It’s no secret that Robby Fabbri is an important asset to the St. Louis Blues, with every game we find the Blues falling further behind in the standings, it’s more important now than ever to have Fabbri in the lineup consistently.
Fabbri was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 2014 NHL Draft with the 21st overall pick. Fabbri made his NHL debut in 2015 against the Edmonton Oilers. Being a young kid with high expectations coming into the NHL, a lot of pressure was put on Fabbri early.
In 2017, Fabbri tore his ACL in his left knee in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. There was a lot of hope that Fabbri would be a huge part of a playoff run for the Blues in the 2016-2017 season before it was cut short.
Fast forward to training camp of the 2017-2018 season. Fabbri was running a drill and re-injured the same left knee he had a 3% chance of injuring, ending his entire season before it even started.
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Determined to come back stronger than ever, Fabbri put in hours of conditioning and training to make sure that this type of injury did not happen again.
Coming into the 2018-2019 season, fans and even members of the organization were skeptical of what Fabbri would bring to the table this year.
Fabbri is a major cog in the organization’s wheel. In fact, Doug Armstrong has made many statements saying that Fabbri is part of the team’s future as long he continues to perform.
So what does Fabbri bring to the St. Louis Blues? Energy and Speed, two things that this team desperately needs. He is not the biggest guy at only 5′ 10″, but what he lacks in stature he makes up for in effort. Fabbri never takes a shift off and works his tail off, night in and night out.
Most of the time he doesn’t make dumb plays, he is very skillful with the puck. He cuts to the middle of the ice when most players just stay to the outside and settle for a low-quality shot. His “hockey sense” as Darren Pang says, is off the charts.
Another thing that goes unnoticed by most is his forechecking. When a puck is dumped in the offensive zone, Fabbri is one of the first players to the puck. He’s not scared to go into those one on one battles and won’t quit on a play.
I wouldn’t go as far to call Fabbri a leader in the locker room, but it is without a question that the players and coaches love him as a person. His road to recovery should be an eye-opener to some of these guys on how hard you need to work to succeed.
Has Robby Fabbri had some rotten luck when it comes to injuries? Absolutely. However, do not let that cloud your judgment of how important he is to this team. The players, coaches, and fans love the guy, and his work ethic needs to rub off on some of his teammates.