Detroit Red Wings Activate Robby Fabbri from Injured Reserve

Jakub Vrana Assigned to Grand Rapids

The Detroit Red Wings today activated center Robby Fabbri from injured reserve and assigned left wing Jakub Vrana to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Fabbri, 26, is expected to make his season debut tonight against New Jersey, marking his first game action since sustaining a lower-body injury on March 10 vs. Minnesota. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound forward skated in 50 games during the 2021-22 season and ranked among the team leaders with 17 goals (4th), 13 assists (T10th), 30 points (8th), 35 penalty minutes (6th), six power play goals (T1st), eight power play points (T5th), 123 shots (10th), a 13.8 shooting percentage (7th) and 86 hits (T6th). Originally selected by St. Louis in the first round (21st overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Fabbri has recorded 152 points (73-79-152) and 129 penalty minutes in 302 games with the Red Wings and Blues since 2015-16, in addition to 16 points (5-11-16) in 30 postseason contests. Fabbri helped the Blues claim their first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2019, working his way back from a pair of injuries that sidelined him for over a year, including the entire 2017-18 season, totaling six points (2-4-6) in 32 regular-season games before netting one goal in 10 postseason appearances.

A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Fabbri played three seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm from 2012-15, where he was teammates at various points with fellow Red Wings forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Pius Suter, prior to turning professional. In all, Fabbri racked up 171 points (80-91-171) in 147 games with the Storm, while adding 33 points (14-19-33) over 30 postseason contests. During the 2013-14 season, Fabbri compiled 87 points (45-42-87) in 58 regular-season games and earned the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP after totaling 28 points (13-15-28) in 16 postseason games to help Guelph capture an OHL title. On the international stage, Fabbri won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, and also won gold at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

Vrana, 26, has appeared in three games with Grand Rapids since beginning a conditioning assignment on Dec. 28, recording two penalty minutes and nine shots. The 6-foot, 190-pound forward has also skated in two games with Detroit this season, tallying a goal and an assist on Oct. 15 at New Jersey. Vrana was limited to 26 games during the 2021-22 campaign but still ranked among the team leaders with 13 goals (T8th), five power play goals (T4th), six power play points (8th) and a 20.0 shooting percentage (2nd). He has recorded 32 points (22-10-32), 18 penalty minutes and a 21.6 shooting percentage in 39 games since being acquired by the Red Wings in a trade with the Washington Capitals on April 12, 2021. In total, Vrana has skated in 323 career games between Detroit and Washington, totaling 189 points (98-91-189), a plus-30 rating and 85 penalty minutes. In his first full NHL season in 2017-18, Vrana helped the Capitals win their first-ever Stanley Cup championship, posting 27 points (13-14-27) in 73 regular-season games along with eight points (3-5-8) in 23 postseason contests. Vrana was originally drafted by Washington in the first round (13th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft – two picks prior to Detroit’s selection of Dylan Larkin at 15th overall.

A native of Prague, Czech Republic, Vrana has registered 75 points (35-40-75), a plus-16 rating and 50 penalty minutes in 91 games with the Griffins and Hershey Bears, in addition to 20 points (10-10-20), a plus-eight rating and eight penalty minutes in 38 postseason appearances. Prior to arriving in North America, Vrana spent four seasons developing in Sweden, where he debuted professionally with Linkoping in the Swedish Hockey League in 2012-13 and logged 27 points (14-13-27) and 14 penalty minutes in 73 games until 2014-15. He also racked up 58 points (35-23-58), a plus-11 rating and 77 penalty minutes in 59 games in Sweden’s top junior league. Vrana has represented his country at the last three IIHF World Championships, where he was teammates with Filip Hronek (2019, 2021 and 2022), Dominik Kubalik (2019 and 2021) and Filip Zadina (2021), combining for 10 points (7-3-10) in 26 games between the three tournaments. Additionally, Vrana recorded six points (3-3-6) in 16 games at three-straight IIHF World Junior Championships (2013-15) and 20 points (14-6-20) in 18 games at three-consecutive IIHF World Under-18 Championships (2012-14).

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