I Hereby Declare The Bedard-Fantilli Debate Over. Hand Up, I Was Wrong, Credit To Me
I would like to put this take and my mentions about it to be. Earlier in the year, I was the author of this tweet
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Upon further review and more evidence...it was wrong. Bedard has separated himself from everyone with his performance in this WJC. The lead WJC blogger on the internet, Jordie, broke down his dominance perfectly this morning
Here is my thing with Fantilli…he is also sensational. He looks like he was built in a lab by the leading hockey scientists. 6'3, 200lbs, tremendous skater, physical, competitive, skilled, great shot, and he has absolutely DOMINATED college hockey this year at Michigan. He has 26 points in 16 games and is playing against guys who are as old as 24 years old. Any other year he would probably be a slam dunk #1 pick and teams would be sprinting to the podium to draft him.
I was much more familiar with him than Bedard. He played for the Chicago Steel in the USHL who play their games at the legendary Fox Valley Ice Arena which is about 15 mins from my parents' front door. I had seen him play in person at that level. I have friends who coach and/or general manage in the USHL. I have another friend who works for Michigan hockey. A combination of those insights, his prototypical size and skating for a #1 center, and my skepticism of TSN hyping every "exceptional status" kid to the fucking moon had me leaning towards Fantilli. It wasn't that long ago that Lafreniere was the next great player.
After seeing Bedard in this tournament I can say, after watching with my own eye balls, that his talent is UNDENIABLE. He is truly special. I've never seen anyone shoot the puck like him. He has some shithousery to his game which I appreciate. He is undersized, but that didn't stop Sid from being a top 5 player who ever lived. Bedard has ability that comes along once every 7-10 years in a draft. It was Crosby in 2005. Then it was McDavid in 2015. I believe Bedard has a chance to be the best player drafted since McDavid. That is saying something considering what Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes are doing to the league.
So, yes, I changed my mind based on evidence. That is called enlightenment. That's called maturity. Credit to me. Get me Bedard to Chicago
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Having said all of that…if the Blackhawks do end up with the #2 pick and get Fantilli I will still be absolutely THRILLED to have him as a foundational piece to build around. He's going to be star in the league and a guy you can win with. Just get in that top 2 and everything will come together for a playoff run in 2025.