Brock Faber returns to Wild practice after skull fracture

Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber returned to team practice on Nov. 5 in St. Paul, taking a step toward his regular-season debut after a fractured skull, the Associated Press reported. Coach John Hynes said team doctors cleared the 24-year-old to play, but Faber still needs to build strength and conditioning before he is ready for a game.

Hynes said Faber would miss Minnesota’s Friday and Saturday home games and was scheduled to travel with the team for a road trip beginning Tuesday in Montreal. Gino Hard, citing reporting by The Athletic’s Joe Smith, described Faber’s return date as a “moving target.”

Faber’s recovery from the preseason injury

Gino Hard reported that Hynes said Faber had cleared the return-to-play protocol the previous Thursday, allowing him to resume exercise. Before joining the team practice, Faber had been skating on his own. The group session marked another step in his progression, while conditioning remained the stated requirement before game action.

Faber’s role in Minnesota’s lineup

Faber recorded a career-high 51 points in 80 games last season and logged the ninth-most minutes of any NHL player, according to the AP. His regular-season debut was delayed by the injury. At the time of the AP report, Minnesota led the Central Division with 25 points and an 11-3-3 record despite missing Faber and other players to injuries.

Jared Spurgeon had missed seven games with a lower-body injury after replacing Faber alongside Quinn Hughes on the top defensive pair, the AP reported. Spurgeon was also scheduled to join the road trip. The AP also reported that forwards Marcus and Nick Foligno, each out for about a month with upper-body injuries, and goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who had not played that season while recovering from hip surgery, were expected to travel.