Columbus Blue Jackets rookie center Adam Fantilli of Nobleton, Ontario will miss the next two months with a calf injury according to the Associated Press on Wednesday. The injury is a huge blow to the Blue Jackets as Fantilli is one of the National Hockey League’s rising stars.
How did the injury happen?
Fantilli had delivered a bodycheck on Kraken left winger Jared McCann on Sunday night in the Blue Jackets’s 4-2 loss to the Kraken at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. However in the process, McCann’s skate blade lacerated Fantilli’s left calf. Fantilli was in a considerate amount of pain has he hobbled off to the dressing room.
Third Elite Rookie to be injured this season
Fantilli was the third overall pick in the 2023 National Hockey League Entry Draft. The first two picks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft have also experienced major injuries. On January 5, Chicago Blackhawks rookie centre Connor Bedard (the first overall pick) of Vancouver, British Columbia broke his jaw against the New Jersey Devils, and is expected to be out two months. Also four days before Christmas, Anaheim Ducks rookie defenseman Leo Carlsson (the second overall pick) of Karlstad, Sweden, sprained his medial collateral ligament in his right knee against the Calgary Flames, and was out three and a half weeks.
Fantilli in 2023-24
Fantilli has 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points in 49 games. He was a -21 with 16 penalty minutes, three power-play points, one game-winning goal, 115 shots on goal, 171 faceoff wins, 25 blocked shots, 46 hits, 18 takeaways and 15 giveaways.
Fantilli’s game-winning goal
Fantilli scored the game-winning goal on December 1. It came in a 4-2 Blue Jackets win over the Ottawa Senators at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Fantilli scored from defenseman Ivan Provorov of Yaroslavl, Russia and Justin Danforth of Oshawa, Ontario. At the time, Fantilli broke a 2-2 deadlock at 5:16 of the second period.
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