Je suis donc très confus par Adam Fantilli et le concept du sens du hockey. Fantilli est grand, fort, patine comme le vent et possède de nombreuses compétences. C’est du moins ce que disent tous les rapports de reconnaissance que j’ai lus. D’un autre côté, j’ai lu plusieurs rapports de dépistage qui remettaient en question son intelligence ou son sens du hockey. J’ai également lu que c’était la principale raison pour laquelle Anaheim ne l’avait pas choisi au deuxième rang du repêchage, de sorte qu’ils ont choisi Carlsson à la place. Un autre exemple, Corey Pronman a déclaré que l’intelligence de Michkov en matière de hockey est bien en avance sur celle de Fantilli ( [https://theathletic.com/4638379/2023/06/27/nhl-draft-prospects-michkov-fantilli-carlsson-debate/](https://theathletic.com/4638379/2023/06/27/nhl-draft-prospects-michkov-fantilli-carlsson-debate/) ). Cependant, les rapports de dépistage qui remettent en question l’intelligence de Fantilli au hockey classent également Fantilli au-dessus de Carlsson (sinon la totalité). Les rapports de dépistage semblent tous croire que ses diverses compétences et son niveau de compétition compenseront son manque d’intelligence au hockey pour le placer au-dessus de Carlsson. S’il s’avère que Fantilli n’a vraiment pas une grande intelligence au hockey, je suppose que le fait qu’il ait remporté le prix Hobey Baker est simplement dû au fait qu’il utilise ses traits physiques et ses compétences pour faire fi d’une ligue de niveau inférieur. Pourra-t-il récidiver dans une ligue plus relevée où les joueurs sont meilleurs ? Mes questions sont donc les suivantes : 1. Pourquoi les dépisteurs sont-ils si certains que le prétendu manque relatif d’intelligence du hockey de Fantilli ne l’empêchera pas d’être une star ? 2. Quels exemples existe-t-il dans la LNH moderne de joueurs qui manquent d’intelligence au hockey mais qui prospèrent néanmoins en tant que stars ?
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PakG1
22 Comments
The problem is that if you ask 20 scouts to define hockey sense, you’ll get 19 different answers. Its something that is hard to define.
This draft just has a lot of hockey iq in bedard, michkov and Carlsson. I think at worst, fantilli is a prime Jeff carter. All the tools and smooth widdit.
Pronman is a stooge
It’s hard to say someone is really awful in hockey sense but is still a star because if they’re a star, they’re probably Uber talented to make up for it.
I would say Alex Tuch is a player that doesn’t lack hockey sense, but has every other tool in the kit and would probably be a top 20 forward if he was just a bit more adept in his hockey IQ
The reality is that these guys are all just guessing. Wait until the kid plays for a few years in the NHL.
In watching his one season at Michigan, his « hockey intelligence » knock was that he took many stupid penalties. Some of the penalties he took at the NCAA level will not be penalties in the NHL. He’ll be fine.
Taylor hall is the player that comes to mind that has had quite a bit of success with relatively low hockey sense.
Think the main issue with evaluating hockey sense at a level beneath the NHL is that the top players have so much more time and space to work with than they would at the NHL level. When that time and space gets condensed and decisions need to be made quicker, who knows how they’ll handle it. Hockey IQ isn’t just being creative, it’s about how quickly you’re able to process what’s happening on the ice and reacting in an instant accordingly. I don’t think it’s as simple as physically dominant players being able to run over weaker competition, but that same thing not applying to top prospects that play a more cerebral game as well.
Hockey sense is unbelievably important, but it always gives me pause when 18 year olds get talked up as being hockey geniuses in place of being great skaters or having a great shot or whatever. There’s aways a “Bergeron” in every draft that supposedly thinks the game at such a high level, when Bergeron himself wasn’t “Bergeron” as a teenager.
Look at Lafreniere, at draft time he was by all accounts a player whose exceptional hockey IQ could overcome modest physical gifts, but we’ve seen how well that’s worked so far in the NHL.
Some would PK Subban was an example of this
People are seriously underrating NCAA hockey. In recent years, you’ve had young players like Knies and Makar step up on NHL playoff teams immediately after leaving the NCAA tournament. The ncaa average ages are ~21-22 years old. It’s also not like fantilli was playing against 17 year olds like the CHL.
I think the “hockey intelligence” is more in reference to him being a goal scorer over a playmaker. The ducks needed a scorer, this pick is still so crazy to me.
Hopefully IQ better than Jake Virtanen 😞
I feel like Tyler Myers has terrible hockey IQ. He’s not thriving, but he’s way more valued by teams than I think he should be and I’m always confused when teams express a desire to sign him.
Because some scouting is reporting him in comparison of the entire draft
Others are reporting him to scale with the top 10 of the draft.
As amazing as he is, he has very little knowledge compared to players like Bedard, Carlsson, Smith, or even arguably someone like Benson. His strength is in his skill, not his hockey IQ which is why he is rated so low compared to the other top 10 players.
I think the best way to sum up hockey iq is “are they a good decision maker or not”
That’s probably a technical way of saying, “The kid can play the hell out of the game but he doesn’t play well with others.”
Fantilli is the new Jake Virtanen. (Yes, yes. Ignore the off-ice stuff.)
Size, speed, good shot. But he couldn’t really understand the flow of the game.
We haven’t even seen him play in the NHL yet.. who tf knows
He’s a great locker room guy and a great player and a hard worker. I think he will have success in the nhl.
I haven’t seen it personally, but apparently Brent Burns hockey IQ (especially related to defensive play) is low, but he’s a big guy with a big shot, so he can over come it
Skill without hockey intelligence? I present you your golden god, Nail “swarm of bees” Yakupov!
This is one the most thought out intelligent post I’ve seen on here. Well done and worth discussion. I’ve watched Fantilli a lot because I’m a Michigan fan. The kid is legit. So what defines hockey IQ according to these scouts? It’s hard to define. He’s in the right area of the ice and anticipating plays as far as I can tell. His skills, shot, and skating, are very impressive. He also shows up in big moments. I’ve been a hockey fan for around 30 years. I’ve played the game for many years. Your questions interest me a lot and I’m eager to hear/read fellow fan’s analysis because in my opinion the kid seems to know the game. He’s succeeded at a level most of us dreamed of. I know I wanted to play for Michigan as a kid and I wasn’t even close!
Fantilli is a scorer and had an amazing line helping him out. He has enough sense to know when to pass and when to shoot and is very good at both.
That being said, there were vastly better contenders for Hobey Baker by principal but it’s really just a popularity contest at this point – the top five was two big 10 schools vs Western Michigan (MAC/NCHC) and Quinnipiac (MAAC/ECAC). Minnesota had two players up and split their vote to let Fantilli win.
I’m a student at Western Michigan, so I’m definitely biased but Jason Polin was the better choice – captain, 200ft player with great defense, led in goals for the entire season, low penalty minutes, good grades. Both Knies and Cooley were better choices, too.
Anyway, he’s not going anywhere and was a good pick. He will deliver whether he’s smart or not. 20+ goals, more assists in his first season with good linemates.