By Mikki Tuohy -
Minnesota’s favorite hockey son Brock Faber had a rough year. Not his performance on the ice, which was spectacular. While the Calder Trophy is up for dispute, Faber was undeniably the best rookie in the NHL this year. However, the amount of abuse his body took during his rookie season was rough.
He and fellow rookie Marco Rossi were the only members of the injury-ridden Wild who played all 82 games last season. Faber also stepped up into top pair minutes, skating 25+ minutes a night for way longer than he should have.
Blah blah blah, we all know that, right? But it’s important for Faber to take the early exit as a chance to relax and rehab his body. After the season ended, it came out that Faber had been playing hurt with a few cracked ribs. No one should play injured, but it is amazing that Faber was able to play as well as he did with an injury like that.
As April draws to a close, it’s closer to sweet, sweet summertime. While some people like to criticize hockey players for daring to enjoy their time off, that is exactly what Faber needs to do. Last summer, a group of young players stayed in the Twin Cities with Faber at the helm. It appears that a similar situation will happen this off-season.
Faber should take his role as cruise director seriously and keep directing his merry band of hockey players to more and more fun activities around the state. It’s a nice way for him to relax and something that helps him distract himself from recovery.
One problem, of course, is that Faber is still getting ID’d, especially at college bars. Perhaps Faber could use this off-season to grow some facial hair to help with that problem. Look at Jared Spurgeon. He grew that pencil mustache after Jake Middleton showed up. Now, instead of looking 15, Spurgeon looks at least 20 years old.
If Faber is committed to growing his facial hair, he could hopefully have a Spurgeon-esque mustache by summer’s end. Until then, he’ll have to simply have his ID ready at all times when enjoying Twin Cities nightlife.
This summer is also the first opportunity to sign Faber to a new, big-boy contract. While he absolutely deserves the world, hopefully, he’ll be somewhat hands-on to make sure that they don’t wring the Wild completely dry. Minnesota must get Kaprizov to re-sign here!
Maybe Faber could use his own contract negotiations to influence Kaprizov to also sign an extension. After all, who can say no to his puppy dog face? Faber might turn out to be the secret weapon that Bill Guerin needs to re-sign Kaprizov.
Brock Faber seems like a player who will stand out in Wild history later on down the line. A hometown boy who can do it all, from playing well on the ice to being a valuable resource off of the ice. As long as he takes care of himself this off-season, he should continue to be one of the best players on the Wild roster.
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