Faber, Bedard and Hughes officially named Calder Trophy finalists

Minnesota Wild rookie defenseman Brock Faber is officially a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

The NHL officially announced Faber, Chicago center Connor Bedard and New Jersey defenseman Luke Hughes as finalists for the award, given to the player voted as the best in his first year of NHL competition, on Tuesday.

Bedard, last year’s top overall pick in the NHL Draft, has been the favorite to win the award all season, although he missed 14 games due to injuries.

However, Faber, the former University of Minnesota captain and two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was thrust into top-line action for the Wild due to injuries and excelled.

He led all rookies in both average (24:58) and total (2,047:53) time on ice, block shots, tied for most assists, and had the third-most power-play points and assists for rookies. His total time on ice was nearly 300 minutes more than the next-closest player and is the highest single-season figure by a rookie since it was first tracked in 1997-98, and his points and assists totals both set Wild records.

The 21-year-old is the second Wild player to be named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, joining Kirill Kaprizov, who won the award in 2021.

The league hasn’t yet announced when the winner will be revealed.