Brock Faber Out Indefinitely With Skull Fracture

Wild defenseman Brock Faber had surgery Sunday for a skull fracture from a preseason puck hit and is out indefinitely.

Brock Faber was injured in the Wild's 2-1 preseason loss to the Dallas Stars on Friday, when he was hit in the head by a shot near the ear area not protected by his helmet. nhl.com reports the play came at 10:24 of the second period and credits Dallas forward Sam Steel with the shot, while the New York Post notes the shot was a deflected point attempt and, citing The Athletic's Michael Russo, identifies Miro Heiskanen as the shooter rather than Steel, as the game sheet indicated. Faber briefly went down, then skated to the bench under his own power and returned for his next shift, playing the rest of the period before sitting out the third.

The Wild announced Tuesday that Faber underwent successful surgery on Sunday, two days after the injury, and has been placed on injured reserve. General manager Bill Guerin said the 24-year-old is resting at home and doing well, but the team will provide no timetable for his return. "We'll follow the doctor's leads (on a timeline)," Guerin said. "He just had a serious surgery and an injury, so we're just gonna update you guys when the time's right." The New York Post reports Guerin was also asked why Faber was not removed immediately, answering that "he seemed OK" and he was pulled "as things progressed."

The injury's severity is underscored by how close the puck came to being harmless. "If it was a quarter of an inch higher it just hits his helmet," Wild coach John Hynes said, per nhl.com. Faber stayed in the game after the hit, which made the diagnosis all the more jarring when the fracture emerged. Defense partner Quinn Hughes called the situation "a little bit scary for him, obviously," and captain Jared Spurgeon emphasized the human side: "It's a scary situation, especially with the head and everything like that. Just care about him getting healthy and feeling well."

Faber's absence strips Minnesota of one of its most important players at the season's start. Per nhl.com, he had 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games last season, averaging 24:41 of ice time — second on the Wild only to Quinn Hughes — while leading the team in short-handed ice time per game. He was set to form one of the League's most dynamic defense pairs with Hughes and has 127 points in 242 career regular-season games, plus a gold medal with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. "It's always going to affect your team when guys like that are out," Guerin said.

Coach John Hynes said no single player can replace Faber, so his responsibilities will be divvied up. Captain Jared Spurgeon, paired with Hughes since the third period of Friday's game, will take Faber's spot on the power-play unit, while Daemon Hunt and Zach Bogosian will likely split the short-handed workload. "He plays a lot of important situations for us, and he plays against a lot of the team's top players," Hynes said. Forward Matt Boldy added that the loss could "bring guys to another level to start the year."

The Wild open the regular season Thursday against the Nashville Predators, missing their top defenseman with no clear idea when he will return. Guerin stressed patience with the medical process, saying the team will follow the doctors' leads before setting any timeline for Faber's resumption of hockey activities. For now, the organization's priority is Faber's health rather than the standings. "Sometimes you just have to put the hockey aside and worry about the human being," Guerin said. "That's what we're doing here now."