.
Q. How excited are you about the way this played out, just the drama, to see it unfold?
ADAM FANTILLI: Yeah, I don't know about drama, but I was having a lot of fun up there, and to know there's a lot of Michigan guys where I'm heading, it's going to be really cool. I'm over the moon. Having familiar faces is always helpful with transition, and being able to meet those guys before and get to know them a little bit better is going to be really helpful.
Q. A couple months ago you had said your first preference was Columbus.
ADAM FANTILLI: I do remember. It's close to home. I think it would be a great fit. Like I said, a lot of the Michigan guys, I felt like it was the right choice -- not right choice, but I felt like it would be the right spot.
Q. Being a Michigan guy, you're going into Buckeye country.
ADAM FANTILLI: I don't know about that. We're going to have to talk about that later.
Q. How many of those guys did you talk to before the draft?
ADAM FANTILLI: Like the Michigan guys? Not too much. They just kind of let me sit and enjoy it, and then I think I've gotten a couple texts from those guys, so I'm really excited to read those.
Q. When did you know that Carlsson was going to go second?
ADAM FANTILLI: When I heard it.
Q. You had no idea before that?
ADAM FANTILLI: Not at all.
Q. When did you know you were going to be the pick at 3?
ADAM FANTILLI: When I heard it.
Q. Were you surprised to not go 2?
ADAM FANTILLI: I mean, I don't know. Like I've said previous times, there's a lot of phenomenal hockey players in this draft, and a lot of guys deserve to go as high as they possibly can. Leo is a phenomenal hockey player. He's a great kid, and I wish him the absolute best. Getting to know him was awesome in Vegas and at the combine, so it was really cool to meet him, so I wish him the best and I'm pumped for him.
Q. How much research did you do on the top three teams, four teams, looking at their rosters, how they're built, the Blue Jackets --
ADAM FANTILLI: Yeah, just watching hockey and getting to know teams and just watching them throughout the season, I did that quite a bit, but then doing a little bit of extensive research, I don't know if I've done that yet.
Q. The team that drafted you, does that have any determination on your decision to go back to college or not?
ADAM FANTILLI: I don't know yet. Got to be able to talk to the team and talk to people around me and we'll see what decision we come out on the other side with.
Q. This is a franchise that has been yearning for a No. 1 center. You are the hope for that. Is that something that excites you, to be the first really true franchise center down the line?
ADAM FANTILLI: Obviously that's exciting, and I'm honored to have those types of expectations, so hopefully I'll be able to meet them. I just want to get there and work as hard as I can and compete as hard as I can and hopefully be the best version of myself I can be.
Q. Can you tell the Blue Jackets' fans something that they can't see from you, from your play.
ADAM FANTILLI: That they can't see from my play?
Q. Something about you that's away from the ice, something about your personality.
ADAM FANTILLI: Oh, I don't know, I love golfing. I love getting out on the links.
Q. (Indiscernible).
ADAM FANTILLI: It's been really cool. The NHL has done a great job setting everything up and letting us talk to each other as prospects. Meeting everybody out in Vegas and meeting everybody at the combine was amazing, and then, I don't know, you guys are watching it here, and Nashville is such a sick spot to have this draft and then they did the awards, as well, I think it was just so special the way they did it.
Q. Your dad was really emotional when the pick was announced. How instrumental has your family been?
ADAM FANTILLI: Oh, yeah. They mean everything to me. I wouldn't be sitting in front of you guys if I didn't have them. They mean the world to me, and the fact that he was emotional gets me a little bit emotional, so I'm really happy to have them with me.
Q. How did the suit come to be?
ADAM FANTILLI: It was my parents' idea to get the list of names, and then a lot of the suit people were telling me I couldn't get it on the liner, so I figured it would be a little bit better if I put it on the back of the three piece and then put pictures on the inside of the suit. It turned out exactly how wanted it to. I was so, so excited, and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.
Q. Who are some of the guys you're looking forward to playing with and learning about?
ADAM FANTILLI: Yeah, obviously you've got amazing guys like Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine, you've got Zach Werenski and all types of guys that have been around the league and guys that are just starting out. It's going to be so special, and it's going to mean a lot to me to be able to get into that locker room and meet those guys and learn from them as much as possible.
Q. Back to the rivalry, you are caught squarely between Michigan and Ohio State now. How do you feel about that?
ADAM FANTILLI: I guess we'll see. I'm going to have to take some advice from the guys who have already gone through it and see how they handled it. I don't know how to comment on that yet.
Q. You get to explore Columbus at all when you guys came and played, or was it all just hotel and rink?
ADAM FANTILLI: Mostly hotel and rink. We got to walk around a little bit in Cleveland when we were there for the outdoor game, but when we were in Ohio State, we were only there for one night because the outdoor game was the next night, so we didn't get to see much of it.
Q. What is it about Sid that makes him your idol?
ADAM FANTILLI: He's just such a role model, the way he carries himself and the way he plays the game. He plays it complete and you can use him in every situation, and he's the best player for the job at every situation. The way he carries himself off the ice and how polite he is as a human, it's amazing to watch, and he's been so great to me and so great to a lot of other guys. That's why.
Q. How would you summarize your season?
ADAM FANTILLI: I'm ecstatic about it. The only way I can put it into words is to thank everybody that's helped me get here, all the teams that I played on and all the teammates and all the staff and all the coaches on all those teams. I wouldn't be able to accomplish any of that stuff without those people. I just want to say thank you to them.
Q. Do you have a final count for how many people you had here tonight?
ADAM FANTILLI: I haven't gotten the number yet, but I'd say on the low side, probably like 125.
Q. Do you know how many names you put on the --
ADAM FANTILLI: So the way I have it set up is some of it is just like family names so that could incorporate like four or five people. I'd say like 130 to 140 possibly.
Q. How long did that take you to put that list together?
ADAM FANTILLI: We started it last year.
Q. I know you're not sure about next year yet, but (indiscernible)?
ADAM FANTILLI: I'm not sure yet. I mean, development camp is next week, and I'm sure I'll be able to talk to management there and talk to the staff there and then talk to the people around me with my agency and then we'll see what the plan is.
Q. Do you think it'll be dependent just on where Columbus is?
ADAM FANTILLI: I don't know, I think it'll go both ways and we're going to have a conversation about it and see how they feel and how we feel about everything that's coming up. I can't really speak too much about it at the moment.
Q. How do you envision your first goal in the Columbus Blue Jackets' rink?
ADAM FANTILLI: Yeah, I don't know, if I can make that cannon go off, it's going to be really cool.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports