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Fabbri to miss season after reinjuring left knee

Forward Robby Fabbri will miss the entire hockey season. 
Dec 19, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri (15) skates with the puck during the third period against the Edmonton Oilers at Scottrade Center. The Oilers won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

Blues forward Robby Fabbri will miss the 2017-18 season after reinjuring his surgically repaired left knee.

Fabbri, 21, originally sustained a torn left ACL on Feb. 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins that sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Fabbri, who had 11 goals and 18 assists in 51 games last season and has 29 goals and 37 assists in 123 NHL games, had surgery in Chicago on Feb. 28 and was cleared to resume training on July 31 after offseason rehabilitation.

The Blues felt that Fabbri would be 100 percent for this season and were experimenting with the idea of moving him back to his natural center position.

A first-round pick (No. 21) in the 2014 NHL Draft, Fabbri was on the ice for the start of training camp on Sept. 15 and played in his first preseason game last Friday against the Washington Capitals; he played 19:08, had three shots on goal and split on two faceoffs.

"Good. That was exciting," Fabbri said when asked how he felt after the game. "Good to get back out there again. You really see the difference there in a game than a scrimmage against the guys. I thought it was a good first game and was just glad to get my feet wet and keep moving from here.

"The biggest thing is try not to get too frustrated with the things out there. It's tough just to come back in and be the same player right away. It's going to take a few games here. We're really going to be working here the next couple weeks to get ready for the season."

Blues coach Mike Yeo seemed pleased with Fabbri's first game in nearly eight months.

"I was happy with his game overall for the first game back," Yeo said. "I think the wing position was a little bit less taxing in some defensive situations, allowed him to be a little bit more offensive to his game.

"He has to find his timing again, sort of get the feel for the game. Things happen quickly out there. When you're out for a long time, they happen quicker. Things will slow down as we move along but a good first step."

The Blues practiced on Saturday and Fabbri was not on the ice; he was expected to play on Sunday against the Penguins in the third annual Kraft Hockeyville USA game at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, but the Blues said that Fabbri re-injured his knee and would initially be re-evaluated in 10 days.

Fabbri was supposed to play in the Blues' first preseason game against the Dallas Stars, took part in the morning skate but was left behind, and Yeo said the team was being "cautious" with Fabbri, feeling there may be some general soreness and lingering affects of scar tissue around the knee.

The plan was for him to play in four of the remaining preseason games.

Fabbri had the second-most ice time behind 2016 first-round pick Tage Thompson (19:51) in the 4-0 victory against the Capitals; he had his left knee wrapped afterwards.

"I'm not going to lie and say going into the corner against a couple guys isn't in the back of your head, but the first few encounters there, it's gone now and I started throwing the body around and got pretty confident out there," said Fabbri, who played on the left wing with Ivan Barbashev and Beau Bennett. "Glad to get that out of the way and get some hits in and really feel that."

The Blues are already without forward Alexander Steen (hand), defenseman Jay Bouwmeester (ankle), Patrik Berglund (shoulder) and Zach Sanford, who had surgery to repair a dislocated left shoulder that will sideline him 5-6 months.

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