Brock Faber and Jesper Wallstedt Set to Represent The Minnesota Wild at The NHLPA Rookie Showcase
35 NHL prospects and rookies will gather at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Virginia for the NHLPA Upper Deck showcase.
It is the 13th annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase, and it will be held on Sept. 5. Last year both Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi represented the Wild and now Brock Faber and Jesper Wallstedt will represent the Wild this year.
Faber, 21, played in two regular season games last year with the Wild after signing his rookie contract days after the Minnesota Gophers season came to an end. The Minnesota native played in six playoff games this season against the Dallas Stars where he proved to be one of the best shutdown defenders in the series.
The 6-foot-1 defender spent three seasons at the University of Minnesota and recently came off a career year with the Gophers as the captain. Faber notched four goals and 27 points in 38 games for the Gophers and was a big reason why Minnesota went all the way to the NCAA Championship game.
The Wild acquired Faber last summer when they traded Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2022 first-round pick and Faber. They drafted Liam Ohgren with the pick.
He was originally selected in the second round of the 2020 draft by the Kings with the 45th overall pick, which was six picks after the Wild took defenseman Ryan O'Rourke and 20 picks before the Wild took another defenseman in Daemon Hunt.
Wallstedt, 20, is coming off his first season of professional hockey, where he played for the Wild's AHL Affiliate the Iowa Wild. The Swedish netminder went 18-15-5 and eventually was named the starter for the Wild in the AHL playoffs after taking over for Zane McIntyre.
The 6-foot-3 goaltender had a very strong finish to his rookie season in Iowa after starting a bit slow, which is expected for a 20-year-old goalie in his first season. He finished the year by being honored for the AHL Top Prospects team with teammate Sammy Walker.
The Wild's 2021 first-round selection is still the goalie of the future for the Wild, despite Filip Gustavsson's three-year extension. The Gustavsson contract extension gives Wallstedt more time to develop his game in Iowa which will help in not rushing him to the NHL.
The last thing the Wild want is to rush their top prospect to the NHL and potentially ruin him.
Minnesota acquired Wallstedt in the NHL draft when they traded picks No. 22 and pick No. 90 to the Edmonton Oilers for pick No. 21. The Wild then used that pick to draft Wallstedt. The Oilers took Xavier Bourgault, who is representing the Oilers in the showcase, and Luca Munzenberger with pick No. 90.
Wallstedt and Faber represent two Wild rookies alongside 33 other NHL prospects, including Logan Cooley for the Arizona Coyotes who played for the Gophers last season, and Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs who also played for the Gophers last season both with Faber.
