St. Louis Blues Forward Robby Fabbri Diagnosed with Concussion
The St. Louis Blues announced following their Monday afternoon practice that rookie forward Robby Fabbri will be out indefinitely with a concussion. The 19-year-old, who scored his first NHL goal in his debut on Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers, exited Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild early after taking an elbow to the head from Chris Porter.
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With Fabbri, who had played the first two games on a line with Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz, now sidelined, the Blues will likely move Troy Brouwer up to that line and plug in Scottie Upshall, a healthy scratch through the first two games, on the David Backes/Dmitrij Jaskin line. That dilutes the Blues’ playmaking ability on offense, though with games against physical opponents like the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets up soon on the schedule, an infusion of Upshall’s physicality may provide a bit of a boost.
With Fabbri now being sidelined, it certainly provides more reason for the team to send him back to his junior club, the Guelph Storm. The Blues burn a year on Fabbri’s three-year entry-level contract and will be forced to keep him on the NHL roster for the rest of the season if he plays eight more games with them this year. While there was little he could do to avoid it, another injury for Fabbri, who was sidelined with both an upper-body injury in training camp and a high ankle sprain at midseason in 2014-15, could bring into question his physical readiness for the NHL. With concerns remaining about the 5-foot-10, 180-pounder’s strength, it’s possible that the Blues could elect to give him another developmental season in juniors before truly unleashing him.