Brock Faber was one of the Wild’s best players all season long, and he’s being recognized for it.
Wild defenseman Brock Faber is finalist for NHL’s Calder Trophy awarded to top rookie
The former Gophers standout joins Chicago’s Connor Bedard and New Jersey’s Luke Hughes.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
April 30, 2024 at 3:32PM
As expected, the defenseman is a finalist for the Calder Trophy, which honors the NHL’s top rookie.
Chicago’s Connor Bedard and New Jersey’s Luke Hughes are the other nominees.
This award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and the winner will be announced at the NHL Awards show scheduled for June 27 in Las Vegas.
In his first full season with the Wild, Faber appeared in all 82 games and posted the sixth-highest average ice time (24 minutes, 58 seconds) in the league.
His 2,047:53 overall is almost 300 minutes more than the next-closest rookie and is the most skated by a rookie since the statistic started being recorded in 1997-98. Faber also had 150 blocked shots and chipped in eight goals. His 39 assists tied with Bedard for the rookie lead, and he tied Hughes for second in points with 47.
The Wild acquired the former Gopher and Maple Grove native in a 2022 trade with Los Angeles that sent Kevin Fiala to the Kings.
Los Angeles drafted Faber in the second round, 45th overall, in 2020. He has one season left on his entry-level contract and is eligible to sign an extension with the Wild this summer.
Bedard was supposed to be a shoo-in for the Calder after getting drafted first overall last year by the Blackhawks. The 18-year-old center led NHL rookies in scoring with 61 points, but missed nearly six weeks of the season due to a fractured jaw. That absence drew more attention to Faber and turned the rookie of the year conversation into a two-player debate.
Hughes, a defenseman who also logged 82 games, had most of his production on the power play. The 20-year-old former Michigan Wolverine had nine goals and 38 assists and averaged 21:28 time on ice.
Faber, 21, is the second Wild player to be nominated for the Calder Trophy. Kirill Kaprizov was a near-unanimous winner in 2021, earning 99 of 100 first-place votes.
High-profile victims in Minnesota include Mike Conley of the Timberwolves and Twins co-owner Jim Pohlad.
