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32 P R E S E N T E D B Y Russo's Rants Photo / Faber Family, Brace Hemmelgarn GENUINE LEADER He's a lso one of the most accountable youngsters that has ever put on a Wild jersey. If he messes up in the game, he's a lways sitting at his sta ll a f ter a game waiting for repor ters and more than w ill- ing to accept blame. A nd when he gets credit, he quick ly points to his teammates. "I still k now that I have to build on my consistency in my decision ma k ing in the D zone, which you k now, I've been far from per fect defensively the past month," Faber said. "I'm just (tr y ing ) to find that happy medium where I'm jumping in plays, where I'm skating w ith the puck on my stick a lot of the game but still ma k- ing sma r t, solid, strong decisions. Not turning pucks over, not ending up w ith pucks in the back of the net when I'm on the ice." Hy nes loves Faber 's genuine nature to be accountable. "That 's probably sometimes the biggest cha llenge for young g uys or some players in genera l, the self-a ssessment, a rea l tr ue self-assessment of your ga me a nd the things that you do well but a lso the areas that you may have (to improve)," Hy nes said. "It 's a game of mista kes but just understanding and ta k ing per- sona l responsibilit y when those things happen. I think that mindset and the persona l it y t hat Brock ha s, t hat 's a llowed him to get better as this year 's gone on and to be able to rebound from some tough situations but a lso more of ten than not be a rea l positive impact and be rea l consistent in the role that he's play ing." Faber isn't worr y ing about the Ca lder ta lk, if you g uessed. "I care more about w inning games obviously, so whatever I can do to help the team w in is what I want to do," Faber said. "Calder and all that, I really just try and stay focused on my game, building that consistency in my game, and playing as best I can for these guys." This is why Foligno ca lls h i m a f ut u re leader of this team. "A nd we want him t o get t h at C a lder T r ophy," Fol ig no said, before adding w ith per fect come- d ic tim ing , "a nd i f not the Norris." Michael Russo writes for The Athletic. This is his 19th sea- son covering the Wild and 29th covering the National Hockey League. He hosts the St raight From T he Source podcast, cont ributes weekly on The Athletic Hockey Show and co-hosts Worst Seats in the House on the Talk North Podcast Net work. Each podcast can be heard wherever you get your pod- casts. Russo can be heard week- ly on K FA N (100.3 -FM) and seen throughout the hockey season on Bally Sports North and the NHL Net work. Follow Russo on T witter (now X ) and Instagram at @RussoHockey. To sub- scribe to The Athletic at a discount, go to theathletic.com/straightfromthesource. M H J ON L I N E . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 4 "I'm just (trying) to find that happy medium where I'm jumping in plays, where I'm skating with the puck on my stick a lot of the game but still making smart, solid, strong decisions." — Brock Faber