August 25th, 2021 at 4:41 PM ^
I was just going to post something but you beat me to it so I'll just copypaste here
Mel continues to rampage on the recruiting trail. Possible #1 overall prospect in the 2023 draft. Seems like the plan is he'll play for the Chicago Steel (USHL) this fall and come to Ann Arbor for the 22-23 season.
His instagram commitment post: https://t.co/Xp54Cgcvgt?amp=1
Possible additional good news for us...
Bombshell here. The most coveted recruit in North America has verbally committed to @umichhockey. Five ⭐️ 2004 Adam Fantilli is one of the top prospects for the 2023 NHL Draft. We are hearing there may be some other big 2004 recruiting news coming as a result of this. https://t.co/vxRqwYyYZL
— Puck Preps (@PuckPreps) August 25, 2021
August 25th, 2021 at 4:58 PM ^
Deja vu. 2004 recruiting news? We could ask Keith Jackson to comment.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:01 PM ^
That's the birth year, right? I think I read that somewhere, that hockey recruiting is organized by birth year rather than by high school graduation date.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:12 PM ^
Yes basically its birth year so he’s 16 or 17
August 25th, 2021 at 5:13 PM ^
Yes, hockey is organized by birth years.
August 26th, 2021 at 8:58 AM ^
OOF - I graduated HS in 2004. Im starting to feel.....old.
August 26th, 2021 at 2:00 AM ^
I apologize. Keith does too. I was not aware that hockey classes are identified by birth years.
August 25th, 2021 at 6:53 PM ^
Here's the OP's Jon Morosi tweet, click-enabled:
https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1430610451088482305?s=19
August 26th, 2021 at 12:07 AM ^
Is the other big news Rutger McGroarty flipping from ND? That would be satisfying on so many levels.
#weareahockeyschool
August 25th, 2021 at 4:42 PM ^
This is awesome!!!
August 25th, 2021 at 6:06 PM ^
Dirty fuckin’ dangles, boys
August 25th, 2021 at 6:18 PM ^
Hab, I don’t know why but I always picture a guy with a user name “Hab” as an old Quebecois man, flat cap, Habs jacket, cigarette in one hand with a Diet Coke in another. Please don’t tell me anything about you because this is how I picture you and it’s perfect!
August 26th, 2021 at 8:44 AM ^
Fiction is often more entertaining than the truth, so let's run with it.
August 25th, 2021 at 4:49 PM ^
No snark, how does the hockey team bring in so many top recruits and have such little success of recent?
August 25th, 2021 at 4:54 PM ^
Covid.
August 25th, 2021 at 4:54 PM ^
Because the NCAA doesn't let them play in the postseason.
August 25th, 2021 at 4:58 PM ^
Mel's first monster class were freshmen last year and weren't as well developed as the upperclassmen on other teams. This year's team should be frozen four/national championship good.
August 25th, 2021 at 6:41 PM ^
Thank you, I’m a casual fan and saw the recent NHL draft picks. Looking at Neutral zone, I see 2016 - 19 recruiting had Michigan at 4th, 5th, 18th and 6th.
Looking at Frozen Four appearances, Michigan appears once, 2018, in the past 10 years. Looking forward to hearing about the programs success this season.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:14 PM ^
There was definitely a drop off in talent in Reds late classes. That *plus* the recruiting horizon is usually wayyyy out. Like you’re getting commitments from 14-16 year olds sometimes
That means it took Mel a while to get some really elite classes in and his upperclassmen arent as talented as they will be soon. This will be one of the first years Mel will have it be ‘his team’
August 25th, 2021 at 5:34 PM ^
They made the Frozen Four in Mel's first year. Then there was a season of rebuilding as Mel pursued a two-tiered recruiting approach, looking both for older guys that could contribute to the roster depth and recruiting younger NHL prospect guys. The problem is that recruiting for NHL prospects starts *early*, so he was behind on guys a couple of years ago. Some of the guys he did manage to recruit didn't stick, until the last couple of classes.
Last year's team could have easily caught fire and won the title. Instead, they weren't able to play a game. It is completely wrong to hold that against the program.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:50 PM ^
Are you paying attention ?
August 25th, 2021 at 6:10 PM ^
This is such a stupid take. We haven’t brought in ‘so many top recruits’ for a long time (at least a few seasons before Red retired). Our first monster recruiting class were all freshmen last year. That team was super skilled, but young, not as physically strong as necessary, and inconsistent and they were a two seed in their bracket. Also, this thing happened last year you may have heard of . . . COVID, and it kept them out of the tournament.
August 25th, 2021 at 6:50 PM ^
It’s not a “take”. NYC was clearly asking a question. What’s stupid is that you saw that others had already replied with earnest answers, but you still had to be a jerk.
August 25th, 2021 at 6:10 PM ^
Double post - neg away
August 25th, 2021 at 4:54 PM ^
Awesome.
To be fair though, at this point in time he’s not considered a realistic option for 1st overall in 2023. Granted A LOT can change in a year or two so it’s still early, but Bedard is the clear favorite (probably the closest Canadian prospect to a McDavid/Crosby level since those guys at this stage) and the Russian winger is the best Russian prospect since Ovechkin. Those two are widely regarded as the top 2 prospects at this stage.
With that being said, this kid is absolutely a 5* level prospect and top 5 level kid. Huge.
August 25th, 2021 at 4:56 PM ^
I have not heard Michkov get that kind of praise. Big, if true!
August 25th, 2021 at 5:31 PM ^
That's because your men are too afraid to tell you that he's going to leave for the US. Would you want to be the one who tells you this news?
August 25th, 2021 at 7:35 PM ^
Fair.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:11 PM ^
I’ve watched UM at Crisler and the Big House, I might have to add Yost this year. HAIL!!
August 25th, 2021 at 5:12 PM ^
LET'S FOOOOOOOOKKKKKKIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNN GOOOOOOOOO!!!
Some peeps thought I was crazy when I said Michigan Hockey can and sometimes does recruit at a level above Alabama Football.
Now we have to turn these talents into National Championships.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:38 PM ^
There's still a long way to go to even get him on campus.
But this is a good first step. Going the USHL route is something of a sign of intent, so there's good reason to be optimistic.
The Fantilli brothers are from Nobleton, a very small town north of Toronto. Drive west on King a couple of kilometers and you'll hit the modest (though growing) town of Bolton.
Bolton is where my family is from; my dad grew up there. I still visit every 5-10 years when there is an event like a funeral or something.
Bolton is also the hometown of Steve Halko, former Michigan defenseman and captain in the glory years of the 90s. He was our favorite player at the time, and for this reason.
For the size of it, this area has been good to our program.
August 25th, 2021 at 5:48 PM ^
Well this is a pretty exciting piece of news.
August 25th, 2021 at 6:14 PM ^
I’m actually way more pumped for the coming hockey season than for football. Am I a bad person?
August 25th, 2021 at 6:53 PM ^
I'm most pumped for Michigan Basketball and Michigan Hockey. Those are my 1A & 1B for this season. I think we have true national contenders in both but we have to perform up to the talent level on the roster.
Michigan Football is a distant 3rd. I think M Football could surprise people (as it often does when it isn't saddled by high preseason expectations or hype) but I'll believe it when I see it.
August 25th, 2021 at 7:04 PM ^
You're not alone.
But football is still the #1 sport, which will weigh down the mood of the fanbase for a couple of months if the expectations most have turn out to be correct.
August 25th, 2021 at 7:59 PM ^
So this is what Alabama´s football recruiting feels like...
August 25th, 2021 at 8:20 PM ^
Wow, Mel and Juwan are recruiting their ass off and the other guy, not so much.
August 25th, 2021 at 8:46 PM ^
I didnt click the link and I read all comments . Unless I missed it no one said what position he plays . Im guessing hes a forward ?
August 26th, 2021 at 4:35 AM ^
Chicks dig the long ball and goal producers!
August 26th, 2021 at 3:26 PM ^
More good news
After some more digging on this we can confirm McGroarty will be committing to Michigan. The 5 ⭐️ decommitted from Notre Dame last week & is expected to make an announcement soon. McGroarty is our #4 ranked NA 2004 & will join an already loaded 2022-23 Michigan recruiting class. https://t.co/LHiaXRNdAe
— Puck Preps (@PuckPreps) August 26, 2021