Brock Faber is resting at home in Minnesota after undergoing surgery for a fractured skull, an injury that has thrown the Wild's blue line into disarray just days before the regular season opener. The 24-year-old defenseman was struck in the head by a deflected puck during the second period of a preseason game against the Dallas Stars, and the team has placed him on injured reserve with no known timeline for his return.
Faber held the left side of his head near his ear after the puck struck him, but stayed in the game before eventually being removed in the third period and taken to the hospital, according to the New York Post. Minnesota went on to lose that September 25 preseason finale 2-1. Wild head coach John Hynes offered a chilling detail on the margin involved, noting that the puck struck an unprotected area near Faber's ear and that if the shot had landed a quarter-inch higher, it would have hit his helmet instead, according to NHL.com. Faber logged 14:27 of ice time after the hit before symptoms forced his removal.
Surgery Called Successful as Guerin Shifts Focus to the Person
Wild General Manager Bill Guerin confirmed the surgery was successful and said, in remarks the Post attributed to The Athletic, that Faber is doing well and that doctors will guide further updates. Guerin struck an emotional tone in describing the team's priorities, saying the organization must focus on the human being because Faber is a son, brother, and partner with loved ones caring for him, according to WKZO. Guerin declined to speculate on any full-season recovery timeline, and acknowledged that Faber's absence will affect the team as it opens the season.
Minnesota begins its 2026-27 campaign in Nashville on October 1, and the Wild will be without their top defenseman to start the year. The team announced Faber's skull fracture and surgery publicly, and his injured reserve designation was made retroactive to the September 25 game, per Bring Me The Sports. Standard NHL rules require a minimum seven-day absence for injured reserve, while a longer-term move to Long-Term Injured Reserve would require missing at least 24 calendar days and 10 regular-season games.
A Franchise Cornerstone Sidelined at a Pivotal Moment
Faber, a Maple Grove, Minnesota native who starred at the University of Minnesota before Minnesota acquired him in a June 2022 trade that sent Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings, had become one of the franchise's most important pieces. He signed an eight-year, $68 million extension in July 2024 — the largest contract and highest salary-cap hit for a defenseman in team history, according to Pro Hockey Rumors. The deal began with the 2025-26 season and runs through 2032-33.
During his 2023-24 rookie season, Faber played all 82 games. Last season, Faber recorded 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points across 80 games, then added 10 points in 11 playoff games as Minnesota beat Dallas in the first round before falling to Colorado in five games. He also played for the 2026 Team USA men's hockey team and won an Olympic gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Hughes Partnership Interrupted, Spurgeon Steps Into the Void
Faber was set to form Minnesota's top defensive pairing with Quinn Hughes. Minnesota beat Dallas in six games during the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a run Hoodline covered in its Game 6 recap. Last season, Faber averaged 24:41 of ice time per game, second on the team only to Hughes's 27:54, and led all Wild skaters with 2:24 of shorthanded ice time per game, according to NHL.com's reporting.
With Faber out, Hynes is expected to lean on captain Jared Spurgeon to fill the void next to Hughes, while shifting Olli Maatta, Jonas Brodin, Daemon Hunt and Zach Bogosian into reshuffled roles across the rest of the blue line, according to RMNB. The embedded post identifying Dallas forward Miro Heiskanen as the player whose point shot deflected into Faber has circulated widely since the injury.
