ST PAUL, Minn. — After his limited debut at the end of the 2022-23 NHL season, the Minnesota Wild knew defenseman Brock Faber had promise.
It's not every 20-year-old that can end their college career with a heart-wrenching loss in a national championship game, jump on a plane and join his hometown NHL club, all in the span of about 48 hours. Not only that, Faber jumped into the lineup and looked completely at home, skating the final two regular season contests and six playoff games and ending up a plus-5.
A full season later, everyone in the NHL knows how good Faber is. On Tuesday, the Maple Grove native was named as one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy, which is awarded to the league's top rookie. The other two candidates are Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard (who is likely the favorite) and New Jersey defenseman Luke Hughes.
Faber, 21, finished his first full season with 47 points (8 goals, 39 assists) 150 blocked shots and an average ice time of 24 minutes, 58 seconds per game, the most of any NHL rookie and the fifth highest total of any NHL player in 2023-24.
The ice time Faber ate up is significant and impressive. According to NHL Stats, Faber became the only NHL rookie to play five games with 30-plus minutes of Time On Ice (TOI) in a single season since the league began tracking the stat in 1997-98.
Bedard is considered by many NHL insiders to have the inside track to the Calder, finishing the season with 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) even while missing a month with a broken jaw. While many label him a hockey talent that comes along once in a generation, detractors point to Bedard's brutal plus-minus rating (a -44) this year as evidence he needs to grow his all-around game.
Those who support Faber as the season's best rookie point to the load he carried for the Wild after captain Jared Spurgeon was lost for the year after only skating 16 games, and mainstay Jonas Brodin was shelved for significant stretches by injury. Faber was asked to eat up minutes on the D-corps top pair, anchor the Wild's penalty kill and quarterback the club's power play, something he didn't even do in college at the U of M.
Brock Faber is just the second player in Minnesota Wild history to be named a finalist for the Calder Trophy. Superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov won the award in 2020-21.
The top rookie will be announced June 27 in Las Vegas during the NHL Awards show.
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