"Everyone is up for a challenge, and I am as well," Fabbro said. "The thing is, I think [Subban and I] are two different players, and I'm going to bring to the team what I brought in the past - that two-way, stout D-man. I'm not trying to stray away from somebody who I'm not, I'm just going to stick to my game and try and help this team win."
Hear that? Not only is his hockey sense off the charts, his maturity level is too.
"Sometimes, when you get into the League, you feel like you've got to change stuff, but for him, I feel like he's just played his game and been comfortable with his game," Ekholm said. "That's enough on this level, and what I've seen so far, I think his game is more than enough and he's more than capable of playing in this League on a high role."
That role may in fact come alongside Ekholm this season if the Predators elect to make Fabbro one of their top-four defensemen on Opening Night. Subban skated alongside Ekholm last season, and a new-look pair with the Swede and Canadian may make sense.
There are other options as well, and the Predators are exploring those as training camp continues. Fabbro and Ekholm skated together during Saturday's practice, but on Tuesday, the former Boston University Terrier captain was with Preds Captain Roman Josi.
His defensive partner is ultimately out of Fabbro's control, but the individuals who will make the final call have his best interests in mind.
"We're going to give him as much as he can handle, but I think we've got other veterans that can move up and play left side or right side if we need to, so hopefully we have the right setup that allows him to be successful," Predators General Manager David Poile said of Fabbro. "Based on how I've seen him in the rookie camp for one game, how I see him today, he looks really good, and I think maybe we won't have enough for him to handle.
"We always are a little cautious with our younger players and put them in that position to be successful in that type of situation… But Fabbro looks really good to us at the outset here."
When the Predators selected Fabbro 17th overall in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft, they envisioned he would one day become a regular on their backend. It seems that time has arrived, and it seemingly won't be long before Fabbro is turning heads and reaping praise from around the League.
And speaking of compliments, how's this from one of the world's best defenseman?
"Dante's going to do what makes him so good, and you saw that last year with what he did and the way he played," Josi said. "He looks really good out there. He's a great player, and I know he's going to be really good for us."
