ST. LOUIS -- It was quite the rookie season for Blues forward Robby Fabbri.
Fabbri was part of a trio of rookies with Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson that played an integral role in helping the Blues advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2001.
Fabbri, who had 18 goals and 19 assists in 72 games during the regular season, tied for the team lead with Vladimir Tarasenko with 15 Stanley Cup Playoff points with four goals and a team-leading 11 assists.
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| Blues forward Robby Fabbri |
Fabbri, 20, talked about his first experience in the NHL, what he takes from it and what he can do to make himself a better player moving forward:
Was it an eye-opening experience for you this year?
I look back on it and I have no regrets with this year. I enjoyed every moment of it. I learned so much from all these guys. The biggest thing is I had a lot of fun.
What was the biggest thing that you learned?
Being around these guys that have been in the league for many years every day. Working and practicing, it takes a lot to get here and it even takes more to stay here and keep going. Everyone knows what that ultimate goal is.
The fact that you were so close, is that the the bitter feeling for you?
That's tough. We were confident in here and fell a little short, but that doesn't take away from a great year we had. We're just going to build off that.
You have an idea what it takes to get to the next level now?
Yeah, you experience everything, you see everything that everyone goes through and how tough it is. For my first year, I think it's a good steppingstone for my career.
What can you do more of this offseason to be better?
All around taking it the way I take every summer. Just try to get bigger, stronger, faster, all the things that everyone has to do and come back next year and start all over again.
When you had nine-game trial at beginning and Blues kept you, could you have drawn it up any better?
I don't know. I mean you look at the way the year went and everything, I was pretty fortunate that it went like this my first year. Like I've been saying, it's just been a great steppingstone for my career, I think.
How much does it help to get this playoff experience?
Talking to some of the guys, it took them years just to get in the playoffs. Mine, Joel and Pary's first year, we go to the conference finals. To gain that experience, that's going to help us in the future and it'll be good for the organization, too.
Have any of the veteran guys reminded you how hard this is and to appreciate it?
They said, 'Don't take this for granted. It doesn't come around all the time, and to just have fun with it.' When you get the opportunity, make the most of it.
Interest in playing center again next year, your natural position?
I haven't talked to them about that. ... I'm comfortable on the wing, I'm comfortable in the middle. Wherever they put me, I'll play.
What was it like to come to the rink every day with the support from fans?
It helped us out a lot to get that extra energy from them. Like you said, when you're just driving down the street, all the stores got 'Let's Go Blues' on it. When you're just walking around and fans notice you and want to take pictures, just seeing how invested they were helped us out a lot and great to play in front of.
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