Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin yesterday announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has acquired defenseman Brock Faber and a first-round draft pick in the 2022 NHL Draft from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Kevin Fiala.
Fiala registered 186 points (79-107=186), 147 PIM, 21 power-play goals (PPG), 17 GWG and 642 shots on goal in 215 career games with Minnesota in four seasons (2018-22). He also totaled nine points (4-5=9), 28 PIM, two PPG, one GWG and 56 shots on goal in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Wild (2020-22).
The Minnesota Wild currently owns eight draft picks in the 2022 NHL Draft: two first-round selections (19th & 24th overall), two second-round selections, one third-round selection, one fourth-round selection, one fifth-round selection and one sixth-round selection.
Faber, 19 (8/22/02), collected 14 points (2-12=14), 12 penalty minutes (PIM), a plus-8 rating and 37 blocked shots in 32 games with the University of Minnesota during the 2021-22 season. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound native of Maple Grove, Minn., was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten and an Academic All-Big Ten Team. He helped the Golden Gophers win the 2021-22 Big Ten Regular-Season Championship and advance to the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time since 2014. The right-shot blueliner represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics and tallied one assist in four games. He owns 26 points (3-23=26), 26 PIM, a plus-25 rating and 76 blocked shots in 59 career games with the University of Minnesota (2020-22).
Prior to joining the Golden Gophers, Faber recorded 19 points (5-15=19), two game-winning goals (GWG) and 43 shots on goal in 54 career contests with the U.S. National Team Development Program in the United States Hockey League (USHL) in two seasons (2018-20). He won a gold medal with the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, a gold medal at the 2019 Five Nations Tournament and a silver medal at the 2020 Five Nations Tournament with the U.S. National Under-18 Team, a silver medal with the U.S. National Under-17 Team at the 2018 Under-18 Four Nations Tournament and a bronze medal at the 2019 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament. He was selected by the Kings in the second round (45th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Brock Faber
(info courtesy of Wild)