Wild defenseman Brock Faber on Tuesday was named one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NHL’s rookie of the year.
The former Gophers star out of Maple Grove joins Chicago center Connor Bedard and New Jersey defenseman Luke Hughes as finalists for the award, which will be announced at the NHL awards show scheduled for June 27 in Las Vegas.
Faber, 21, finished the season with eight goals and 47 points, 150 blocked shots and averaged a team-high 24:58 of time on ice. Faber played on both special teams units, ultimately captaining the top group, and finished with a plus/minus ratio of minus-1.
He also became one of the two Wild rookies to play in all 82 games — center Marco Rossi was the other — despite playing the last two months with fractured ribs.
“That’s the type of kid he is,” general manager Bill Guerin said April 19, a day after the Wild’s season ended with a 4-3 loss to Seattle. “He never complained, never said ‘boo.’ He could have been out of the lineup a number of times and he just wasn’t.”
Faber led all NHL rookies on time on ice and blocked shots, and tied with Bedard for most assists with 39. Only Bedard had more points (61). And according to NHL Stats, he became the only NHL rookie to skate 30-plus minutes in five games in a season since the league began tracking the stat in 1997-98.
Faber is the second Wild player to be named a Calder finalist. Teammate Kirill Kaprizov won the award after the 2020-21 season, and Faber’s 47 points are second in franchise history to Kaprizov’s 51 earned in the 55-game COVID season.
“I wouldn’t say I surprised myself,” Faber said at the team’s final news conference. “I don’t know if I was expecting to play on the power play, but I’m obviously very hard on myself and I know where my game should be and where I want to be.
“I think there were lots of ups and downs for me individually and I think I have a lot more to give yet. But you know, overall individually, I’m not disappointed by the year I’d say.”
Faber was drafted by Los Angeles in the second round, 45th overall, of the 2020 entry draft but traded to the Wild, with a 2022 first-round pick, for Kevin Fiala on June 29, 2020. That first-round pick became Liam Ohgren, who joined the Wild late this season at age 20.
As it became apparent in March that Faber would be a finalist for the Calder, if not the front-runner for a time, he was asked how much he pays attention to it.
“No, not at all,” was his answer. “I don’t like to read into those things and, frankly, would much rather make the playoffs.”
That didn’t happen. The Wild struggled to extricate itself from a 5-10-4 hole they dug for themselves early and were finally eliminated from contention with a 5-2 loss at Colorado on April 9.
Asked after the team’s season had ended about possibly being a Calder finalist, Faber said, “Yeah, it’s really cool. Obviously, there’s a lot of big names. A lot of great rookies and to be mentioned with them is obviously a huge honor. So yeah, it would be awesome.”
He also said he likely would go to Las Vegas for the ceremony.
“Yeah, why not?” he said.
