With the 17^th pick in the National Hockey League draft, the Nashville Predators select Dante Fabbro here from the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Analysis of Dante Fabbro

Fabbro is a rare commodity in this day and age as he’s a right-handed defenseman that is a great shot. General managers salivate over seeing blue-liners with that ability. He may not be flashy, but he makes the smart plays. He also doesn’t compound mistakes when he makes one, and doesn’t get rattled when things get tough.

The Boston University commit broke out this season with Penticton as he tallied 14 goals and 53 assists. There was some question on if the BCHL is a tough enough league, but he showed that he could hang with the best with his performance on the international stage.

He notched eight assists at the World Under 18 Championships for Team Canada.

RELATED: Dante Fabbro – The Next Ones: 2016 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

Fabbro even called the Predators his favorite team things to having a British Columbia native in Shea Weber on the team. Now he’ll have a shot to play on the same team as him.

And Dante Fabbro also considered the Predators his favorite NHL team (before being picked by them). Models game after Shea Weber.

— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) June 25, 2016

Fabbro On the Nashville Predators

The Predators get another solid defenseman that they can mold in the likes of Roman Josi and Shea Weber. Nashville usually takes a lot of players from British Columbia. (Weber, Justin Kirkland, Colton Sissons.)

There had been concerns about some the depth of the defensive prospect pool, but Fabbro is a good first step in correcting that issue.

It’s the first opening round selection for Nashville since 2015 when the team selected Swiss forward Kevin Fiala with the 11^th overall selection. The Predators did not have a first-round pick in last year’s draft after the team sent the 24^th pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Mike Santorelli and Cody Franson. The pick was subsequently dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers, who then took Travis Konecny.