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Five St. Louis Blues Players Under the Most Pressure Going into 2016-17

By Patrick Karraker

May 23, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri (15) skates on defense against the San Jose Sharks in the third period in game five of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri (15) skates on defense against the San Jose Sharks in the third period in game five of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 25, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues center Kenny Agostino (73) is congratulated by center Robby Fabbri (15) after scoring a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period of a preseason hockey game at Scottrade Center. The Blues won 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues center Kenny Agostino (73) is congratulated by center Robby Fabbri (15) after scoring a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period of a preseason hockey game at Scottrade Center. The Blues won 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Robby Fabbri

Robby Fabbri will be attempting to avoid the same type of sophomore slump that Jaskin fought through last season, even though he had a better all-around rookie campaign than Jaskin did. After a 2015-16 season during which he scored 18 goals and provided 19 assists in 72 regular season games, then added four goals and 11 assists in 20 postseason contests, the 20-year-old Fabbri will need to find new ways to avoid being contained by opponents in 2016-17.

Also, while the Blues were able to hide him a bit and keep him off of special teams last season, he’s going to have to step up and become more of a complete player this season in the absence of David Backes and Troy Brouwer. Fabbri’s going to get more time on the power play–and perhaps the penalty kill as the season goes on–and as his minutes build up throughout the year, he’s going to have to find ways to stay energized.

Most importantly, Fabbri not only needs to replicate the production from his rookie season–he probably needs to build upon it, as he’s now up there with Alexander Steen and Jaden Schwartz in terms of possibly being the Blues’ second-most important scorer behind Vladimir Tarasenko. If he can’t do that, the Blues almost surely won’t have enough offense to survive in the vicious Central Division. Just a little bit of pressure, right?

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