Losing Jonas Brodin for a month is big but how much of a loss is it? ST. Paul - My player to watch for in tonight's game against the Calgary Flames is Brock Faber. The 21-year-old defenseman is a plus seven on the year and has one goal and 12 points in 27 games. Today he will be given an important task of shutting down some of the league's hottest goal scorers. Brock Boeser the Burnsville, MN, native has 22 goals on the year which is second in the NHL. Meanwhile his linemate, J.T. Miller has 43 points which is second in the NHL. Without Jonas Brodin today and possibly Jared Spurgeon, Faber will be out there against the Canucks' best players to try and shut them down once again. Faber played 26 minutes in the last game against the Canucks and was a minus one. But the Wild had both Spurgeon and Brodin in that game. With the possibility of both of them being out, one would think Faber will be out on the ice a lot. Especially coming after a game in which Faber was on the ice for over 30 minutes against the Calgary Flames on Thursday. The Minnesota native is second in the NHL in both EVD and xGA/60 amongst all defensemen. He is behind Brodin in both categories. But Faber also is quarterbacking the Wild's top power play unit so he is a threat to produce offensively as well as playing the same elite defensive game he has been playing. "Yeah, it’s been good. Being a young defenseman in the league is probably the hardest position to come in and have the responsibilities that he has. As I said, he’s been really consistent," Wild head coach John Hynes said on Faber. "He’s got the physical ability to play the minutes and play the style of game that he plays and he’s got the mental maturity to handle it, be consistent in his play and also recognize the situations he’s in in the moments in the games, which are usually big ones, hard matchups, a lot of minutes and he’s done a really good job." RELATED
