Wilderness Walk: Faber Getting Ready For Season

Faber keeps it simple on the breakaway too.

Not unexpected from this kid.

Saw him step up into the play and carry the puck into the zone so many times at the U. He usually is passing the puck to an open man, but obviously he's not afraid to shoot.

We're gonna see a lot more of this as he gets more comfortable in the NHL. Get ready for MORE coming to the "X" near you. I recommend you pay close attention in year two or three where we'll see him engaged on the PP.

Clark Kent 🤓 meet SuperWildman with his Forest Green, Iron Range Red and Harvest Gold flowing cape.

Write it down!

It is hard to hold back on the expectations for this kid! He looks like a sure fire top 4 and most likely top 2 D. Filling Dumba’s spot is a given. Just a matter of how fast he can make it to the top of the mountain. It was exact;y the right thing for him to say at the end of last season, “ My biggest job moving forward is get ready for an 82 game season”

Faber is going to be one of the most interesting players to watch from a player development perspective this year IMO.  Expectations are sky high really and I hope his confidence is equally high.  

Pair him with Brodin to learn from the best and by the end of the year maybe they find simpatico.

8 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

Faber is going to be one of the most interesting players to watch from a player development perspective this year IMO.  Expectations are sky high really and I hope his confidence is equally high.  

Pair him with Brodin to learn from the best and by the end of the year maybe they find simpatico.

Still not solidified (AFAIK) but a Brodin-Faber tandem would be awesome. Faber really showed last year that he's ready for the big time and his development arc should only go up from here. Hopefully he put on some strength in the off-season, a professional strength/development program is an improvement even from a D-1 college program.

Think he's our best option to pair with Brodin. Both great skaters, both great puck handlers and neither one shy away from getting in the dirty areas or blocking shots.

Every time I heard last year that they paired him with Klingberg to protect him I had to laugh. I'm thinking they paired Klingberg with Faber to PROTECT Klingberg.

The next laugh I had was that the Leafs paid him a $4.15 million contract. As much as Dumba was up and down for the Wild and I was glad to see him go, he would have been a better signing for him than DumbaX2 (Klingberg).

The last laugh will be for us when Faber blows up after he has had a taste of the 82 game season and is able to measure his response and output and lessons learned on the job with Brodin for '24-'25.

On 8/23/2023 at 10:26 AM, M_Nels said:

Think he's our best option to pair with Brodin. Both great skaters, both great puck handlers and neither one shy away from getting in the dirty areas or blocking shots.

I don't see it that way. I think it would be better if they were on separate pairings. Faber can watch Brodin play from the bench and Brodin can help while watching Faber play from the bench. I like the pairing protecting a 3rd period lead, but I think other than that, it's a bit overkill. 

Also, my version of what makes Brodin so good isn't the stepping up and blocking shots, it's the funneling a threat to a bad angle that goalies have a 98% sv%. Faber seems to do that too, where the only shot is a bad shot.

7 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I don't see it that way. I think it would be better if they were on separate pairings. Faber can watch Brodin play from the bench and Brodin can help while watching Faber play from the bench. I like the pairing protecting a 3rd period lead, but I think other than that, it's a bit overkill. 

Also, my version of what makes Brodin so good isn't the stepping up and blocking shots, it's the funneling a threat to a bad angle that goalies have a 98% sv%. Faber seems to do that too, where the only shot is a bad shot.

Good point on Faber, but there's no one to pair with Brodin that will hold up against the elite lines he will face.

I think Addison is going to force the Wild's hand with this contract and maybe even force a trade. That's the next dilemma.

21 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I don't see it that way. I think it would be better if they were on separate pairings. Faber can watch Brodin play from the bench and Brodin can help while watching Faber play from the bench. I like the pairing protecting a 3rd period lead, but I think other than that, it's a bit overkill. 

Also, my version of what makes Brodin so good isn't the stepping up and blocking shots, it's the funneling a threat to a bad angle that goalies have a 98% sv%. Faber seems to do that too, where the only shot is a bad shot.

With the stars Brodin gets paired up against I respectfully disagree that it would be considered overkill. Those 2 could essentially end up being the top pairing, no disrespect to Spurge & Mids but with Brodin and Faber's skills they could be the premier pairing for the Wild.

I agree on the blocking shots, I didn't want to make it sound like he's strictly a shot blocker or that it's his greatest asset. I was more meaning he's not afraid to do it if the situation calls for it, we all know his skating and puck handling skills are what makes him great. 

All a good discussion topic though, no ill-feelings here.

3 hours ago, M_Nels said:

With the stars Brodin gets paired up against I respectfully disagree that it would be considered overkill. Those 2 could essentially end up being the top pairing, no disrespect to Spurge & Mids but with Brodin and Faber's skills they could be the premier pairing for the Wild.

I can agree with you that a Faber-Brodin pairing might be against McDavid or Mathews, but how many teams have that level on their top line? I think I mentioned it in another thread, if you're up against the top lines in the league, you put the pair together to start the game rather than just in the 3rd period to protect a lead. 

But, that will only be against a few clubs. Now, with the playoffs, I could definitely see these guys being a pairing to go against the top lines. The fact you need to pace yourself for 82 games and spread out icetime is one thing, but in the playoffs, this could be the top pairing shutdown unit deployed to neutralize top lines. That would leave Spurgeon and Middleton as 2nd pairing, probably a place where they belong handling a weaker offense and being able to jump into plays.

But, who then protects Addison?

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I can agree with you that a Faber-Brodin pairing might be against McDavid or Mathews, but how many teams have that level on their top line? I think I mentioned it in another thread, if you're up against the top lines in the league, you put the pair together to start the game rather than just in the 3rd period to protect a lead. 

But, that will only be against a few clubs. Now, with the playoffs, I could definitely see these guys being a pairing to go against the top lines. The fact you need to pace yourself for 82 games and spread out icetime is one thing, but in the playoffs, this could be the top pairing shutdown unit deployed to neutralize top lines. That would leave Spurgeon and Middleton as 2nd pairing, probably a place where they belong handling a weaker offense and being able to jump into plays.

But, who then protects Addison?

Addison has to sign a contract first and I think he's upset with it all and looking to move on.

I'm hoping it get's resolved as I would love to see him on PP1 again and give him a another year to work out the bugs.

Addison is going to end up with Merrill and Goose if he chooses to sign here and not force his way out.

8 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

Addison is going to end up with Merrill and Goose if he chooses to sign here and not force his way out.

Why are you so sure of this pairing? Wouldn't it be better to move around the defensive defenders and pair them up with offensive guys? I think a Goligoski-Faber pairing could be very good. Goligoski has a lot to teach Faber too. And, it allows Goligoski to play to his full potential. 

Where does the icetime appetite usually come? Well, Faber's not going to be on the PP, but he should be on the PK. And the extra 3rd period shifts. It should put him up around 20 minutes. I clearly favor rolling all 3 pairings in the 1st 2 periods.