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

[Clam Jensen]

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.

Us devils fans obviously have a soft spot for defenseman who excel at defense lol

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Quotes from Goligoski after the game last night, pretty much echoes my thoughts exactly from the TV screen:

“He’s gonna be a great player. He already is,” Goligoski said. “He’s very poised out there. He plays a very mature game. Great stick, communicates, seems like he’s always in the right position. He’s well beyond his years.”

Last night did nothing to temper my excitement for him, he looks like an absolute treat to watch on the ice.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

Faber did not play last night in the Wild's "dress rehearsal" for the playoffs.


I guess this means that he will not be suiting up for Game 1 of the playoffs unless there are injuries (at least 1 but maybe 2). It would be interesting to see if he would get ice time over Addison if it came to it.

 

[57special]

Faber did not play last night in the Wild's "dress rehearsal" for the playoffs.


I guess this means that he will not be suiting up for Game 1 of the playoffs unless there are injuries (at least 1 but maybe 2). It would be interesting to see if he would get ice time over Addison if it came to it.

All that him not being dressed for last night's game meant is that Evason recognized that Faber was exhausted after logging the most TOI of any Wild player on Monday, after playing a Championship game on the weekend, signing a contract, flying home to Minnesota, then jumping back on a plane to rejoin the team in Chicago. That's a lot to take in mentally, physically, and emotionally. Exhausted players tend to get injured.
Evason was quoted as saying that Faber has a chance to play his way onto the team for the playoffs. If Klingberg continues to make gaffes, I can see Dean being very tempted to replace him with Faber.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

All that him not being dressed for last night's game meant is that Evason recognized that Faber was exhausted after logging the most TOI of any Wild player on Monday, after playing a Championship game on the weekend, signing a contract, flying home to Minnesota, then jumping back on a plane to rejoin the team in Chicago. That's a lot to take in mentally, physically, and emotionally. Exhausted players tend to get injured.
Evason was quoted as saying that Faber has a chance to play his way onto the team for the playoffs. If Klingberg continues to make gaffes, I can see Dean being very tempted to replace him with Faber.

I think him not playing yesterday is more likely an indicator that he is on the outs for Game 1 of the playoffs considering he has yet to play a game with the regular lineup and only has 1 career NHL game.

Edit - I think that it's a risk for the Wild coaching staff to play Faber given the limited playing time and it would go against their M/O. I do think that the difference in utilization between Faber/Rossi suggests that they are pretty confident in Faber and that he will likely break into an NHL role much sooner with much less wait time than a player like Rossi has.

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Faber did not play last night in the Wild's "dress rehearsal" for the playoffs.


I guess this means that he will not be suiting up for Game 1 of the playoffs unless there are injuries (at least 1 but maybe 2). It would be interesting to see if he would get ice time over Addison if it came to it.

Evason said yesterday after announcing the lineups that he “absolutely” has a chance to get in for the playoffs. It was a back to back and he was on no sleep from the action packed weekend so it makes sense that he sat.

Full quote here: “It’s early, right?” Evason said. “We’ve seen one hockey game. He played extremely well, was extremely composed. Skated well, got it up the ice, was good offensively. He had really good box-outs. He led our team in minutes on the defensive end. We felt comfortable putting him in those spots because he earned it. Sure, does he have an opportunity? Absolutely. He played that well.”

 

[57special]

I would hope that Evason realizes that he should use every possible player combination and stratagem to realize success in the playoffs this year. I don’t think Guerin is going to be forgiving of another one and done. The team appears to be relatively healthy, so there are no excuses this year.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He'll be a shake up move if we're down 0-2 and Merrill sucks.

 

[Bonin21]

He'll be a shake up move if we're down 0-2 and Merrill sucks.

So pretty likely he's in haha

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

So pretty likely he's in haha

Sounds like he will be in for Merrill starting game 1. Organization has a lot of trust in his game already, could be a huge boost to our defensive depth in this series.

 

[William H Bonney]

He's very much in the mold of McAvoy and Doughty. He doesn't have their offensive upside but it'll be a disappointment if he's not an impact defenseman in the NHL. He will probably never be widely recognized as an elite guy (if he ends up as one) because so much of the awards and media are reserved for the top point producers and not necessarily the top players. If he hits his potential I could see him impacting the game like Slavin or Pesce.

Still wish he was in the Kings organization.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

It's wild that Faber is in. The game doesn't look fast for him at all. I think at times we underestimate this player's ceiling as well. I think given how smart and smooth he is there's clearly offensive upside although it may never come completely.

This is a bad analogy but I'm watching the Sixers/Nets game and Bridges was always a 3+D guy who was really efficient in a role. He's been able to with development in a smaller role turn into a player that can do a lot of "scoring" type of things. That's not to say every guy develops like that but just because a guy is immediately a really good skater/defender/fluid but isn't an elite puck carrier type offensive defender doesn't mean he can't develop more of that because other parts of his game are immediately so advanced.

 

[Bonin21]

Anyone that has watched him since he set foot on the U campus is not surprised he immediately jumped a bunch of guys for a playoff lineup spot.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Anyone that has watched him since he set foot on the U campus is not surprised he immediately jumped a bunch of guys for a playoff lineup spot.

I didn't get to watch much of him there but he's done exactly this at every level as well, including the Olympics

Seems like everyone thinks (appropriately, imo) that he's excellent but will need some 'feeling out' time but within a period he's got it all on lock. Crazy learning trajectory.

 

[Herby]

I thought he would do what Caufield did, start as a scratch but jump in when/if they got in a hole. Props to the Wild for just realizing what they have and not just playing the veteran.

It’s crazy to look at some of the defenseman taken above him in his draft year. The guy was a plug and play defensive difference maker from the get go.

Had he been a post 9/15 b-day and been drafted after his freshman season he would have gone much higher.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

Looks like he's already ahead of the following defenders in the pecking order on the Wild

(1) Merrill
(2) Goligoski
(3) Addison

He may also already be ahead of Klingberg on the roster although because of Klingberg's PP1 duties there's some apples to oranges there.

Seriously insane level of trust from a coaching staff that's pretty hesitant to trust rookies (see Addison although there's some merit to that). This coaching staff is the poster child for playing a "steady" no-upside vet (or what they perceive to be) because of familiarity even over more talent. Faber has just breezed right past all of that.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Huge props to him for making the Playoff roster. Big accomplishment for a guy with as little pro experience as he obviously has. What a great bit of experience that will be moving forward.

 

[SmytheKing]

Minnesota has what I'm guessing is going to be another Willie Mitchell. Gonna be a nice player for a while for y'all.

 

[JiricekSaveUs]

He’s a stud. Not many other ways to describe it. I think he’ll be a shutdown top pair guy for a long time.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Minnesota has what I'm guessing is going to be another Willie Mitchell. Gonna be a nice player for a while for y'all.

I'd hope for a bit more than that, but not too bad I guess.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

I'd hope for a bit more than that, but not too bad I guess.

Faber at least seems to move a bit more fluidly than Willie Mitchell with the puck but 1000+ games and playing 22-23 mpg for a stanley cup winner at the age of 34 seems alright. Brodin moves pretty smoothly but he's not a huge point producer

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Extremely impressive playoff debut for the Wild, led the team in xGF% at 73.65% and had one of the biggest blocks of recent memory in OT. Was tremendous defensively the whole game, winning board battles and possession while outnumbered numerous times. Really good transition passes too, hitting guys right on the tape and in stride for zone entries. Absolutely incredible how poised he looks for someone stepping onto the big stage.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Damn this kid is good. I couldn't believe it was the same player who was in the NCAA all year. Minny truly is a D factory.

 

[BKarchitect]

Slavin vibes, just maybe a bit more physically compact. Terrific skater, smooth in transition and just a beast in the defensive zone with incredible instincts and awareness. Mobility, toughness, poise. Not saying he will end up as good as Slavin but he’s on that spectrum IMO.

 

[Deleted member 339941]