DRAFT: Get to Know Adam Fantilli

After completing a historic season at the University of Michigan, Adam Fantilli continued to acquire more accolades in his hockey career following his freshman year.

The Michigan freshman became the first player to not only win the Hobey Baker Award but also capture two gold medals with Team Canada at both the World Junior tournament and the IIHF World Championship.

"I was really fortunate to get to play with a lot of phenomenal hockey players and a lot of amazing teams," Fantilli said. "Playing on Michigan, for starters, [they had] amazing guys and that's the tightest group I've ever played for."

Fantilli scored 30 goal and 35 assists through 36 games and led the NCAA in points per game (1.81), goals per game and assists per game. Following his first season as a Wolverine, he became the third freshman ever to win the Hobey Baker Award along with Vegas Golden Knights' forward Jack Eichel (2015) and NHL alum Paul Kariya (1993).

The 18-year-old center helped Michigan win its' second consecutive Big Ten Championship after posting a 24-11-3 record. The fourth-ranked team also claimed an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament where they advanced to the Frozen Four before losing to Quinnipiac.

"I think we went a lot further than a lot of people expected us to come in with 12 freshmen there and then having the experience that we did at World Juniors and World Championships are both phenomenal," Fantilli said.

Halfway through the season, Team Canada named Fantilli to the team's World Junior roster for his first appearance in the competition. There he produced five points (2G, 3A) in seven games and won his first gold medal.

After competing for Canada in December, the team also named him to the IIHF World Championship roster. Following the tournament, the Ontario native became the second Canadian to win gold at both competitions in the same season joining Jonathan Toews and the 11th player in the world to achieve this accomplishment.

"It's an honor to play for Canada in the first place," Fantilli said. "To be able to take home the gold medal both times when you're playing for Team Canada, that's always the goal and that's the expectation, but being able to bring both those helmets, it's amazing. I'm extremely grateful to be able to play for both those teams."

Canada did scratched the 6-foot-2 forward for two games, but returned to the lineup in the semifinal matchup against Latvia where he scored the game-winning goal to advance to the gold medal round against Germany. It would be his lone goal of the tournament along with two assists in the 10 games he appeared in.

With a season that far exceeded his expectations, he felt he was able to adjust to compete with an older team in the World Championships and find his comfort level to gain more confidence.

"I think it took me a little bit to get comfortable and to feel out the room and the structure and everything," Fantilli said. "But once I was able to get comfortable and to acclimate a little bit, I started to get more confident, and I started to play my best hockey in the back half of the tournament there."