With the NHL Awards Show scheduled for today, we will now find out what the Hockey World thinks of Brock Faber.
The NHL Awards Show is scheduled for later tonight. The Calder trophy is one of five awards which will be given out tonight. Wild's Brock Faber is up for the Calder which is given to the league's most proficient rookie.
Faber, 21, finished his first season in the NHL by playing in all 82 games. Despite playing the last two months with fractured ribs, Faber continued to produce and show why he was the best rookie in the NHL.
"The ribs. Brock has been playing with fractured ribs for two months," Wild General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin said. "That’s the type of kid he is. He never complained, never said boo, he could have been out of the lineup a number of times and he just wasn’t.”
In his first season, Faber notched the first goal of the season and the last goal of the Wild's season. He finished with eight goals, 39 assists, and 47 points. He recorded two goals and 13 points in final 22 games with fractured ribs.
Connor Bedard, who Faber is competing with for the trophy, missed 14 games during the season with a fractured jaw. He finished the season with 22 goals, 39 assists, and 61 points. He was a minus-44 as well which was one short of the worst plus-minus in the entire NHL.
Faber, a defenseman who played half the season not on the power play, recorded the same amount of assists as Bedard did. Faber led all rookies in time on ice this season and finished sixth in the entire NHL in that category as well.
A rookie playing the sixth most minutes a night in the entire NHL. Think about that.
The Calder Trophy is given to the rookie who had the most proficient season not the rookie who scored more goals and had more points yet we all know who the award will be given to despite his minus-44 rating.
Bedard will now pass Gilbert Perreault's minus-38 in 1970-71 for the worst recorded plus-minus as a Calder winner. Perreault had 38 goals and 72 points that season.
As Guerin said a few days ago on a radio show, "I think he should [win the Calder]. If he doesn't I'll be disappointed. But regardless of any trophy or anything like that, I know what we have in Brock and he's a special player. A special kid."
As for Faber?
"Yeah, it's really cool. Obviously, there's a lot of big names. A lot of great rookies and to be mentioned with them is obviously a huge honor," Faber said. "So yeah, it would be awesome."
Wild Captain Jared Spurgeon said it best.
“I think from just training with him this summer, you knew he has something special, just watching him mature throughout the year — he’s already a mature man. He plays the game at such a high level. His skating is awesome. It’s one of his main talents that lets him play the way he does.
"But just the confidence he had to go from a guy who had never quarterbacked a power play and then to see how calmly he went into that position, and then that offensive side that I think we could all see, whether it was during summer skates or his flashes come out — it was awesome to see from a teammate’s perspective. And obviously, he’s such a great teammate to play those minutes. It was awesome.”
Should Faber win the Calder? Tell us here.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' Minnesota Wild page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.