I will probably get the 'you're pulling that out of nowhere' repsonses, but I don't care.
If you watch much Faber footage out there, there are at least 2 long ones about his family and his sister, Paige. Hockey may be #1 to Brock, but family is right there equally....and he has a special bond to his sister. it seems her world is playing special needs hockey and Brock is her hero.
Brock will go on and play pro hockey and probably have a great career....if he goes to LA, what happens to his sister? It would seem best for Brock to play for the Wild. Maybe he's thinking of going to free agency.
Yes, this may not be true, but it also could be.
We do know he just turned down as offer to sign and rumor was (yes, not confirmed) that Rob offered him to join the team in Minnesota and debut. Regardless if that part is true, Rob went to Minny and met with him and offered him a contract and most assuradly, the top bonus package and Brock said no. Who knows if Brock said he would consider signing next year. At least Rob probably knows at least that much, or if Brock stated his hoped plans.
At this point I can say I know what it's like to have a special needs child and you do anything you can for them. My older son is high functioning autistic, yet from age 2 to 12, he needed 1-2 weekly therapies and it took a lot of time and efforts for over a decade to get him all the help he needed. He could not speak or jump unitl age 4.
My ex quit her job...we went to autism conferences around the country...could go on and on.
I will tell you this - ANYONE who did anything for my son or us, was #1 best person in the world status.
Former Dodger Jim Gott has 2 autistic sons and my son got to hang out with them and play sports and activities...world class chef, Kyle Connaughton (also was personal chef to George Harrisons widow in Bel Air) had our family over and made unreal food...my ex knew his wife, so that helped, but they loved my son and were cool to him. Anyone who extended love or did things for my son was super human.
So? I do not know what Paige does in life. I'm sure she still plays hockey, at some level or with special needs young adults. The Kings are all about inclusion - they hired Blake Bolden, to be a scout and inclusion specialist, no less. This may seem a little out there, but I would bet the Kings (may already do?) would support and even spearhead a hockey program for speical needs kids and young adults. What if the Kings formed this and offered Paige to be one of the leaders in the program? Maybe coach the youth as well. A paid job.
Is this a shttty way to try to get Brock to commit to the Kings? Not really. If he is going to commit anyway (we don't know) he would probably not think - you guys are aholes - especially if he was introduced to Blake Bolden and it's something the Kings were already working on to spearhead. if Brock knew the Kings were committed to a program like that and wanted his sister to be a big part of that, that gives her a great life and do what she loves...and certainly helps speical needs kids and young adults. She could be in LA and Brock would be there. They keep their bond and Paige has a career. Sometimes great things are started, with some of the wrong reasons; or maybe also a 'this benefits me as well thing'...(maybe for gov funding, non profits, etc) but in the end, it is still a great endeavor.
I will never, ever forget anyone that did great things for my son. I would do anything for them as well.