The Minnesota Wild’s preseason ended this past Friday evening, Oct. 4, with a big win over the Chicago Blackhawks. This preseason went quite well for the Wild, as they excelled offensively, their special teams stepped up, and their goaltending showed some promise. Several players stuck out throughout these past couple of weeks, and while most have their eyes on the prospects, one of the veterans, Brock Faber, excelled once again.
Faber’s talents stood out when he joined the Wild at the end of the 2022-23 season when he played two regular season games and was given a chance to play in an NHL postseason as a rookie, where he shined even brighter. In this article, we’ll take a look at how Faber’s preseason went, how he’ll impact the team this season, and what his role with the team could be in the future. We’ll start with his preseason performance and move on from there.
Faber Plays One Way
Like his teammate Kirill Kaprizov, Faber doesn’t have an off-switch in his style of play. He’s always playing at 110 percent, and the same goes for the preseason despite it not having any affect on the regular season. He played in three of the six games this preseason and left an impression in each.
In his first appearance, he set up one goal for a single assist. Then, he had to step it up in the second game, so he assisted on two goals. Then, in the preseason finale for both him and the team, he scored a goal and registered an assist. In three games played, he ended up with four points.
Like Kaprizov, Faber can play with pretty much anyone, but he does the best with Jonas Brodin. That changed last season when Jared Spurgeon was out of the lineup for most of the season. They had to change up the defensive pairings a bit, and Faber worked with Middleton some. Now that Spurgeon is back, Faber will be put back with Brodin. It’ll be interesting to see them back together again and have their strong defensive skills on display.
Faber’s Impact This Season
Now that the Wild have Spurgeon and Brodin back healthy simultaneously, Faber will not be expected to fill the top role as much. He did an amazing job last season taking over the top spot and filling in on both the power play and penalty kill, but this season, he can focus more on smaller aspects of his game, like his turnovers. They were a bit high at 35 but, again, to be expected for a young player just getting used to the NHL, and something he can fix.
Last season, he was thrust into the top spot, and while he did a great job, he didn’t have time to focus on the details of his game. Instead, he had to constantly be on the move. He was playing even strength and power play, and then he was back on the penalty kill, so he didn’t have much time to sit on the bench.
The Wild are lucky to have Faber and know they can rely on him if things happen to their top defensemen. Some could argue that he is their top defenseman, but he still has some areas to improve, which is expected of a player going into his second full season. Hopefully, this time around, his teammates will stay healthy, and he can work on his game in a more normal situation.
Faber’s Future With Wild
Everyone knew an extension was coming for Faber this past offseason, and no one was surprised when the Wild announced that it was an eight-year deal worth $68 million. He earned that deal, and the Wild had to make sure they locked him up long-term. He’s a strong defenseman who’s young and can score. He’s the near-perfect all-around player, and those guys don’t come around often.
Some have even said that when Spurgeon’s career with the Wild is done, Faber will likely be the next captain. Again, he’s the perfect player for the role, and he’ll have some of the best players to learn from along the way, including their current captain. Spurgeon is at the age where injuries take longer to heal, and although he’s still playing great, his seasons may be limited if he continues to get hurt.
Related: Wild Secure Defensive Future With Brock Faber Extension
Brodin is still in the prime of his career and will be around the Wild for quite some time, but Faber is their future, and they’re in great hands. General manager Bill Guerin knew what he was doing when he traded away Kevin Fiala for Brock Faber and a draft pick that became Liam Ohgren in the summer of 2022. He maybe didn’t realize it would work out as well as it did, but he saw something in Faber, and it changed the defensive future of his team for the better.
Wild Need Faber
After last season’s disappointing end, the Wild will need a better effort from everyone on their team, regardless of how well or poorly they played. Faber had a strong performance last season, and they’ll need him to build on that and do even better this coming season. The Wild will need everything Faber has, and hopefully, he can help get them back into the postseason again.
