RD Brock Faber (2020, 45th, LAK, traded to MIN)

[Bonin21]

I don't watch as much Gophers as I should, so will defer to guys like @Bonin21 who do, but i must be missing something with this guy. As a Wild fan, and a fan of defensive Dmen, I want him to succeed pretty badly, but I just don't see anything special with this guy. OK but not great size, slightly above average strength, vg but not great skating, good but not great puck handling, vg+ composure in the D zone, but nothing special, slightly above average offense(he doesn't play the PP).

I don't see the surreal composure and skating that Brodin had at a young age, the size, strength or reach of a Guhle, Miller or Schneider, and even a guy like Addison has far better offensive chops.

Again, hope i am missing something, as MN could really use a solid, ELC, RHD to replace Dumba, who is surely on his way out due to cap restraints.

Congrats to the young man for the award, in any event. I will definitely be tuning in to the NCAA post season. Hope he changes my mind.

Ya, you must be missing the little things like his positioning and stick placement. His best asset is his brain out there. He appears to be a defensive genius. Obviously all the other top 4 defensive defenseman in the NHL are basically hockey geniuses too so I'm not saying he'll be a hall of famer. And like you mentioned everything else is NHL ready, too (physicality, passing, speed).

 

[Herby]

Not that offensive defensemen aren't needed, just the value of a guy who can lock things down in important situations get a lot less run with many posters because it's not easy to look at a stat line and think a player is good at the non-scoring part of the game.

Fair enough.

But I have no idea how anyone could watch Faber and not come away convinced of how great he is. From the moment he stepped on NCAA ice he was one of the best suppressors of offense I had ever seen at this level, and he has continued to just get better and better. I told the Kings board when I first saw him play that we hit the jackpot and that it was a total steal where he went. If we had the old draft rules for NCAA players and scouts had been able to see how he just shut down everything in the defensive zone down at that level, there is zero chance he would have made it out of the top 20, much less to the middle of the 2nd round.

Offensive defenseman still do get to maligned around here though. Fans always complain about guys who are not perfect defensively but never complain about guys who’s offensive game consists of off the glass and out. You can’t win with 6 defensive defenseman, and if the offensive guy you have didn’t have some warts defensively he would be making 9 million a year instead of 4-5. You need balance.

 

[RickyLafleur]

Cant believe Ottawa took Kleven right before Faber...

 

[Bonin21]

Cant believe Ottawa took Kleven right before Faber...

Live and die by the UND pipeline

 

[keppel146]

Going to the game this weekend for Gophers vs Michigan. Going to be epic; tons of players to watch. I’m interested in seeing how Faber does against some of the best in college hockey.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Felt like he deserved a nod as finalist for the Hobey.

Having Hutson as the only defender on the list feels wrong.

 

[Herby]

Felt like he deserved a nod as finalist for the Hobey.

Having Hutson as the only defender on the list feels wrong.

Hughes is also a finalist as a d-man.

But I agree, Faber was certainly one of the 10 best players in the country this season. But it's more difficult for defensive defenseman to get the credit they deserve, especially for a national award.

Either way, this award should be a lock anyways.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Going to the game this weekend for Gophers vs Michigan. Going to be epic; tons of players to watch. I’m interested in seeing how Faber does against some of the best in college hockey.

Jealous. I'm going to try to find a way to stream it but it's always dicey and rushed.

 

[Bonin21]

Hughes is also a finalist as a d-man.

No he's not.

 

[Herby]

No he's not.

Ahh, you are right. I was reading a potential list.

I do think it's stupid there are so few defenseman. Faber is as good as it gets defensively and Hughes was totally dominant in the 2nd half of the season.

 

[MuckOG]

Hughes is also a finalist as a d-man.

But I agree, Faber was certainly one of the 10 best players in the country this season. But it's more difficult for defensive defenseman to get the credit they deserve, especially for a national award.

Either way, this award should be a lock anyways.

If you think Fantilli is a lock, I disagree. He may be the front-runner, but it shouldn't be a surprise if Cooley won the award. Being the leading scorer on the best team counts for something.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

He's gonna be super solid.

Good comp Jacob Slavin?

 

[57special]

Going to the game this weekend for Gophers vs Michigan. Going to be epic; tons of players to watch. I’m interested in seeing how Faber does against some of the best in college hockey.

Well, he has already played agains them multiple times, as well as the best juniors in the world at the WJC, and in the Olympics. I can't see how he would have any surprises.

 

[57special]

Cant believe Ottawa took Kleven right before Faber...

A lot of people passed on Faber.

Kleven has a skillset that is very much in demand in the NHL. Big and tough always plays, and if he can play well defensively and skate a bit, nvm, pass the puck, then Kleven won't disappoint. It is far more likely that his physicality will translate well to the NHL than Faber's.

 

[57special]

Ya, you must be missing the little things like his positioning and stick placement. His best asset is his brain out there. He appears to be a defensive genius. Obviously all the other top 4 defensive defenseman in the NHL are basically hockey geniuses too so I'm not saying he'll be a hall of famer. And like you mentioned everything else is NHL ready, too (physicality, passing, speed).

You misunderstood me.
I was judging his abilities against other college players, not NHL'ers....because how can you know? Players like Bellows look like beasts at lower levels, non entities in the NHL. Soucy looked like a mediocre NCAA/AHL player, but is a competent NHL'er.

Brodin was a defensive genius as a 19 yo. He needed to fill out, but it was obvious from the get go that he was something special. Also had elite skating. I don't see that in Faber. I hope I am wrong, and that he can slip right into the NHL line up, but i wouldn't be surprised to see him spend a good part of 23-24 in the AHL, of not all of it. That, alone, is a big jump.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

You misunderstood me.
I was judging his abilities against other college players, not NHL'ers....because how can you know? Players like Bellows look like beasts at lower levels, non entities in the NHL. Soucy looked like a mediocre NCAA/AHL player, but is a competent NHL'er.

Brodin was a defensive genius as a 19 yo. He needed to fill out, but it was obvious from the get go that he was something special. Also had elite skating. I don't see that in Faber. I hope I am wrong, and that he can slip right into the NHL line up, but i wouldn't be surprised to see him spend a good part of 23-24 in the AHL, of not all of it. That, alone, is a big jump.

Sure, he might not reach the level of being one of the top 3-5 defensive defensemen in the league, but he also doesn't really have to.

 

[Bonin21]

You misunderstood me.
I was judging his abilities against other college players, not NHL'ers....because how can you know? Players like Bellows look like beasts at lower levels, non entities in the NHL. Soucy looked like a mediocre NCAA/AHL player, but is a competent NHL'er.

Brodin was a defensive genius as a 19 yo. He needed to fill out, but it was obvious from the get go that he was something special. Also had elite skating. I don't see that in Faber. I hope I am wrong, and that he can slip right into the NHL line up, but i wouldn't be surprised to see him spend a good part of 23-24 in the AHL, of not all of it. That, alone, is a big jump.

If Soucy looked mediocre to you at UMD not sure what you were watching.

Against other college players, Faber is just way better overall.

 

[Herby]

If Soucy looked mediocre to you at UMD not sure what you were watching.

Against other college players, Faber is just way better overall.

Dominant defensively and as you know right from the start.

Faber's style is way easier to project to the NHL too. He has off the charts game sense in the D zone, he moves well, he has decent size and he has one of the best defensive sticks I've ever seen. All of those things are easy to project. Anything you get offensively is just gravy.

The Kings got extremely lucky they were able to grab him from the NTDP before his play was seen against higher competition. He would have been a much higher pick a year later. It's no surprise that Faber was traded (along with a 1st in a weak draft) for a 25 year old point per game player.

I think his absolute floor in the NHL is a player like Matt Roy. And his upside is much more.

 

[Lavar Ball]

No surprise here, excited to see Faber at the next level

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Will be making his NHL debut tonight against Chicago while the Wild rest Brodin and Spurgeon. Excited to see him on the NHL ice in a Wild jersey!

 

[Bonin21]

Nice that he'll be paired up with a fellow Gopher. One that has played 1040 more games than him and is just over 17 years older than him.

 

[TaLoN]

Led the Wild in TOI tonight and looked very good doing it

 

[Clam Jensen]

Really excited to see him at the next level. Our boards resident draft expert has been singing his praises for years, so us devils fans are oddly familiar with Faber.

 

[MNRube]

Really excited to see him at the next level. Our boards resident draft expert has been singing his praises for years, so us devils fans are oddly familiar with Faber.

One of the most obviously projectable prospects I can remember. People forget he was extremely solid in the Olympics last year against men too. But some people couldn’t get past the fact he isn’t a PPQB I guess.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

Faber looks really good albeit against the Hawks. He moves really well and really fluidly and is clearly a smart player. This isn't speaking about his offensive game or shot but he moves similarly and appears to be a similar size to like a Drew Doughty.