Why Columbus Blue Jackets Rookie Adam Fantilli is Different

On Saturday night in Washington, we saw an early example of why Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli is different.

Late in the second period, the young pivot fumbled the puck in the neutral zone, only to be obliterated by Washington Capitals forward TJ Oshie. It was a clean hit by the rulebook, though some questioned the morality of it because it was a preseason game hit thrown by a veteran NHL player.

Indeed, Oshie is certainly not competing for a roster spot with the Washington Capitals. He’ll be on the team. So, maybe the hit was a little bit unnecessary, but in the grand scheme of things, it is his job to play his game – regardless the moment. In the end, it set hockey’s social media world abuzz with comments like “welcome to the NHL, Adam!” Check out the hit for yourself here:

Personally, I have no problem with the hit. As a Blue Jackets fan, yes, it makes me angry to see our rookie get lambasted like that – but as a hockey observer, it’s a clean hit. Adam needs to learn to be prepared to be hit, so it’s probably better that this one is out of the way before the season starts. And, most importantly, he’s fine after the hit. We got lucky.

Some other people pointed out that the Jackets didn’t respond to the hit, which is wrong. It was addressed on the next shift by Erik Gudbranson and Boone Jenner, which was probably the best move anyway. We don’t need our skill guys jumping on someone’s back or starting scrums.

More to the point of the article, I wanted to point something out here. This game proved to me exactly why the Blue Jackets made Adam Fantilli the third overall pick at the NHL Draft. Not only does Fantilli bounce up from that hit and make his way to the bench – he came back later in the game and scored the winner. So instead of the hit being his “welcome to the NHL” moment – maybe we should be talking about Washington’s “welcome to the Adam Fantilli era”. With TJ Oshie on his back, no less:

This competitive spirit, when combined with his size and skill, makes him an immediate impact player in the NHL. I know it’s only preseason hockey, but we should be really encouraged by this performance. Fantilli wasn’t pushed out of this game by a physical play – it only seemed to motivate him to go out and win the game. Lots of guys come into the league with his size, or his skill, or his competitive drive. But not many come along with all of these attributes, which is exactly why Adam Fantilli is different.