Brock Faber was a team captain, all-American and Big Ten Defenseman of the Year at the University of Minnesota. As a junior, he had four goals and 23 assists, four of the latter in four NCAA tournament games as he helped the Gophers make the 2022-23 national championship final.

But in 97 career college games, there is one thing he never did: get a role on the Gophers’ power play.

Asked about that during training camp, Faber said part of it was because college players are expected to play more minutes than NHL players, and he was playing the PK. But part of it, he said, was that early in his hockey career “I knew I wasn’t the kind of player who was going to fill up the stat sheet.”

Faber, a rookie from Maple Grove, had his first power play point in Sunday afternoon’s 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center. He first played on the unit in last Thursday’s 6-1 win at Nashville.

“I always knew that I could, right? And I always hoped I would get onto the power play at some time in my life,” Faber said this week. “At the same time,” he added, “it’s never been something that I’ve lost sleep over.”

Faber had the second assist on Marco Rossi’s one-timer from the slot that gave Minnesota a 2-0, first-period lead. Playing the left point, he found Freddy Gaudreau in the left corner, and Gaudreau raced a pass to Rossi.

“For me, it was the other two that kind of made the good plays,” he said. “It was a little different for me being on the powerplay but, you know, I enjoy every second of it and hopefully I can keep it rolling.”

Faber also had the first assist on Rossi’s first goal, a deflection of Faber’s shot from the point. On the other end, he calmly defused a one-on-one breakaway with Chicago rookie phenom Connor Bedard with a poke check in the second period.

This week, Faber and Huxley Eyewear announced a custom line of eye glasses designed by Faber. A portion of each sale goes to the Hendrickson Foundation, a non-profit founded by longtime youth hockey coach Larry Hendrickson, whose mission is “to enrich the lives of individuals with disabilities, and their families, through the game of hockey.”

Spurgeon OK

Hynes said after Sunday’s game he had no immediate concerns about Jared Spurgeon, who appeared to injure his left knee midway through the first period.

“As of now, no,” Hynes said during his postgame press conference.

Spurgeon raced in to keep a puck in the offensive zone when he got tangled with a Chicago player and seemed to hyperextend his knee against the boards. He spun out and remained down before being helped to the trainer’s room but returned with about a minute left in the period.

The veteran captain missed the season’s first 14 games after suffering an upper body injury in a preseason game at Chicago on Oct. 5.

“All I know is he came back and played really well, so I don’t have anything more than that,” Hynes said.

He got game

Jake Middleton has built a reputation as a big, no-nonsense defenseman who can kill forechecks and penalties with his size and his stick. But he has added something to his quiver this season.

Middleton leads all Wild defensemen with four goals after his highlight-reel goal in a 6-1 victory last Thursday in Nashville.

Asked if he was a big goal-scorer in a previous iteration, Middleton laughed. “No,” he said. “Never.”

Against the Predators, Middleton skated the puck into the slot and pushed a backhanded shot into the far side to give the Wild a 2-0 lead with 6 minutes left in the second period.

“I saw it, I did it,” he said. “You could put pylons on the ice and no goalie and I don’t think I could pull that off again.”

But Middleton does enjoy the way new coach John Hynes, now 3-0 since replacing Dean Evason, wants his defensemen to join the rush.

“We’re using the net-front D a lot more on breakouts, trying to get out of the zone quicker,” Middleton said. “It makes for a lot of trucking up the ice as that fourth man, and we’re just getting out opportunities there.”

Briefly

Defenseman Zach Bogosian was a scratch on Sunday, replaced by Jon Merrill in a pair with Alex Goligoski. Bogosian left Saturday’s practice early and didn’t return. “It’s day to day right now,” Hynes said.