Mabee was coached by Paul Wirtz for a year in Montreal but, after being injured in 1998, he moved back home to be closer to his family.

[2] Mabee then trained at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario, under Lee Barkell and Doug Leigh.

At the 2002 Nationals, he won the bronze medal on the junior level behind Shawn Sawyer and Keegan Murphy.

He moved up to sixth at Nationals and earned a spot to the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where he placed 5th.

The next season, Mabee won a gold and a silver on the Junior Grand Prix, but had a bad skate at the final and placed eighth.

His quest to make the team was chronicled on the fifth estate, along with other skaters like Jeffrey Buttle and Emanuel Sandhu.

Mabee had a career-best free skate, but his imperfect short program prevented him from placing higher.

He skated two career-best programs, placing second overall, ahead of three-time national champion Emanuel Sandhu.