T-birds first-round pick Dante Fabbro commits to Boston U

Dante Fabbro, the Seattle Thunderbirds’ first pick in the 2013 Bantam Draft, announced Monday afternoon that he has committed to play hockey at Boston University beginning with the 2016-17 season.

Excited to announce I will play @NCAAIceHockey next season for @TerrierHockey!Thanks to my family and friends @bwchockey @PentictonVees

— Fabbs (@17Fabbro) October 12, 2015

Seattle has long seemed out of the running for Fabbro, but T-Birds general manager Russ Farwell had maintained that the team hoped that he would change his mind and join a Seattle club that is expected to go deep in the playoffs this season. Fabbro has spent the last season-plus with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, keeping his options for his future open. While in Penticton, he’s been an outstanding offensive defenseman, registering 47 points in 54 games.

The commitment is not final as Fabbro still has the opportunity to reverse course and join Seattle, similar to what Ryan Gropp did at the beginning of the 2013-14 season. However, Gropp’s change of heart was more of an exception to the usual course of events than a common occurrence.

Seattle’s best hopes for someday seeing Fabbro in a Thunderbirds uniform may come following the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-1 defenseman from New Westminster, British Columbia is projected as a high first-round pick next summer, and it’s possible an NHL club may select him then ask him to head to the WHL to accelerate his development. A similar situation occurred before the 2013-14 season when the Edmonton Oilers asked Jujhar Khaira to leave his Michigan Tech team, which he’d been a member of for one year, and join the Everett Silvertips.

Either way, the Dante Fabbro saga has come to an end in Seattle, at least for the time being. Gropp’s reversal came just three months after he had announced his commitment to the University of North Dakota, but again, it shouldn’t be expected that Fabbro will have a similar change of heart. Fabbro’s presence would have been a huge plus for a team that lost Shea Theodore at the end of last season, but they still have a strong defensive group that runs seven skaters deep.

Related

The Seahawks’ salary cap outlook after Leonard Williams dealRed Sox come back to beat Mariners 9-8 in 10 inningsRed Sox put star Contreras on IL, push ace Gray out of Mariners seriesSeahawks announce initial 17-man practice squad for 2026Mariners’ Cal Raleigh wins AL Player of the Week after 5-HR barrageSeahawks lose 2nd-year edge rusher to waiver claim