Brock Faber has already become one of the Minnesota Wild’s defining young pieces, and training camp offered another reminder of why the organization feels so good about where this is headed. Four years after the trade that sent Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings and brought back the rights to Faber plus a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft that became Liam Öhgren, the Wild are looking at a defense built around Faber’s growth.
Faber’s own view of last season was pretty blunt. He said he hit an early rut, felt scored on too often, and let his confidence slip before eventually shaking it off.
From the outside, that rough patch didn’t last long. He settled in, played his best hockey, won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, and helped the Wild reach the second round of the postseason before they were knocked out.
“Yeah… to be honest, nothing, nothing really changed. I didn’t look at anything differently; I didn’t go about my days any differently.
It’s kind of just one of those things. I just got in a rut early, where I felt like I was getting scored on, and then I just kinda- I don’t want to say dwelled on it, but I felt like I just lost confidence, so early, so quick when I expected myself to be better, and I knew I had better, so that’s one of those things.
I’m still learning, right, trying to be as confident as I can, even if I don’t put out my A game every night…I reflect on it; I just wish I could have, you know, just called myself and been like, dude, it’s fine, it’s two games, ten games…,” said Faber to the media on the first day of training camp when asked about last season.
The defensive pairing that has given Minnesota another level has also become a major storyline. Faber first arrived in 2023, just days after the University of Minnesota lost the NCAA championship game in overtime, and he played two games for the Wild at the end of the regular season before staying with the team in the playoffs.
He didn’t record a point, but he looked calm and reliable right away. After that, he held his roster spot through the next two seasons.
Then Quinn Hughes entered the picture in Faber’s third full season, and the two clicked immediately. Their chemistry has turned them into one of the NHL’s top defensive pairs, and both players clearly believe the fit is only getting better.
“Yeah, I think just skating, we communicate well, and it’s easy to read off of a guy who- we don’t always think the game the same way, sometimes completely opposite- but the way he uses his feet allows me to read off him so easily, and vice versa. So, I think just that skating aspect allows me to be as aggressive as I want defensively and him be as aggressive as he wants offensively, and that’s where now elevating my offensive game and elevating our defensive game as a whole will only make us better so,” Faber said to the media in the same interview when asked about playing with Hughes.
Hughes had a similar take after practice, saying the connection already feels natural.
“I think it’s an insane difference, because I mean he’s just already reading off me and I’m reading off him in the scrimmage and it’s like, it’s just easy, and he knows exactly what I’m thinking, I kind of know what he’s thinking, and that’s just going to continue to build so I’m excited just to kind of start the season up here, take it I think where we left off last season…,” Hughes said to the media after his practice session when asked about Faber and how strong their pair is and the difference from last season to this season.
The Wild also made sure they weren’t going to lose Faber down the road. He is now in the second year of an eight-year deal worth $8.5 million per season, a contract that looks a lot more reasonable now than it did when it was signed. As his game keeps rising, that deal only gets more valuable for Minnesota.
He has improved every season since joining the team, and with Hughes alongside him, that climb could speed up even more. There’s also a sense that Faber could eventually take over the captaincy when Jared Spurgeon retires or moves on, which fits with the leadership qualities he already shows.
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve known it since playing World Juniors with him, so it’s no real surprise to me. Like he’s the best skater I think I’ve ever seen, he’s powerful, strong, you look at Quinn (Hughes) and he’s obviously an incredible skater, but like Brock to take his first two steps takes people like five steps to do, so you have a guy that skates like that meanwhile Brock played up until college really having zero offensive responsibilities in his whole career so the fact that he is this offensive and drives the rush, drives the play, scores, and he had what, like 14 goals last year it’s pretty impressive…,” said Matt Boldy to the media during training camp when asked about how Faber is being noticed.
For a team with high-end young talent, Faber stands right near the front of the line. He has already done plenty, he is still early in his career, and Minnesota is counting on him to help push the Wild further this season.
In Other News...
Wild Face Two Huge Roster Questions Around Quinn Hughes
Bill Guerin has kept the focus on the bigger picture as the Wild try to keep building around their core, but Quinn Hughes has naturally become part of the conversation. In a public media panel, the Minnesota general manager said no one has yet asked about Hughes contract negotiations, while also describing the star defenseman as someone who is carefully weighing his options. It was another reminder that even as the Wild look to strengthen the roster, the future of a player of Hughes caliber can hang over every larger team discussion.
For Minnesota, the interest is obvious. Guerin made clear the organization wants to keep Hughes long-term, and he also pointed to continued work on improving the roster, including possible upgrades at center. Those parallel goals are what make the next stretch so important for the Wild: they are trying to add around the edges while also staying positioned for one of the sports biggest names, a situation that could shape the franchises direction well beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]