Young St. Louis Blues forward Robby Fabbri was a highly-touted prospect, but after a lackluster 2019, he is on the outside looking in to earn a roster spot.
The St. Louis Blues gave Robby Fabbri a one-year, $900,000 deal in the offseason after earning restricted free agent status. However, the young winger will need to bust his butt to earn a lineup spot.
A terrible 2019 season left Fabbri watching from the press box more often than not. Though not everything that went wrong for Fabbri can be placed on the former first-round pick.
Fabbri has had a lengthy, and damaging injury history. The 23-year-old had back to back ACL surgeries two years ago and was clearly not a hundred percent at times last season.
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At some point, the Blues will need to stop giving Fabbri a chance to make the team and possibly move on from him.
A lot of fans may be frustrated with the performances of Fabbri last season, but it’s easy to forget that the kid is still 23 years old and has plenty of time to get his leg strength back and be productive.
The problem for Fabbri is, it looks like he may have fallen out of favor with Craig Berube and may be on the outside looking in.
It’s no secret that the Blues have an abundance of forward depth in their system, and there are players even younger than Fabbri looking to make a name for himself during the preseason.
St. Louis seems set on giving players Jordan Kyrou and possibly Klim Kostin a chance to make the team. You also need to take into consideration the fact that Mackenzie MacEachern has a one-way contract.
Fabbri was not a regular during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, and it could be an indication of what role he will take heading into the new year.
The Blues are returning everyone but Pat Maroon, but Berube looks like he will have similar style lines heading into the 2020 season. St. Louis will look to put a physical body like Sammy Blais or Kostin on the third line.
There are some positive signs for Fabbri’s chances of making the team. Both Robert Thomas and Kyrou have started the season injured, and although they both look to be ready for the start of the year, Fabbri is taking reps that they aren’t.
St. Louis also has a great history of giving young players a chance to make the team if they had a stellar camp. You don’t even have to go back five or 10 years to find examples of this.
Last season, Blais made the team after being a longshot to make the roster out of camp for a second-straight year. Want someone without NHL experience that has made the team? Niko Mikkola made the big club after training camp last year.
Make no mistake, if Fabbri takes care of business and has a great camp, he will be on the roster. However, if he struggles, the Blues may be forced to move on from the 23-year-old.