Why Blue Jackets star Adam Fantilli and Luca Fantilli are best friends 'for life'
Adam Fantilli didn't get much of a break heading into the third period of Friday’s Michigan-Ohio State hockey game.
The Blue Jackets center and former Michigan star spent most of his time taking photos with fans — many of whom donned scarlet and gray — and serving as a representative to the team that selected him No. 3 overall in the 2023 NHL draft as he recovers from a lacerated calf that will keep him off the ice for eight weeks.
But as he sat back down, as the third period began, Fantilli turned back into a Michigan man watching his older brother play for his alma mater.
“He’s my best friend,” Adam said of Luca Fantilli, a Michigan defenseman 22 months older than Adam who lived with Adam for 18 years through stops in New Hampshire, Illinois and Ann Arbor.
Luca Fantilli is trying to make a name for himself with a name that carries a lot of weight in Michigan hockey, one that won the Hobey Baker Award and earned first-team All-American honors in one season with the Wolverines.
But through the change an through the distance between him and his brother, Luca Fantilli said he never questions where his relationship with Adam stands, much like their love for hockey.
“He is and always has been and always will be my best friend,” Luca said.
How Adam Fantilli and Luca Fantilli found their love for hockey
For the Fantilli brothers, the competition started even before they took the ice for morning skates.
Multiple times each week before school, Adam and Luca struggled to get out of bed for a 6 a.m. ice time at a local rink in Nobleton, Ontario. But once they arrived, the competition would start, racing to their father Giuliano, who would lace up their skates and get them on the ice as fast as he could.
“And then neither of us would want to get off,” Adam said, remembering countless times he and his brother were late or absent from their first class after spending an extra hour on ice.
These sessions fueled Luca’s love for hockey. They were moments Luca never really took in but now views as some of the best moments of his life.
But that didn’t mean they were easy.
“Most of the time,” Luca said, “(you) end up trying to drop the gloves and fight each other, and my dad had to come out on the ice and break it up.”
The game was simple. Luca, a defenseman, lined up between Adam, a forward, and the net. Luca’s goal? To stop Adam at all costs, something Luca said he became obsessed with, never wanting his “little brother” to beat him.
In these one-on-one matchups, Giuliano Fantilli saw Luca’s skill, as he had a smooth and natural ability to handle the puck. And in Adam, Giuliano saw a youthful and raw energy with a mission to develop the skills necessary to earn the upper hand.
“Luca, feeding off that competitiveness that Adam had, he didn’t have a choice but to step up and match it,” Giuliano said. “Or he’s going to get beat by his younger brother.”
Adam remembers the advantage Luca had, shooting “thousands of times” and finding little to no success.
“He would see me getting frustrated that I couldn’t get the shot off,” Adam said. “And he would let one go through. And I snapped. I’d get so upset that he would let me shoot one.”
But through Adam’s thousands of shots and his thousands of one-on-one reps, Luca saw a player who was getting better, faking a shot and throwing the puck through Luca’s legs, leaving him dumbfounded and questioning what had just happened.
To Adam, it was the start of finding himself as a hockey player as he worked and strived to chase those in front of him.
“He helped me get better, and I would not be able to do half the things I can do if I wasn’t his brother,” Adam said.
Luca Fantilli: Adam was 'a work animal'
The 6 a.m. ice times were just the start.
Luca and Adam attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire, before playing together with the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League.
Luca wanted that to continue, having committed to Michigan in 2020 while he was still at Kimball. Luca then turned into Adam’s main recruiter, staying in his brother’s ear about the Wolverines. Adam committed to Michigan in August 2021 before enrolling with Luca in 2022.
Michigan was where Luca saw a switch in Adam.
Adam wanted to win the Hobey Baker Award, given each year to the top NCAA hockey player. And Luca saw that Adam was doing the work to do it, something that Luca said challenged him.
“It was honestly like he was the bigger brother. I’m not even going to lie,” Luca said. “I followed him around everywhere. I tried to (keep up) but it was too much for me. He was just a work animal, and he wanted it so bad.”
In Adam’s one season at Michigan, he turned 30 goals and 35 assists into a top-three selection in the NHL draft.
Draft day was a surreal moment, Luca said. Both brothers grew up watching the NHL. It was a dream both brothers had.
Adam’s success is not something Luca said he’s surprised by.
“By a mile, he’s earned everything he’s done,” Luca said. “And I knew he would be in that exact place. And I knew that when he stepped in the NHL, he’d be doing as well as he’s doing.”
'I really miss my brother'
Michigan is no longer Adam’s team but it was the team he cheered for Friday night as the Wolverines secured a 4-2 road win against the rival Buckeyes.
The NHL’s been a different experience for Adam as he has faced realities he’s never had to before, such as living apart from Luca for the first time.
“Not being around the guys at Michigan, it was tough at first,” Adam said. “But we have an amazing group of guys here that makes it a lot of fun as well.”
Giuliano Fantilli said Luca and Adam being apart for the first time only strengthens their relationship, realizing how much they appreciate and rely on one another.
“It’s been a little tough, but they stay connected, they chat all the time,” Giuliano said. “They openly tell me, ‘Yeah, I really miss my brother.’ ”
But to Luca, Adam’s been the same.
“That’s a best friend for life that you have, a guy that will never leave your side, a guy that’s there for you no matter what,” Luca said. “Adam, even though he doesn’t show a lot of emotion all the time, he’s there for me any second of any day and he’s my biggest supporter, the same as I am for him.”
Luca did not have much of a chance to make an impact for Michigan on Friday. But his goal remains the same as Adam’s, to play in the NHL. In a perfect world, it would be both Fantilli brothers on the ice at the same time, just like the rink in Nobleton.
“When my brother’s watching, I always want to make him proud and play my best,” Luca said.
The Columbus DIspatch's Brian Hedger contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Adam Fantilli and Luca Fantilli are best friends 'for life'
