The NHL’s Minnesota Wild announced Sunday that the club has signed Minnesota junior defenseman Brock Faber to a three-year, entry-level contract starting with the 2022-23 season.
He will join the Wild today and travel with the team to Chicago for their game Monday night.
In signing the NHL contract, Faber foregoes his senior year with the Gophers.
Faber collected 27 points (four goals, 23 assists), a plus-29 rating and 54 blocked shots in 38 games with the Gophers in 2022-23 while serving as the team’s captain.
The native of Maple Grove, Minn., was a 2022-23 AHCA/CCM Hockey All-America West first team honoree, a two-time Big Ten defensive player of the year recipient (2021-22, 22-23 seasons), a two-time first team all-Big Ten selection (2021-22, 22-23) and a two-time academic all-Big Ten selection (2021-22, 22-23).
Faber helped the Golden Gophers win two Big Ten regular-season championships (2021-22, 22-23) and earn three berths in the NCAA tournament, including consecutive Frozen Four appearances during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 postseasons. He finishes his collegiate career with 53 points (seven goals, 46 assists), a plus-54 rating and 130 blocked shots in 97 games with Minnesota (2020-23). He also represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics, tallying one assist in four games.
He was named captain of the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship and won a gold medal with the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Faber was a second-round selection (45th overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2020 NHL Draft. Los Angeles traded Faber and a first-round pick in 2022 NHL Draft to the Wild on June 29, 2022, in exchange for forward Kevin Fiala.
