Brock Star

Brock Faber has proven himself to be a special talent since the day he signed with the Wild in 2023 and immediately stepped into the lineup for a first-round playoff series against Dallas. The defenseman rarely makes mistakes and handles himself as if he’s been in the NHL for 10 seasons.

But even Faber’s biggest supporters had to be surprised by his performance with the U.S. team during the 4 Nations Face-Off, which came to an end on Thursday night with Canada beating the United States 3-2 in overtime of the championship game.

Faber spent the majority of the four games playing with Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin on the United States’ first defensive pairing. Slavin received well-earned praise for his play throughout Thursday’s game from ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro, but it was Faber whom U.S. coach Mike Sullivan trusted to log extensive ice time as Slavin’s partner.

Faber averaged 23 minutes, 20 seconds in the tournament’s four games; Slavin was at 23:16. In Thursday’s finale, Faber played 28:50, Slavin 26:50. Not bad considering U.S. coach Mike Sullivan had Faber playing with Noah Hanifin on the third pairing to open the tournament, but moved Faber to the top pair in the opening game against Finland.

Why the quick rise?

Because while Faber might not be flashy, the 22-year-old is one of the most reliable and smartest defensemen in the game. The 4 Nations not only put that on display for everyone to see, but also will leave no doubt in Faber’s mind about his game.

The highest compliment one can pay Faber is that he makes the difficult look effortless — especially in his own end. Faber finished the 4 Nations as a plus-3 and also had two assists, including a shot that was tipped in by Wild teammate Matt Boldy to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead against Finland.

“Brock Faber, in my mind, is an emerging star,” Sullivan, the Penguins coach, told The Athletic. “How old is he, 22? And the stage wasn’t too big for a guy like that. I was so impressed with his maturity.”

Brock Faber has six goals and 16 assists through 52 games with the Wild this season. He’s also averaging 24:55 time-on-ice per game. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Faber’s contributions were even more important because the U.S. lost star defenseman Quinn Hughes to injury before the 4 Nations and then lost Charlie McAvoy two games into the tournament.

Back to work with the Wild
Faber now will go from the intensity of the 4 Nations to rejoining the Wild as they resume play in the middle of a playoff race and with 26 games left in the regular season. The Wild are two points behind second-place Dallas in the Central Division and two points ahead of Colorado, which holds the top wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Faber isn’t going to have the luxury of taking a breath. With some players that might be a concern, but with Faber you expect him to make the type of seamless transition that he does when he’s skating the puck out of his own end.

Faber, who leads the Wild in average ice time with 24:54 a game, never seems to tire.

That was true in his rookie season when he played all 82 games and averaged three more seconds of ice time than he has this season. He had eight goals and 47 points in 2023-24 and six goals and 22 points in 52 games this season.

Watching Faber in the 4 Nations, it hammered home the point he should have won the Calder Trophy last season as the NHL’s rookie of the year. He finished second in voting to the Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard, the heralded first-overall pick in the 2023 draft. Bedard had led rookies in goal (22) and points (61) and tied Faber for first in assists (39) in 68 games.

Bedard might have a great career — he wasn’t on the Canadian team at the 4 Nations — but Faber was the more reliable and better player and that remains the case. That’s why he ended up being such a big part of the U.S. roster at the 4 Nations and why he’s a shoo-in to be on the Olympic roster next February in Italy.

We have a feeling he won’t be starting off on the third defensive pairing either.