently with the Newfound Growlers of the ECHL, won the award last year after his senior campaign with Minnesota State. Other notable winners include Cole Caufield (2021), Cale Makar (2019), Jack Eichel (2015), Johnny Gaudreau (2014) and Ryan Miller (2001).
The honor comes a day after Fantilli and his Wolverines teammates were eliminated from the Frozen Four by the No. 2 seed Quinnipiac Bobcats.
Fantilli, 18, beat out Minnesota’s Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes) and Matthew Knies (Toronto Maple Leafs) for the Hobey Baker.
Fantilli finished the season with a league-leading 65 points, having just fallen into the 30-goal club after scoring in the Frozen Four semifinal. Among other awards, Fantilli took home the Tim Taylor award as the nation’s top freshman.
No U-19 player has eclipsed Fantilli’s 1.81 points-per-game average in the 21st century, with Jack Eichel’s 1.78 output in 2014-15 with Boston University being the closest candidate.
Fantilli also helped Canada win gold at the 2023 World Junior Championship in a bottom-six role, recording five points in seven games. Before he went the college route, Fantilli put up 110 points in two years with the USHL’s Chicago Steel, winning the Clark Cup title and the playoff MVP award in 2021.
The 6-foot-2 center is considered to be the second-best prospect for the 2023 NHL Draft behind Connor Bedard thanks to his mix of physicality, speed and pure skill. Fantilli is a strong forward with a natural scoring ability. Few players at the college level can move and dominate physically like he does, and was the driving force behind any line he played with Michigan.
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