The St. Louis Blues are just two games into their preseason schedule, but Robby Fabbri has been the hottest topic of conversation around the team’s camp.
Robby Fabbri was one of the most highly regarded forward prospects the St. Louis Blues had in years. However, back to back ACL injuries and a shoulder injury has put his fantastic start to his career on hold.
Coming into camp, he has been considered to be on the outside looking in for a spot in the Blues lineup. The Blues have a plethora of forward depth, and after Fabbri’s lackluster performance last season, he needs to have a great preseason.
He got off to a great start against the Dallas Stars in the first game of the preseason, showing off his speed and skill that we saw during his rookie season, but the change heading into game two is interesting.
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When the Blues brought Fabbri to St. Louis, the plan was for him to play on the wing and eventually move him to center.
This plan was brought into action before St. Louis’ game against the Washington Capitals. Fabbri took to the ice during the morning skate at the center position for the first time this season.
The position change may be a result of the preseason and not having the full roster travel, but it’s still noteworthy.
St. Louis has some of the best center depth in the entire league, and they supposedly have all four of their centers to fill the lineup already. Ryan O’Reilly, Brayden Schenn, Tyler Bozak, and Oskar Sundqvist will likely headline the Blues depth chart at center.
So where is the room for Fabbri? The short answer is, there probably is no room at center. However, the more Fabbri can diversify himself to the team, the more chances he gets to fill the lineup.
The majority of Blues fans may look at Fabbri and think he is approaching his mid-20s because of how much time he has spent on the bench, and how little time he has been on the ice.
However, Fabbri is still just 23 years old and can bring a lot to the table if he is healthy. The fact that Fabbri has played in back to back games to start the preseason is a big indication of how the team views him heading into the season.
Even though the theoretical players he is competing with, Zach Sanford and Sammy Blais, have not played in as many games as Fabbri, it’s still more time to show the organization that you can still play.
There is still a long way to go before I would feel comfortable with Fabbri entering the starting lineup. However, if he is able to prove he can perform at multiple positions, I’m for the former first-round pick getting his chance.