Blues intrigued by Fabbri option to start season

By foxsports
Published

While the entire NHL is abuzz about the possibility of Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid's rookie debuts this season, the St. Louis Blues are focusing on an intriguing prospect of their own: 19-year-old Robby Fabbri. 

The speedy forward spent most of last season in Canadian juniors, where he racked up 51 points (and 25 goals) in 30 games. He came into camp ready to fight for a roster spot, and according to Blues GM Doug Armstrong, Fabbri has a chance at one -- for now. 

"He wasn’t sneaking up on anyone," Armstrong said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He’s had a really good camp and I would say there’s a really good chance that we’re going to use the nine games to take a look and see. We think he can compete at this level."

Thanks to an agreement with Canadian juniors, NHL teams can allow prospects such as Fabbri to spend up to nine games playing for the NHL club before deciding whether to keep the player for a full year and thus burn off a year of the player's entry-level contract, or they can send the player back to junior and leave the year remaining on his contract. Junior players under the age of 20 cannot play in the AHL or ECHL, so it's either NHL or juniors for Fabbri this coming season.

His linemates in practices hint that Fabbri could play a significant role for the Blues if he stays in the NHL; Fabbri took the ice Sunday with Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz, two top-six caliber players.

(h/t St. Louis Post-Dispatch)