Guelph's Fabbri uses Memorial Cup loss as motivation

Wednesday, 05.28.2014 / 4:48 PM

By Mike G. Morreale - NHL.com Staff Writer / Combing the 2014 NHL Combine

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Combing the 2014 NHL Combine
Guelph's Fabbri uses Memorial Cup loss as motivation

TORONTO -- It wasn't the finish Guelph Storm center Robert Fabbri envisioned in the Memorial Cup championship game in London, Ontario, on Sunday.

Still, despite a 6-3 loss against the Edmonton Oil Kings on the final day of the Canadian Hockey League season, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound left-hand shot has plenty to get excited about now that the 2014 NHL Draft is less than a month away.

Fabbri, No. 21 on NHL Central Scouting's final list of the top draft-eligible North American skaters, finished the season with 45 goals and 87 points in 58 games in his second season in the Ontario Hockey League.

"You can't really define a season off one game, although it was the Memorial Cup and we worked really hard for that opportunity; we just didn't get the outcome we wanted," Fabbri said.

"Winning the OHL championship was one of our goals and one of the steps we needed to take to get to the Memorial Cup. Accomplishing that and the way we did was great. Not too many players can say they won an OHL championship."

Fabbri finished fourth in scoring in the Memorial Cup with six points (two goals) in four games.

He said next season the team will know the steps needed to take it even further.

"You know what it takes to get there and I know what it takes to win; we didn't have that at the time and in this one game," Fabbri said. "I'll use that experience heading into next year. Having an OHL championship under my belt and helping the young guys coming in, rebuilding that team to the type of team we had this year."

Even though he hasn't had time to prepare since his season ended May 25, Fabbri will participate in all the fitness testing at the NHL Scouting Combine in Toronto on Saturday.

"I set goals for myself during the year and thought I met those pretty well," he said. "A lot of the success comes from the team success. When the team is doing well, individual players will do well and I was a part of that."

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