Brock Faber put together an impressive rookie campaign for the Minnesota Wild this season, but it may have been more impressive considering the Maple Grove native was playing with broken ribs during the second half of the year.
Wild general manager praised Faber during his end of year press conference and revealed that Faber had been playing with the injury for the final two months as Minnesota battled for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“That’s the type of kid he is,” Guerin told reporters via The Athletic’s Michael Russo. “[He] never complained, never said boo. He could have been out of the lineup a number of times and he just wasn’t.”
Acquired in the 2022 trade that sent Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings, Faber paid big dividends for the Wild, setting a franchise record for a rookie defenseman with 47 points and 39 assists while playing all 82 games last season.
Fiala also finished second in franchise history to Kirill Kaprizov, who finished with 55 points (27 goals, 24 assists) in 55 games during his rookie season in 2020-21.
Faber’s production also ranked with some of the top rookies in the NHL this season. Faber’s 47 points were tied with New Jersey’s Luke Hughes for second in the NHL and his 39 assists were tied for first along with Chicago’s Connor Bedard, who led all rookies with 61 points and 22 goals.
It will be interesting to see if Faber’s toughness adds another layer to his bid to become the second Calder Trophy winner in Wild history but regardless, his emergence should mean good things for the Minnesota blue line.
“He has emerged as a top-pairing defenseman,” Guerin added. “He was our top defenseman this year. That is an unbelievably good thing for our organization going forward.”
Jared Spurgeon is expected to return from season-ending back and hip surgery next season, which should open the door for Faber to play with Jonas Brodin.
The Wild are also expected to bring back Jacob Middleton, Zach Bogosian and Declan Chisholm, leaving Minnesota’s defensive group largely intact heading into next year.
For now, the Wild will have to sit back and watch as the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Saturday afternoon and Faber won’t play for the United States during the upcoming World Championships this summer, his Calder bid is something to keep an eye on as Minnesota heads into the offseason.
