ST. PAUL 鈥� For the first time in nearly 25 years of Minnesota Wild team history, they claimed an NHL rookie of the month in January. And they didn鈥檛 even need to leave the Twin Cities to find him.
After he led all first-year players in assists and points last month, Wild defenseman Brock Faber was honored by the league on Thursday. He had 11 assists and 13 points in 14 games for the Wild last month.
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Faber, who signed with his hometown team less than 24 hours after his Minnesota Gophers season ended last April, is from Maple Grove and was the two-time defensive player of the year in the Big Ten as a collegian.
He topped all NHL rookies in power-play assists (6), power-play points (7) and shots on goal (31) last month, and had a pair of three-point games for the Wild. Faber also put together a six-game point streak, which was the longest by a rookie blueliner in Wild history.
Originally picked by Los Angeles in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Faber was acquired by the Wild in the summer of 2022 in the trade that sent Kevin Fiala to the Kings.
Now 21, Faber has filled a vital role on the Minnesota blue line with the loss of captain Jared Spurgeon to a season-ending injury, leading all NHL rookies in total minutes (355:37) and average time on ice (25:24). In January, he also led rookies with 38 blocked shots, 15 more than the next-closest players.
Previous winners of the award this season are Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal in October, and Chicago forward Connor Bedard in November and December. With Bedard out for several weeks due to a broken jaw, Faber鈥檚 name has been mentioned as a strong candidate for NHL rookie of the year.
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