#Adam Fantilli

It's no surprise that after an abysmal first half, the Chicago Blackhawks are in the running for the highest odds to land the number 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. What if they actually land it? If the Blackhawks land the top pick in the draft, the list of'What ifs' and'Who to draft?' is longer than a hot summer day in the sweltering…

We're at the halfway point of the 2022-23 Philadelphia Flyers season. Is everyone doing OK? Everyone hanging in there? It's been rough. But through 40 games, following a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, the Flyers were pretty much where everyone expected them to be: Out of playoff contention, but not bad enough to be one of the bottom…

Welcome to the first 2023 edition of Screen Shots, a THN.com regular feature in which we tackle a few hockey topics and analyze them in a few paragraphs. You know how this works by now, right? Onward we go: The NHL revealed most of the rosters for the league's upcoming All-Star Game in South Florida. The best news is the league has decided to give…

In the grand scheme of things, the Philadelphia Flyers' current four-game winning streak is a blip on the radar screen of the 2022-23 season. This season, the Flyers have become a hard-working and more resilient club than they were in the recent past. Over the last month or so, they've started to have more of the 25-and-younger contingent take a…

By Chris Johnston NorthStar Bets Fri., Jan. 6, 20234 min. read No one is explicitly using the'T' word. You know, the one that rhymes with "sank." But it may not be a complete coincidence that three teams at the bottom of the NHL standings are currently pacing towards some of the lowest point totals we've seen recorded in the last two decades. Not…

With the new year upon us, one can expect a bold year from Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes, so here are some hot-take predictions that could be on the way in 2023. The Montreal Canadiens currently have some of the best odds to win the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery as we speak, and it might even get better as they continue into the dog days…

It's been a long 2022 for the Flyers and their fans. The team has suffered through a lot of losses, been stricken by injuries to key players, dealt with a coaching change, and said goodbye to one of the franchise's greatest-ever players in Claude Giroux. How bad has it been? The Flyers have accumulated a putrid 24-51-12 record and earned just 60 of…

Editor's note: Alex Crowe is a junior journalism major and serves as a senior sports reporter at the Northern Star. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the Star. This is an opinion piece. The 2023 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships have arrived, giving Chicago Blackhawks fans a chance to watch up-and-coming talent amidst Chicago's…

The Chicago Blackhawks are a very bad hockey team. They are amongst the worst in the entire National Hockey League for the first time in a long time. It is obvious that they are trying to rebuild their organization and are taking the long route. So far, the first part of their plan seems to be working. They still have a couple of legends left over…

We've hit the second checkpoint mark of the 2022-23 season. First, it was Thanksgiving. Now, it's Christmas. Next, it's the All-Star Break and then it's the trade deadline. So here are 15 thoughts about the Blackhawks going into the three-day holiday break: 1. The Blackhawks are 8-20-4 and have 20 points through 32 games. They're on pace to finish…

It's that time of year again! The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC) is nearly upon us. If it feels like it hasn't been that long since the last installment of this tournament, that's because the 2022 event was completed this past August after the original tournament was canceled last December. The 2023 WJC begins next Monday in host cities…

For the Montreal Canadiens, the light at the end of the tunnel's taken the form of the first-overall pick. However, there's a lot of track left on the road back to respectability after a last-place 2021-22. No shortcuts means heading into another tunnel for 2022-23, and that probably means tanking the season. Are all aboard? Now, it only "probably"…

As we approach the holiday season and end of the calendar year, it's time we take another look at the NHL Sour Rankings and rank the teams putting their worst foot forward in an attempt to secure the best odds at the first overall pick. Unless one of these teams has a 2019 St. Louis Blues-level turnaround, there is a good chance that one of them…

This Blackhawks season is going to test fans. It's going to test some players. It's likely to test Jonathan Toews' and Patrick Kane's loyalty. It's unlikely to test Luke Richardson. Richardson had a pretty good idea of what he was signing up for when he became the Blackhawks' coach. But even with an understanding that this team wasn't built to win…

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Blackhawks didn't like reading and hearing all the things the hockey world said about them leading into this season; that they were sure to be terrible, that they were designed to fail, that they were in contention to be the worst team in the league. They shrugged it off as "outside noise," sure, but they didn't forget it,…

It sure seems like the Minnesota Wild could use a Mikko Koivu -type to anchor the top of the lineup. Luckily for them, the Vancouver Canucks are floundering, facing a cap crunch, and have that type of center in Bo Horvat, a pending free agent. Horvat fits the bill for the kind of center Minnesota needs, as he's Vancouver's version of Koivu.…

Tonight is a big night for the future of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 2022 NHL Draft Lottery is tonight, and a bunch of ping pong balls could determine the trajectory of the Blue Jackets franchise. How important is winning a top-pick? Every Stanley Cup champion since the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins has had at least one top-five pick on its roster…

Of late, the Chicago Blackhawks have had a pretty full slate of games to keep me busy. However, make no mistake about it my passion is in the drafting and development side for the Hawks. For over 2 decades I've been writing, talking, and debating about whom they should take and why. Until June 28th in Nashville, I will be releasing information on…

The Vancouver Canucks are now the only winless team in the NHL. The club has struggled to pick up a win in their first seven games, posting a record of 0-5-2. Since the 2013-14 season, the organization has made two playoff appearances. In those nine years, the team has continued to add assets in an attempt to become a winning club. Instead, they've…

The Montreal Canadiens have avoided using the word'rebuild' when describing their current situation, but regardless of whether it's labelled a retool or a reorganization, the odds makers agree the team is in for a difficult 2022-23 campaign. Six different outlets have released their points projections for the upcoming season, and while the…

Hockey season is here and the Flyers are ready to begin the 2022-23 season. Most experts have the Flyers near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, and for that matter, the entire league. For our season preview, let's take a look at five things to get excited about this season, five Flyers predictions and five home games to watch. 5 things to…

Is this B1G Hockey's big season? Finally? While Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin have 23 national championships among them, not one of those titles was captured as a member of the Big Ten. Since its inaugural season in 2013-14, B1G Hockey has sent teams to the Frozen Four seven times, and two B1G teams have played their way into…

If there was ever a year to tank in the NHL, this is it. The 2023 Draft Class is considered to be the deepest in almost a decade and is headlined by Connor Bedard, who is drawing comparisons to Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon as a potential franchise-changing prospect. Bedard is the consensus No. 1 pick but the class of'23 goes…

Sep 29, 2022 by Chris Peters Every year there are a few players in college hockey that are playing their first season of NHL Draft eligibility. The 2022-23 NCAA season, however, will feature no fewer than four candidates that have a chance to be selected in the first-round including three potential lottery-range picks. Veteran NHL Draft analyst…

The 2022-23 USHL season begins Thursday at the DICK's Sporting Goods USHL Fall Classic near Pittsburgh, Pa. All 16 teams will play their first two regular-season games at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex as part of the league's annual season-opening showcase. To help get you ready for the Fall Classic and the season ahead, FloHockey's USHL writer…

The highly respected McKeen's Hockey, which specializes in the draft, listed the top 16 players for 2023 on Tuesday. At the top of the list: Center Connor Bedard, center Adam Fantilli, and right winger Matvei Michkov. In that order. They are called "generational players" by McKeen's, and they are the reason that, at the trade deadline, NHL teams…