Cale Makar & Dante Fabbro: Two Canadian Princes Delight NCAA Hockey Fans
Cale Makar & Dante Fabbro: Two Canadian Princes Delight NCAA Hockey Fans
Canadian NCAA stars Cale Makar and Dante Fabbro make a rare pair in American college hockey.
Is it a Halley’s Comet? Or does having two of Canada’s prized World Junior defensemen battling each other several times a year in Hockey East represent the new normal?
“It’s Halley’s Comet,” says USA Hockey player personnel man Ben Smith, who has game-planned against both Cale Makar (a UMass sophomore) and Dante Fabbro (a BU junior) at the 2018 World Junior Championship.
Some old school hockey assumptions are needed here: The age old mantra is that Hockey Canada prefers not to select NCAA players when they go hunting for World Junior Gold each New Year. NCAA stars like Paul Kariya (Maine), Jason Botterill (Michigan) and Mike Cammalleri (Michigan) were notable exceptions, simply too good to keep off of the Team Canada rosters in years past. “In general, the Canadian National Junior Team has not relied too heavily on NCAA players over the years,” said Smith in an understatement, doing his best not to generate ripples on either side of the border.
In his mind, having Makar and Fabbro, a couple of first round NHL Draft choices who have World Junior gold medals stashed in drawers at home, running their respective power plays for Hockey East squads is something college hockey fans should appreciate, because it’s as rare as finding a pearl while shucking an oyster.
Not so fast, says Nate Ewell of College Hockey, Inc., a man whose job description includes trying to convince the best and fastest Canadian teenagers to consider college as a route to the pros, rather than major junior. To Ewell, a Princeton grad, it’s all academic: “We have seen the interest in college hockey growing among elite Canadian players, as evidenced by four straight years of NCAA players on the Canadian World Junior Team.”
So, perhaps it’s a new world order, or a twist of fate, but for the last two seasons (and in Fabbro’s case, three), Hockey East fans have had the pleasure of watching two premier right-handed defensemen, with sterling international hockey resumes, quarterback the power-play at BU (Fabbro) and UMass (Makar).
“These are two of the top players in the world not playing in the NHL,” said Ewell, doing his job to pump up NCAA players, but certainly not fibbing. “College fans are very lucky to see them each weekend. They’re especially lucky to see them for two and three years, since talents like this often move on.”
It’s true. Following in the steps of its distant cousin college basketball, the term “one-and-done” is now a part of college hockey’s nomenclature. Recent cases in point: Jack Eichel (BU), Dylan Larkin (Michigan) and Casey Mittelstadt (Minnesota) all bolted campus life for fat NHL contracts after their freshman years. Third year UMass coach Greg Carvel inherited the phenom Makar when he took the helm at Amherst in 2016. His jewel became the NHL’s fourth overall draft pick in 2017 before even stepping on campus. Makar was hockey’s answer to “The Natural,” and Carvel wasn’t sure if he’d ever play a shift in Amherst.
“We were told by almost every NHL scout that, ‘You’ll never see Cale, he’ll never make it to campus,’” said Carvel. “And then he got drafted in the first round. ‘Oh, he’ll never come back for his second year.’”
The establishment was wrong, and as if he were a test case for College Hockey, Inc., Makar has developed superbly playing against the men of the NCAA. His choice to attend college has been supported by his father Gary, who appreciates the benefits of the college game and all it has to offer.
“My dad and I went to a lot of different seminars together,” said Makar. “We learned a lot of the facts. At the end of the day, I felt it was the right place, and I think my dad agreed with me.”
Seventy miles east of Amherst down the Mass Pike, old pal and a gold medal teammate Dante Fabbro was also in a good place. He’s been playing for one of college hockey’s most storied institutions, Boston University. “We know each other pretty well and I consider him a pretty good friend,” said Makar of Fabbro. “We’ve been acquainted growing up, whether it’s spring hockey when we were 14 years old, we had the whole World Junior experience together, we also played together at the World Junior Challenge before that.”
Last Friday in Amherst, Fabbro and Makar faced off against each other for the second time in a week. A packed house and a regional TV audience saw UMass defeat BU 4-2, and witnessed the two princes doing what they do best. Fabbro opened the scoring on BU's power play, ripping a one-timer from a favorite location, the left circle.
Makar answered in the following period with a rink-length rush that got fans out of their seats, setting up a teammate for a routine goal. The electric Makar is considered prime Hobey Baker Award material; the steady Fabbro is a candidate to return to the All-Hockey East squad. Massachusetts college puck fans should consider themselves lucky—both of these guys are probably in their last month of NCAA hockey.
“I think both guys would be expected to sign,” said Smith. Stories of Makar coming west to help the NHL Avalanche’s playoff chances this spring are not uncommon in Denver, but Fabbro is a different story. His NHL rights are owned by Nashville, who has an abundance of elite offensive defensemen. They will certainly try to sign him, but where he will play after leaving BU remains a mystery.
In what is shaping up as the year of the defenseman in college hockey, NCAA fans in the Bay State have been spoiled by two of the best, two princes straight from Canada’s national team. Hopefully they will be appreciated, because their NCAA shelf life is about to expire.
Author Tim Rappleye just released his latest book: Hobey Baker, Upon Further Review (Mission Point Press, 2018). He can be reached @TeeRaps.