Fantilli improving game with Blue Jackets heading into showdown with Bedard

WASHINGTON -- Adam Fantilli has been busy finding his own way in his first NHL season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, so he says he hasn't been keeping a close eye on what Connor Bedard has been up to the with Chicago Blackhawks.

Fantilli only needs to look at the statistics, however, to learn that Bedard leads NHL rookies with nine goals and 15 points in 16 games.

"Obviously, I know he's having a pretty good start," Fantilli said last week. "It's good to see, but I don't pay attention too much."

Fantilli will get to see Bedard up close when the Blue Jackets host the Blackhawks at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, NBCSCH). It will be the first time Fantilli, the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, face each other.

"It will be fun," said Fantilli, who is tied for sixth in the NHL among rookies with nine points (four goals, five assists) in 19 games. "If I remember, I don't think we've ever played against each other, so it's going to be cool."

Fantilli and Bedard know each other well from playing together for Canada at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship and at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. But the talented forwards followed different developmental paths, so they have yet to play against each other.

Fantilli played two seasons for Chicago in the United States Hockey League (2020-22) and one NCAA season with the University of Michigan before being picked by Columbus. Bedard played three seasons with Regina in the Western Hockey League before being selected by Chicago.

Still, Fantilli has a good idea what to expect if he ends up on the ice against Bedard.

"Just like with any good player, you've just got to make sure you're in the right spots," Fantilli said. "Obviously, he's got a dangerous shot, so you've got to watch it that way. But to be honest with you, I'm just focusing on my game and focusing on what I can do in the game."

Bedard, speaking Tuesday in Chicago, said he's not surprised by the success Fantilli is finding this season. 

"Obviously he's a special player," Bedard said. "He's a really good guy first and foremost. Followed him last year, what he did. It was phenomenal. And of course start of this year he's doing great. It's just really fun to watch him. Obviously a buddy of mine and rooting for him every game. It's just been a lot of fun to follow him and see his success."

Though most of the rookie spotlight has been on Bedard with Chicago, Fantilli has quietly been learning the NHL game with Columbus and feeling more like he belongs with each game.

"I think the more you feel out the League, the better you're going to play, the more you know what to expect, the more you know what you need to tweak in your game and stuff like that," he said. "So, I'm getting to where I'm starting to feel more comfortable and I'm able to be confident in my game.

"Hopefully, it just keeps on growing that way."

Fantilli played one of his best games in a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. Although the 19-year-old didn't have a point, he had 10 shots on goal centering a line with Dmitri Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko on his wings and played 19:08, which is the most he's played in a game that ended in regulation.

"I should've played him 25 minutes," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said. "He was that good."

Listed at 6-foot-2, 194 pounds, Fantilli has the build of a seasoned NHL player, and he has the demeanor to go with it.

"He's a young guy that's mature beyond his years," Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said. "… He's got an engine on him that he pulls guys into the fight, too. So, for a young guy, that's huge to see. He's producing. He's doing everything. I think he keeps getting better and better."

Fantilli said he's benefitted from being around veterans such as Jenner and Patrik Laine. Fantilli lived with Laine for a few weeks at the end of the offseason before moving into his own apartment in the same building.

"A lot of the older guys have been really helpful with the transition and taking me out for dinners and bringing me over," Fantilli said. "Patty let me stay with him for a while, which was awesome. But they've all been really, really helpful with the transition."

Like all rookies, Fantilli is going to go through some growing pains. He hasn't scored a point in his past four games.

Vincent can see Fantilli's potential, though, and that of his line with Voronkov, also a rookie, and Marchenko, who is in his second NHL season.

"I see a young man that is enjoying the game," Vincent said. "He's got passion. He's got the skills, obviously, but he's putting the time in, the work in, asking a lot of questions and I see that they're having fun playing together. And to me, that's a skill as well.

"Once you have that, you want to bottle that and keep it like this as long as you can because that could be a line that could be really good for us for two, three, four, five years."

Fantilli has enjoyed playing with Voronkov and Marchenko but communicating with the 23-year-old Russians has its challenges. Voronkov doesn't speak English. Marchenko speaks some English, so Fantilli and Voronkov usually goes through him as a translator.

"Obviously, there's a bit of a language barrier, but we're getting used to it building the chemistry a little bit, so it's been a lot of fun," Fantilli said. "I think we've just got a good mix of size, speed, skill. We've just been working well together."

The frustrating part for Fantilli and the Blue Jackets is they haven't been winning. Columbus (4-11-4) has lost nine in a row (0-7-2).

But Vincent strongly believes that Fantilli will help the Blue Jackets turn their fortunes around.

"He's a winner. I can tell you that," Vincent said. "He's a winner. He wants to win. … This team is going to win. This team is going to win a lot of games. It may not feel that way right now, but we will, and he's going to be a big reason why."

NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report