Wild's Faber played with broken ribs for 2 months

Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin made a rather startling revelation about Brock Faber as he met with the media Friday for the final time this season.

"Brock's been playing with fractured ribs for two months," Guerin said. "That's the type of kid he is. He never complained ... he could've been out of the lineup a number of times, and he just wasn't."

"I'll take him with one rib," Wild head coach John Hynes joked.

Earlier on Friday, Faber told reporters he's skipping the upcoming World Championship due to injuries.

Faber excelled as a rookie despite the injury. He led all players in the class in average ice time, logging 24:58 per contest - three and a half minutes more than fellow Calder Trophy contender Luke Hughes. Faber tied Connor Bedard for first among rookies in assists (39) and matched Hughes for second among the group in points (47).

Guerin praised the 21-year-old Wild blue-liner Friday for earning a critical role in his first NHL campaign.

"He has emerged as a top-pairing defenseman - he was our top defenseman this year," the GM said. "That is an unbelievably good thing for our organization going forward."

The Wild acquired Faber from the Los Angeles Kings along with a first-round pick (which they used to select Swedish forward Liam Ohgren) for winger Kevin Fiala in June 2022. The Kings drafted him 45th overall two years earlier.

Faber was born in the Wild's home state and played three seasons at the University of Minnesota, captaining the team in 2022-23 and leading it to the NCAA championship game.