He’s already got family in the area, so moving to Nashville won’t be anything like a sad country song for New Westminster native Dante Fabbro.
Rather, hearing his name called by the Nashville Predators organization Friday at the 2016 NHL Draft was music to his ears.
The 18-year-old defenceman was drafted 17th overall by the NHL’s Predators to cap a whirlwind weekend in Buffalo.
Fabbro sits atop the club’s prospect list, after putting in a highlight year with the B.C. Hockey League’s Penticton Vees and as a member of Canada’s under-18 team.
With Tennessee already part-time home to sisters Gina and Sophia, who attend nearby Austin Peay University on soccer scholarships, Fabbro’s new team is already a favourite commute for the family.
Now he’s super excited at the possibility of wearing the yellow sabretooth tiger on his jersey.
“I grew up loving the Preds,” Fabbro told NashvillepPredators.com’s Brooks Bratten. “It’s definitely a special moment for me and my family. I’m honoured and humbled to be a part of this organization, and hopefully in the future I can make an impact.”
At six-feet tall and 189 pounds, the Burnaby Winter Club product projects as a shrewd puckhandler with plenty of positional smarts.
“He’s a good, all-around defenseman who plays in all situations,” Predators general manager David Poile told NashvillePredators.com. “This should be a guy who, if he develops the way we feel that he should, in the next few years, he should be a top four defensemen and he should play in all situations.
“We’re not in any hurry to have to replace our current four, but two or three or four years down the road, this could be the type of guy who would be perfect to move into our lineup.”
Fabbro will attend the team’s prospects camp next month, before beginning the next stage of his development as a freshman at Boston University.
Noting that Shea Weber was his favourite player growing up, Fabbro had hoped to join the fellow B.C. native, along with Port Moody’s Ryan Johansen, at Bridgestone Arena someday -- before the former was dealt to Montreal on Wednesday.
“It’s just an honour. It’s such a great organization, and to be drafted by the same team [Weber plays for], it’s definitely a cool moment for me,” Fabbro said last week. “I know my family thinks the same thing. ... What they did last year in the playoffs was pretty spectacular, so it’s a huge honour to be a part of this, and I’m looking forward to working hard and going to development camp.”
