Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull on Sunday, general manager Bill Guerin announced Tuesday.
“He just had a serious surgery and an injury, so we’re just gonna update you guys when the time’s right,” Guerin told reporters. “But he’s doing well. He’s doing really well, which is good news. And we’ll just follow the doctors’ leads.”
Faber was struck by a puck near his left ear on a deflected shot from Dallas forward Sam Steel in the second period of the Wild’s 2-1 loss in Friday’s preseason finale. He eventually got to his feet and skated under his own power to the bench.
Faber, 24, recorded 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) and a plus-18 rating while averaging 24:41 of ice time in 80 games last season.
He also was a member of the gold medal-winning Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“Brock’s a great player,” Guerin said. “He’s a big player for us. So it’s always gonna affect your team when guys like that are out. But the biggest thing here is that he’s doing well, and sometimes you just have to put the hockey aside and worry about the human being, and that’s kind of what we’re doing here now.
“Brock’s a son. He’s a brother. He’s got a girlfriend. There are people that care about him, so we got to worry about the human being right now, not so much the lineup.”
The Wild open the 2026-27 regular season on the road Thursday night against the Nashville Predators.
Faber has totaled 127 points (33 goals, 94 assists) in 242 career games since being selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. The Minnesota native joined the Wild in the trade that sent forward Kevin Fiala to the Kings on June 29, 2022.
