Meet the top prospects at the NHL Scouting Combine

The last major event before the 2023 NHL Draft is in the books, and the Blue Jackets made the most of their time at the Scouting Combine this past week in Buffalo.

Columbus had a chance to meet with a number of the 106 prospects in attendance from up and down the team's draft board, but the spotlight was on three players who appear to be in the running to be chosen with the third overall pick.

That list included Canadian center Adam Fantilli (6-2, 195), the No. 2-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting who played last year at the University of Michigan; American center Will Smith (5-11¾, 181), the No. 3-ranked North American skater who spent last year with the U.S. National Team Development Program; and Swedish center Leo Carlsson (6-3, 198), the No. 1-ranked international skater who played last year with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League.

While Canadian star Connor Bedard is expected to go No. 1 overall to Chicago, the other three prospects have also been described as franchise players, and at least two of them will be on the board when the Blue Jackets choose at No. 3. (Another standout, Russian wing Matvei Michkov, was unable to attend the Scouting Combine but could be in the mix as well.)

Fantilli, Carlsson and Smith all had dinner with Blue Jackets brass in Buffalo, allowing both sides to become much more familiar with one another heading into the draft. Each of the three also met with the media and talked one-on-one with Blue Jackets radio host Dylan Tyrer for today's edition of the Pipeline Podcast.

CBJ Radio · The Pipeline Podcast: Combine Recap with Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson, Will Smith, and Jeff Svoboda

Here's what we learned about each of the top players, with the prospects listed in alphabetical order.

Leo Carlsson

For many prospects, the draft is the entryway into pro game, with NHL teams saying they believe players have what it takes to live out the dream of being paid to play the game for a living.

Very few of those prospects will make it to the league next year or even the year after, but while most of the North American players will continue their careers in Canadian juniors or NCAA hockey, it's a bit different in Europe.

Overseas, many top players begin skating in the pro ranks as teenagers, and Carlsson fits that bill. He was simply too good to keep in the junior ranks in his home country, so he spent most of the 2021-22 season with Orebro of the top-level SHL and spent the entirety of the campaign with the senior squad this past season.

Considering he made his debut in the pro ranks at age 16, playing against some men twice his age, it was a steep learning curve for the native of Karlstad, Sweden.

"It was hard," he said. "The speed is just another level and the defensive game as well, so it was hard … but now it's pretty easy."

Watch: Youtube Video

A look at the numbers would confirm that. Carlsson has steadily improved in his two seasons in the SHL, posting a 3-6-9 line in 35 games his first season before upping his production to 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 44 games this past year. Add in a 1-8-9 line in 13 playoff games with Orebro this spring, and it seems like he's taken to the game at the top level.

For context, he posted the fifth-most production ever for a player in the SHL in his draft year, behind only such names as Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Nicklas Backstrom and Elias Lindholm. He also played at this spring's IIHF World Championship, posting a 3-2-5 line in eight games for Sweden's national team.

He skated at the center position for much of the Worlds after playing on the wing in the SHL, and he acknowledged the Blue Jackets were among the teams to ask what position he feels most comfortable at. For Carlsson, it's an easy answer.

"I think I'm ready to play center right away, yeah," he said. "Basically every team is wondering, but yeah, I am a center."

As for his game, Carlsson said he draws inspiration from such players as Sidney Crosby and Anze Kopitar. He excitedly described himself as a playmaker, but if there was a weakness, it's one common with players from overseas.

"I need to shoot more," he said. "I don't shoot it enough. It's hard to get like 10 shots in the SHL, but I am trying to shoot it more."

Carlsson said he will discuss plans for next year -- coming to North American or returning to Sweden -- with whichever team chooses him. He's also a fan of golf and basketball and showed up at his media availability in Air Force 1s, and it was easy to see how he could fit in at the NHL level.

Adam Fantilli

A Canadian star who flew under the limelight a bit as a kid, he worked his way through the ranks, starred at the University of Michigan and now is poised to be chosen at the top of the draft.

If that sounds like Fantilli, it's true. But it's also the path followed by Kent Johnson, whom the Blue Jackets chose with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft.

So far, that's worked out well for the Jackets, who watched Johnson produce the highlight goal of the season this past year, not to mention post one of the top-producing rookie years in Columbus history.

The Blue Jackets might not have a shot at Fantilli, as most analysts have pegged him as the clear second choice behind Bedard and likely to be chosen by Anaheim with the No. 2 pick. But one only needs to go back a year to see how surprises can happen at the draft, as presumed top choice Shane Wright fell all the way to fourth on the night of the selection show.

With that in mind, Fantilli said he's prepared for whatever might come his way in Nashville.

"That's the way the draft goes every year," he said. "There's always guys that jump up, guys that fall down. I'm not really too concerned about the number that I'm picked; I'm more concerned with the team I go to and making sure it's a good spot and stuff like that. I've never been too focused on the number. I'm just going to try to enjoy that day."

No matter where he goes, Fantilli will have earned the slot after an incredible 2022-23 season. He was expected to be an impact player at Michigan, but his production was so impressive that he became just the third freshman in NCAA history to win the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's best player.

The previous two winners? Boston College's Jack Eichel and Maine's Paul Kariya, so it's pretty good company to be in. Fantilli's 30-35-65 line in 36 allowed him to lead the nation in goals and points, and his 1.81 points per game were the most in college hockey since current Winnipeg star and fellow Wolverine Kyle Connor in 2017.

He also won gold with Team Canada at the World Juniors as well as the World Championships, and the latter was a great experience for Fantilli, who got a chance to play with pros on a regular basis for the first time.

"It was really helpful in terms of getting to know the life away from the rink and getting that experience, being able to learn how to fit in in the locker room and acclimate around all those guys," he said. "That was the main learning point for me. A lot of the guys helped me in that sense, and just getting to know them away from the rink was the main thing for me."

Fantilli had a 37-37-74 line in 54 games the year prior with Chicago of the USHL, tying him with Connor for the most points ever in a USHL for a player in his draft minus-one season. He was also MVP of the USHL playoffs in 2021, so he's checked off every box to this point.

Next up will be a night to remember in Nashville, but Fantilli said he's just trying to let everything sink in and taking things on a day-by-day basis.

"I just enjoy (the process) as much as I can every day," he said. "I'm at the Combine here; I've been dreaming about coming to the Combine for so many years now, and now I'm here. I'm just trying to enjoy today and enjoy yesterday. When that day comes in Nashville, I'm going to be super excited to go through it with my friends and family."

Will Smith

When the season began, the names Bedard, Michkov, Fantilli and even Carlsson were looked at as likely top-five picks.

Smith? Not so much. In the preseason draft rankings published by The Athletic's Scott Wheeler, Smith was listed as the No. 15-rated prospect coming into the season -- certainly good, but representative of someone who wasn't quite expected to be in this position come June 2023.

But here we are, and Smith won't have to wait very long to hear his name called when the event begins in Nashville. So did he pay attention to the draft rankings as he moved up boards throughout this past season?

"Not during the season," he said. "You obviously want your name to rise, but we don't really look at the rankings. The season is over, so wherever people want to put us in their rankings, now it doesn't really matter. It's what happens at the end of June."

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Smith certainly deserves the hype, though, after one of the most productive seasons in USNTDP history. The Boston-area native posted a 51-76-127 line in 60 games, with the point total second ever for a single season in U.S. program behind teammate Gabe Perreault.

Considering the players to come through the program -- Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes, to name a few -- that's high praise, and Smith kept it up through the World Under-18 Championship. There, Smith had a 9-11-20 line, tying Hughes' record for points at the event, and left with a gold medal with Team USA. In all, his 191 points over two seasons with the USNTDP are the second most in program history behind Hughes.

By any measure, Smith looks like the next big American star to come through Ann Arbor, but when asked about the success of his season, he had a short answer.

"We went (to the Worlds) with the national team to a win a gold medal, so it was a success," he said. "(Personally), you want to go there and leave your name in the books, and I think I did that. That was my goal going in."

A chat with Smith shows a personable kid but also a man of few words, one who is clearly driven to be a standout at the next levels. For Smith, that means next year will be spent at Boston College, where he will get the chance to play college hxockey with a bevy of USNTDP teammates as well as his sister, who will be a senior at BC next year.

As for the draft, he's ready to let the chips fall where they may.

"It's very top-heavy, as a lot of guys had career seasons, so I think it's whatever the teams want," he said. "The season is over. We did all we could. Whatever happens, happens."