Brock Faber’s offensive ceiling looks a lot different now that he’s skating next to Quinn Hughes.
After a season that produced 15 goals and 51 points, Faber already proved he has the tools to become a true scoring threat from the blue line. The question now is whether a full year beside Hughes can push him into the neighborhood of 20 goals and 40 assists - a bold jump, sure, but one that fits the way the partnership is built.
Hughes changes everything about how the puck moves for Minnesota. He takes pressure off Faber by handling more of the heavy lifting in transition, from clean exits to controlled zone entries. That gives Faber room to be more selective, to join the rush at the right moments instead of carrying the full load every shift.
That matters because Faber has never lacked the skating or sense to get involved offensively. What has often limited him is the sheer amount of work he’s asked to do as Minnesota’s all-purpose No. 1 defenseman. He’s been the guy retrieving pucks, making the first pass, defending top forwards, and cleaning up when things break down.
With Hughes on his side, the setup is different. Hughes is one of the NHL’s best transition defensemen because he can slip away from pressure instead of grinding through it. When he turns a tough retrieval into a controlled breakout, Faber can slide higher in the neutral zone, arrive as the second wave, or find soft ice at the blue line.
That should lead to better looks, not just more looks. Instead of living on low-percentage shots from the point, Faber can get chances after Minnesota has possession established and defenders have been pulled out of shape.
The early returns backed that up. Over his first 25 games with Hughes, Faber put up seven goals, 14 assists and 21 points. NHL.com described the pair as quickly becoming one of the league’s top defense pairings, and the production helped show why.
The goal total is possible without Faber turning into a volume shooter for the sake of it. Hughes naturally draws attention because he can walk the line, drive downhill, and thread passes through traffic. That opens seams for Faber on the weak side, where he can step into one-timers, wrist shots through screens, and backdoor looks.
He can also creep lower into the offensive zone more often. Hughes is comfortable carrying deep and even sliding into areas usually occupied by forwards, which lets Faber read the play and attack open space instead of sitting back as the safety valve.
The shot total is part of the equation too. For 20 goals to be realistic, Faber needs roughly 170 to 190 shots in a healthy 82-game season.
At a shooting percentage in the 10 to 11 percent range, that puts him in range for 18 to 21 goals. The point isn’t to fire blindly.
It’s to get better chances after Hughes has forced the defense to collapse and traffic has formed in front.
The assist number might be the more natural piece of the projection. Faber has already shown he can move the puck, and Hughes gives him a much better passing environment than he’s ever had before.
At five-on-five, the simplest version of that is clean first passes. Faber feeds Hughes in transition, Hughes turns that into a controlled entry, and Minnesota extends the shift into the offensive zone. It doesn’t have to be flashy to count.
The bigger payoff comes when opponents tilt their coverage toward Hughes. That opens lanes for Faber to make the quick low-to-high pass, find a forward in the slot, or give the puck back to Hughes once the defense has shifted out of position. Those are the kinds of touches that can build primary assists fast.
Minnesota’s trade for Hughes in December 2025 made the point plainly. The Wild sent Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium and a 2026 first-round pick to Vancouver in a blockbuster that showed exactly how highly they value Hughes. For Faber, the upside is simple: he gets to be the perfect complement instead of the only blue-line creator.
That’s the job now. Faber doesn’t need to mimic Hughes.
He needs to defend well enough to keep the pairing on the ice, then take advantage when Hughes bends the ice his way. If he does that, 20 goals and 40 assists doesn’t sound like a stretch at all.
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