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  • The Wild Are Asking A Lot Of Brock Faber


    Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
    Robert Brent

    Brock Faber’s emergence as an elite-level defender has been among the most exciting Minnesota Wild storylines. Last year, Faber was a steady presence for a Minnesota defense that went through a lot of upheaval. 

    Early into his second full season, Faber is still fulfilling his potential. The former Gopher is honing his brand of exciting play that blends defensive responsibility with a willingness to join on the rush and mix it up offensively. His first goal of the year came on a give-and-go deflection against the Philadelphia Flyers, showing his willingness to be aggressive in the offensive zone. 

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    For all the excitement surrounding the Wild’s hot start and Faber’s solid play, a central narrative remains crucial for Minnesota’s season: they are asking a lot from the Maple Grove-born defenseman. At just 22 years old, the defenseman has more responsibility than any other blueliner on the team.

    Brock Faber faces difficult deployment

    Coming into the year, there was hope that Faber could replicate his play from the beginning of last season more than the second half. The defender had a great rookie year but saw his value diminish towards the end of the season. 

    Faber fractured his ribs, which hampered his play, and had a lot of responsibility for a rookie. With the team facing injuries, especially to stalwart Jared Spurgeon, Faber became the Wild’s undisputed No. 1 defenseman. He performed admirably, but it was exciting to imagine that he may have some more support coming into this year. 

    Unfortunately, that hasn’t panned out. Spurgeon is hurt again, meaning the team will lean on Faber again. If anything, the Wild are asking even more this year. 

    Faber is playing even more

    The number of minutes Faber played last season highlights his heavy workload. The Wild asked him to play more than nearly anyone in his age group, and this trend became one of the defining characteristics of his breakout rookie campaign.

    2023-24 (All stats sourced from moneypuck.com)

    Screenshot 2024-10-28 at 11.54.21 AM.png

    Faber played the fifth-most minutes of any defender in the NHL and ranked sixth in his share of total possible ice time. While being able to log heavy minutes is beneficial for a defenseman, it’s unusual for a rookie. Injuries forced the Wild to rely on Faber at that level last year, but it would be risky to lean on him that much again. In a concerning development, the Wild are using him even more this season.

    2024-25

    Screenshot 2024-10-28 at 11.55.11 AM.png

    Faber averages 25:48 TOI (time-on-ice) a game, or 42.5% of possible ice time. When you look at the rest of the top ten in the league in share of possible ice time, Jake Sanderson is the only player of a similar age and experience level to Faber. High-end veterans like Miro Heiskanen and Roman Josi dominate the rest of the top ten. 

    Playing with an unintended partner

    The Wild entered this season with a top four of Brock Faber paired with Jonas Brodin and Jacob Middleton with Jared Spurgeon. The defensive core gave plenty of reasons for optimism. Spurgeon is a major part of Middleton’s success with the Wild. At the same time, Faber and Brodin were incredibly effective together last season. 

    2023-24

    Screenshot 2024-10-28 at 11.56.14 AM.png

    Unfortunately, Spurgeon is on the shelf again, forcing Faber to play with Middleton. Faber and Middleton have been valuable playing with different partners in the past. But if last year was any indication, they don’t work together. A large part of Faber’s decline in the second half of the season is due to playing with fractured ribs. Still, it’s impossible to ignore that much of that decline came when he played with Middleton.

    2023-24

    Screenshot 2024-10-28 at 11.56.54 AM.png

    The pair didn’t mix. Faber produced less offensively and was less successful defensively compared to his time with Brodin. The Wild are pairing Faber with Middleton again, which is cause for concern. 

    Between his minutes and deployment, Brock Faber has the most difficult job in Minnesota. The team relies heavily on Kirill Kaprizov to run the offense, but he at least has some high-end help in Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, etc. Conversely, Faber is on a bit of an island. 

    Jonas Brodin is getting older, and Jared Spurgeon is often injured. The team is asking a 22-year-old in his second year to carry nearly the entire load.

    Increased expectations are warranted

    When Faber was a rookie, it was shocking that a player of his experience level had so much responsibility. Faber, 22, had to mature quickly in the league. The Wild rewarded Faber’s excellence with an 8-year, $68 million contract. Now that he has cemented his future, it’s natural that Minnesota would expect Faber to shoulder the most difficult assignment on the team. 

    Brock Faber is one of the most important pieces of the Wild’s young core. Recognizing that his deployment is a vital step in his development is crucial. His new contract is that of a No. 1 defender; he’s just having to take that responsibility a little earlier than expected. 

    Brock Faber is living up to the pressure

    It’s important to acknowledge the Wild's reliance on Brock Faber and that he’s always risen to the occasion. Faber is developing into a defensively responsible defender who still contributes offensively while controlling games. His ability to dictate the flow of play while logging a significant number of minutes is reminiscent of Duncan Keith or a prime Ryan Suter

    Look at the Wild’s domination of scoring chances with Faber on the ice:

    2024-25

    Screenshot 2024-10-28 at 11.58.47 AM.png

    Minnesota is far better off when he’s on the ice. Last season, Faber showed flashes of brilliance but underperformed in relative expected goals percentage.

    2023-24

    Screenshot 2024-10-28 at 11.59.18 AM.png

    The Wild must be enthused that Faber is improving significantly despite a more difficult deployment strategy. 

    Another crucial development is Faber’s ability to play better minutes with Jacob Middleton. As discussed earlier, the Middleton-Faber pairing performed notably worse than Faber’s pairing with Brodin. The Middleton-Faber couplet is once again playing a lot together. Middleton-Faber isn’t without its warts, but they’re still winning their minutes. 

    2024-25

    Screenshot 2024-10-28 at 12.00.29 PM.png

    When you compare this year's Middleton-Faber pairing to last year’s, you can see a marked improvement. The partners are especially better defensively, with an upgrade of .81 expected goals per 60 minutes. Playing well, even in an unideal situation, is a vital development for Faber. He’s proving he can drive positive results outside his partnership with Brodin.

    Ultimately, the Wild are playing a dangerous game with Faber. He can shoulder the workload, but they’re putting him in a difficult situation. It will be interesting to see if he’ll continue to develop as an elite defender who can play half the game or if overuse further impacts his game. If current trends continue, Faber is on the right path.

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    Ultimately, the Wild are playing a dangerous game with Faber. He can shoulder the workload, but they’re putting him in a difficult situation.

    Not sure about dangerous. Seems like this is how good young players grow into elite players. Increase their responsibility and see if they raise their game.

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    It would be interesting to see a top 4 of Middsy-Faber and Brodin-Buium, if Zeev can play the right side. Depending on Spurge’s health and if Middsy and Faber can actually perform well together, this would be pretty fun to see. 

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    Just now, Patrick said:

    They need to manage his minutes better.  It's a long season and a worn out Faber isn't ideal.

    Agree.  I don’t care how young he is or how good he is let’s not burn him up in his first few seasons.  I want to have 32 year old captain Brock-the-cradle-of-love

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    14 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    Agree.  I don’t care how young he is or how good he is let’s not burn him up in his first few seasons.  I want to have 32 year old captain Brock-the-cradle-of-love

    Brocktoberfest

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    What is not to like about Faber.  A complete game at both ends of the ice and fast enough to recover when being a bit risky.  2nd year and already a proven commodity.   

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    2 hours ago, Amaddeo said:

    It would be interesting to see a top 4 of Middsy-Faber and Brodin-Buium, if Zeev can play the right side. Depending on Spurge’s health and if Middsy and Faber can actually perform well together, this would be pretty fun to see. 

    The numbers say that Faber and Midds aren't very good together. But I love that top-4 on defense any way you cut it.

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    I have a hard time understanding how everyone just accepts this article as written. 1 major flaw in Robert's article is that it wasn't just Faber playing with cracked ribs, it was also Middleton playing with a knee injury which obviously slowed him down and made him less able to turn. 

    Middleton is a better player than he showed the back half of last season. He's also a better player than he was when he was partnerless after Spurgeon's injury. It takes time to build a defensive partnership, generally speaking, and it took Midsy time to learn Faber's tendencies. 

    Why was it Middleton that needed to learn them? Because he was the weaker partner. He really had to learn the meaning of Faber being Faber. Middleton had to learn how to position himself, where the gaps were and how much ground Faber could cover. And, they did this injured.

    I don't think it's any accident that they are playing better this season together. Both are healthy which will add to their numbers, but both know each other better and that experience also adds. Assuming both are healthy going forward, I would expect them to grow even more.

    We also have a potential other problem forming: Faber is being recognized by other team's now. Last night, we saw how Crosby pulled him down and tried some shenanigans, and then left town before Faber could finish. Faber/Crosby coincidental minors for roughing wouldn't put us down. Faber having to then take on the guy from the bench was a net win for Pittsburgh. 

    Note to Foligno & Co.: This was your opportunity to staple this 1st line into the boards. A nice open ice hit on Crosby would have sent a distinct message, but as I wrote about in a different thread, this team does not really have each other's backs like some other teams do. This needs to change. And like it or not, Middleton is part of the Co. here. 

    Note on the fight: Faber held his own, but come on, man, you've got to drop both gloves! You don't get a 2 1/2 minute penalty for just dropping 1 glove. Also note how the Pen coming off the bench protected superstar Crosby. When have we done this for Kaprizov? Faber will be another one of those people who must be protected. He doesn't need 5 minutes to catch his breath!

    Edited by mnfaninnc
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    1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

    I have a hard time understanding how everyone just accepts this article as written. 1 major flaw in Robert's article is that it wasn't just Faber playing with cracked ribs, it was also Middleton playing with a knee injury which obviously slowed him down and made him less able to turn. 

    Middleton is a better player than he showed the back half of last season. He's also a better player than he was when he was partnerless after Spurgeon's injury. It takes time to build a defensive partnership, generally speaking, and it took Midsy time to learn Faber's tendencies. 

    Why was it Middleton that needed to learn them? Because he was the weaker partner. He really had to learn the meaning of Faber being Faber. Middleton had to learn how to position himself, where the gaps were and how much ground Faber could cover. And, they did this injured.

    I don't think it's any accident that they are playing better this season together. Both are healthy which will add to their numbers, but both know each other better and that experience also adds. Assuming both are healthy going forward, I would expect them to grow even more.

    We also have a potential other problem forming: Faber is being recognized by other team's now. Last night, we saw how Crosby pulled him down and tried some shenanigans, and then left town before Faber could finish. Faber/Crosby coincidental minors for roughing wouldn't put us down. Faber having to then take on the guy from the bench was a net win for Pittsburgh. 

    Note to Foligno & Co.: This was your opportunity to staple this 1st line into the boards. A nice open ice hit on Crosby would have sent a distinct message, but as I wrote about in a different thread, this team does not really have each other's backs like some other teams do. This needs to change. And like it or not, Middleton is part of the Co. here. 

    Note on the fight: Faber held his own, but come on, man, you've got to drop both gloves! You don't get a 2 1/2 minute penalty for just dropping 1 glove. Also note how the Pen coming off the bench protected superstar Crosby. When have we done this for Kaprizov? Faber will be another one of those people who must be protected. He doesn't need 5 minutes to catch his breath!

    The defense with Faber in the box was markedly worse than with him on the ice. Behind KK i think Faber is the team's #2 MVP

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    Being this game was about flower, maybe they didnt want to escalate the Cosby /Faber  incident and ruin it  .  Ill give them a pass this  time but atleast the guy that instigated Faber was similar size and not some 6-7 235  guy . .

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    3 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

    When have we done this for Kaprizov?

    I'm not sure why you are asking this question when there are many instances to the contrary.

    While I agree the team doesn't stand up for each other as much as they should, it's not like it never happens.  There's been numerous instances of players getting into fights to defend Kaprizov.  Even Rossi dropped the gloves last year to do that.

    I feel like the coaching staff has put a lot more emphasis on avoiding penalties and being much more disciplined to be on the PK less.  Part of that might mean that they are being asked not to get into fights or keep their emotions in check and not retaliate.  In past years I feel like Foligno would have had 2-3 fights by now by himself.

    I like a team with good discipline that isn't giving the other team unnecessary chances, but they have to show that they won't be bullied and that actions can have consequences too.

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