Young sensation Adam Fantilli is already setting the table for his possible selection by the Canadiens

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Jeff Drouin
September 24, 2022 (9:10)

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Although the 2022-2023 NHL season has yet to begin, some Canadiens fans are already looking ahead to the 2023 draft.

With most experts expecting Martin St. Louis' men to finish at the bottom of the standings, the chances of Kent Hughes speaking early in the first round are very good.

While the 2022 draft wasn't unanimous about which prospects would come out of the top three, the story may be quite different in 2023 with Connor Bedard and Matvei Michkov being considered the top two prospects, for now, in the 2023 draft.

But, as Charles-Alexis Brisebois of Danslescoulisses.com reports, there will be another player to watch out for, one Adam Fantilli.

The center had a stellar season with the Chicago Steel in the USHL in 2021-2022 with 74 points, including 37 goals in 54 games. Although Fantilli is considered the third best prospect in the 2023 draft, he is confident that he will be drafted at the very top of the draft.

That's what he told TVA Sports reporter Nicolas Cloutier in a phone interview and he also mentioned that being potentially selected behind Bedard and Mitchkov bothers him a bit.

"Yes, it bothers me. I want to be the best. If you ask me if I think I have a chance to be drafted at the very top, I think I do. I can be that player.

Bedard and Michkov are two very special players. Being picked behind them wouldn't make me too mad in a way. But I think I can give them a run for their money."

You can already see what kind of wood the young prospect is made of, who by the way, missed the 2022 draft by less than a month, being born on October 12, 2004.

But what might interest Canadiens fans is that Fantilli knows Cole Caufield very well, having trained with him over the summer. And when Cloutier mentioned that the Habs could very well draft at the top of the draft, Fantilli seemed surprised that the team could finish at the bottom, but he would be very happy to end up in Montreal.

"If you tell me that Montreal could be there, it could definitely be cool. If I had the chance to end up (and be drafted) in Montreal, it would actually be very pleasant."

Even though the season hasn't started yet, the quality of the 2023 draft prospects can be dreamy, and should the Habs finish in the bottom half of the NHL standings again, Kent Hughes could potentially get his hands on a player of exceptional quality next summer.

Will that player be Adam Fantilli? To be continued, but he would certainly be a starter!