Brock Faber is the Lawrence Taylor of hockey, according to Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Bob Motzko.
For those who aren’t aware, Taylor good at defense. The Hall of Fame linebacker piled up 143 sacks in 184 games with the New York Giants from 1981 to 1993. He was the three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year and NFL MVP in 1986.
As for Faber, the 19-year-old Maple Grove native is the newly-named captain of the Gophers who is now among the top prospects for his home state Minnesota Wild, who traded Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings for him and the No. 19 pick in the draft. Motzko thinks the Wild have a star in the making.
“He’s a beast defender. He’s Lawrence Taylor in football analogy,” said Motzko, appearing as a guest on KFAN’s Beyond the Pond. “He dominates the defensive side of the game in how he defends, the minutes he eats up. Those are just some valuable players. They don’t get all the accolades with points, but you don’t win big without guys like this.”
Faber never played high school hockey in Minnesota, instead playing two years for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan before suiting up during his true freshmen season with the Gophers in 2020-21.
“He is one of the top defensemen in college hockey,” Motzko said. “He’s an elite skater in today’s game with the speed of the game. He’s maybe one of the best skating defenseman I’ve ever coached and seen. He’s almost impossible to get around. He can run people down, he can take risks because he can get back in time.”
Motzko continued: “He’s strong, he’s big, he’s tough. He’s really tough. He’s just got all the ingredients. Big thing is he keeps working on the offensive side of the game. But the Wild got a good one they know what they’re getting there.
“He’s going to play in the NHL for a long time and we’re sure excited we get him back to play for the Gophers one more year.”
