The Minnesota Wild have been without defenseman Brock Faber for the entire 2026-27 regular season so far after he suffered a scary injury during a preseason contest against the rival Dallas Stars.
Faber was struck in the side of his head with a shot in the ear area that isn’t fully protected by the helmet, and he suffered a fractured skull as a result. He underwent surgery and spent multiple days in the hospital as a result.
The good news is that he’s been working his way toward a return, and based on the latest from NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, that return could be on the horizon.
Elliotte Friedman Reports That Minnesota Wild Defenseman Brock Faber Could Return Soon
According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, Wild coach John Hynes revealed that Faber could potentially make his season debut over the weekend.
“John Hynes said Brock Faber could return Saturday,” Friedman reported on X, formerly known as Twitter. “If not then, not far from that.”
Last week, Hynes disclosed that because of the nature of the injury he suffered, Faber hasn’t been able to work out until recently; he’s now back on the ice, working to get his conditioning back up to speed.
“Even though he’s a workout horse, he couldn’t work out,” Hynes said Thursday via NHL.com. “He’s a genetically gifted kid too. So that helps. But to go from that to go right into playing, we just want to make sure that through our strength staff and trainers, including Brock, that the process from him is right, that he feels confident, that he’s going to be able to perform the way he can perform.”
Brock Faber Admits The Injury Could Have Been Much Worse
Recently, Faber said that he’s fortunate to have received the immediate medical attention that he did; otherwise, his injury could have beeen far worse.
“It could have been a lot worse if, one, if I got hit harder in that spot, and two, if I didn’t get the medical attention that I did,” he said. “I’m so glad to just put it in the past. It’s so good to be back.
“If it would have got me a couple centimeters lower, it just would have hit me in the ear and I’d had to maybe get a couple stitches on my ear. If it would have hit me a couple inches or centimeters higher, it hits me in the helmet and I’m fine. The area where I got hit, only a puck could fit there. And it just so happened that it hit me right there.”
Faber also said that when he does return, he wants to be contributing at 100 percent, and doesn’t want to come back too early and potentially risk another injury.
“It’s one of those things, they’re playing so well right now, I think I could get back and be OK,” Faber said. “I just want to get back and be 100 percent. … I’m going to take my time a little bit more with this one than maybe I would have in the past just considering what the injury was. The last thing I’d want to do is get back too soon and something else pops up.”
Latest Report Confirms Optimistic Outlook For Wild Defenseman Brock Faber