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Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber over skull X-rays
The NHL season has finally arrived, and the Wild will play their first game of the new campaign on Thursday. However, they’ll be without the talents of Brock Faber, who underwent surgery for a broken skull that somehow didn’t keep him off the ice after he was struck by a puck in a preseason tilt.
Hockey players have a reputation for being exceptionally tough athletes who are able to play through injuries that would leave the average person writhing on the floor with pain.
One of my favorite NHL traditions is the annual reveal of the wide variety of ailments guys were able to overcome while competing in the playoffs and seemingly defying basic principles of human anatomy.
In 2023, Matthew Tkachuk forced overtime by scoring a goal in a Stanley Cup Final game shortly after breaking his sternum, and Patrice Bergeron nursed a broken rib, punctured lung, and separated shoulder while vying for a title in 2013.
Now, we can add a member of the Wild to the list of players who were able to take the ice despite having no business doing so based on their diagnosis.
Brock Faber played four shifts with a broken skull in a preseason game before being taken to the hospital
The Wild played four preseason games while gearing up for their opener against the Predators on October 1st, and they wrapped up that slate of exhibitons against the Stars on Friday, September 25th.
No team wants to see a star player fall victim to an injury in a meaningless contest before the actual season gets underway, but that was the situation Minnesota found itself facing after Brock Faber, who plays alongside Quinn Hughes on their top defensive line, was struck in the side of the head by a puck midway through the second period.
According to The Athletic, Faber was able to skate to the bench on his own and returned for four more shifts before being pulled during the final period. On Tuesday, we discovered there was a pretty good reason he was yanked from the game, as he was diagnosed with a broken skull after being taken to the hospital for further examination.
The 24-year-old underwent surgery on Sunday before being discharged to recover at home. He’s been placed on injured reserve, and there’s currently no estimated timeline for his return.
Wild GM Bill Guerin noted Faber initially “seemed OK” when he got back to the bench while asserting he was ultimately pulled “as things progressed.”
There’s no tangible reason to believe Minnesota’s training staff should have handled things differently, although it’s worth noting that its medical team has repeatedly drawn the ire of the Bruins over its approach to treating and evaluating players (most notably Charlie McAvoy, who saw a shoulder injury spiral while under the care of its physicians at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025).
Here’s to hoping Faber makes a speedy recovery.