Poll: Will Faber be better than Dumba was last season?

[BagHead]

I think people are losing the forest for the trees on this poll. This isn't about if Dumba was good or if Faber will be good, it's about if Faber can be better this year than Dumba was last year. Dumba played top pairing minutes and, while he had his struggles at times, played fairly well defensively in those minutes.

Do the people who voted yes believe that Faber is ready for top pairing defensive minutes?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I think people are losing the forest for the trees on this poll. This isn't about if Dumba was good or if Faber will be good, it's about if Faber can be better this year than Dumba was last year. Dumba played top pairing minutes and, while he had his struggles at times, played fairly well defensively in those minutes.

Do the people who voted yes believe that Faber is ready for top pairing defensive minutes?

Not sure, but I think he's going to playing them, unless they decide to put Brodin and Spurgeon together.

 

[BagHead]

Not sure, but I think he's going to playing them, unless they decide to put Brodin and Spurgeon together.

I was wondering if they'd maybe rotate Faber and Goligoski there, keeping them both fresh, giving neither 1st pairing minutes full-time.

 

[Bazeek]

I think the transition to an 82 game season trips most young players up. I don't expect Faber to struggle with that as much as others, but I think it puts a soft ceiling on expectations for this season. I don't think he totally fills the gap right away.

 

[57special]

I think people are losing the forest for the trees on this poll. This isn't about if Dumba was good or if Faber will be good, it's about if Faber can be better this year than Dumba was last year. Dumba played top pairing minutes and, while he had his struggles at times, played fairly well defensively in those minutes.

Do the people who voted yes believe that Faber is ready for top pairing defensive minutes?

Keep in mind that Dean subbed in Spurgeon for Dumba in critical defensive situations last year.

As I said earlier, it’s too early for me to rate Faber. I think the potential is there for him to be better than Dumba next year, though.

 

[f7ben]

I was wondering if they'd maybe rotate Faber and Goligoski there, keeping them both fresh, giving neither 1st pairing minutes full-time.

That would be the dumbest thing ever , a 21 year old physical freak doesn’t need to be kept fresh. He needs to be run like a f***ing thoroughbred trophy horse.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

I think by the end of the season he will be better assuming Dean accepts some mistakes will happen which won't end up cutting into his ice time.

Faber doesn't seem like a player that is prone to making a lot of mistakes.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Faber doesn't seem like a player that is prone to making a lot of mistakes.

He’s a slower and more physical version of Brodin with less puck skills.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He’s a slower and more physical version of Brodin with less puck skills.

So no puck skills? Because Brodin doesn't have much.

 

[BagHead]

So no puck skills? Because Brodin doesn't have much.

Hey, Brodin has puck skill, he just has no idea what it's used for.

 

[Digitalbooya]

So no puck skills? Because Brodin doesn't have much.

I think Brodin has a good first pass and decent puck handling skills. Why he chooses to never use them, especially his shot, is a different story.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

He’s a slower and more physical version of Brodin with less puck skills.

Compared to Brodin's puck skills now yes, but he's come a long way. And again this has nothing to do with my statement about Faber not seemingly being a guy who makes a lot of mistakes. Brodin is a pretty nifty puck handler now in a lot of ways.

I'm not sure many rookie defenders can come in straight from college and play mistake-free veteran hockey (or have the ability to fix the mistakes he did make pretty smoothly).

Given last year's version of Dumba didn't actually provide much offensive value or any PP value... I think a defender who makes less mistakes is likely to be better than Dumba.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Compared to Brodin's puck skills now yes, but he's come a long way. And again this has nothing to do with my statement about Faber not seemingly being a guy who makes a lot of mistakes. Brodin is a pretty nifty puck handler now in a lot of ways.

I'm not sure many rookie defenders can come in straight from college and play mistake-free veteran hockey (or have the ability to fix the mistakes he did make pretty smoothly).

Given last year's version of Dumba didn't actually provide much offensive value or any PP value... I think a defender who makes less mistakes is likely to be better than Dumba.

I’m gonna go ahead and wait before declaring him “mistake free” as a player. Let’s see how he does against top 6 NHL players first.

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

I’m gonna go ahead and wait before declaring him “mistake free” as a player. Let’s see how he does against top 6 NHL players first.

Then why are you so willing to make so many other definitive declarations about his game? Why don't you hold off on any assessments of his speed, puck skills or physicality until he meets your criteria?

 

[Digitalbooya]

Then why are you so willing to make so many other definitive declarations about his game? Why don't you hold off on any assessments of his speed, puck skills or physicality until he meets your criteria?

Because I can form opinions about his abilities, but I have no idea how those abilities will fit against top 6 players. We haven’t seen that.

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Because I can form opinions about his abilities, but I have no idea how those abilities will fit against top 6 players. We haven’t seen that.

I mean there is video evidence in this very thread showing him defending against Robertson, Hintz, Marchment and Nashville's top 6 as well, when he played top pairing to end the reg season.

You already said you didn’t follow this player prior or pay attention to the end of the season, so why are you so active about a player that you admittedly don't have enough information on? When his coaches, teammates, ownership, and local media all say they have been impressed and expect a big role for him, it just seems odd to not keep an open mind about his potential. You and I do not know a single one of these players personally, so saying anything definitive at all about their potential is complete nonsense.

 

[Minnewildsota]

Because I can form opinions about his abilities, but I have no idea how those abilities will fit against top 6 players. We haven’t seen that.

All I know is that Faber is a better player than Caufield

 

[Digitalbooya]

All I know is that Faber is a better player than Caufield

I’d bet someone on this board would argue he’s better than McDavid. This board is pretty looney when it comes to him. You have dissenting opinions about any other prospect and nobody bats an eye. But not when talking about Faber!

 

[Digitalbooya]

I mean there is video evidence in this very thread showing him defending against Robertson, Hintz, Marchment and Nashville's top 6 as well, when he played top pairing to end the reg season.

You already said you didn’t follow this player prior or pay attention to the end of the season, so why are you so active about a player that you admittedly don't have enough information on? When his coaches, teammates, ownership, and local media all say they have been impressed and expect a big role for him, it just seems odd to not keep an open mind about his potential. You and I do not know a single one of these players personally, so saying anything definitive at all about their potential is complete nonsense.

Because I can say what I want about a player I have observed and read about? Do I need to be a die hard gopher fan to comment on his play? Do I need to watch every second of every game he plays in to comment on him? I assume this means you won’t be in selective threads commenting when it comes to prospects like Yurov, Ohgren, Khusnutdinov, etc then? Or will you be a hypocrite to your own words?

When did you become the arbiter of who can speak on what?

 

[BagHead]

I’d bet someone on this board would argue he’s better than McDavid. This board is pretty looney when it comes to him. You have dissenting opinions about any other prospect and nobody bats an eye. But not when talking about Faber!

Let's not make ridiculous strawman arguments. He's not better than McDavid and we all know that. Draisaitl though.

Jokes aside, I think he and *Yurov will make the Fiala trade a win, long-term. They've got a lot to live up to, but I've been impressed enough with both so far that I think they've got the ability to do that once they develop.

*Yes, I know LA's pick was used on Ohgren, but if we didn't have that pick we wouldn't have swung on Yurov. At least, that's what the media tells us via interviews with Wild management.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Let's not make ridiculous strawman arguments. He's not better than McDavid and we all know that. Draisaitl though.

Jokes aside, I think he and *Yurov will make the Fiala trade a win, long-term. They've got a lot to live up to, but I've been impressed enough with both so far that I think they've got the ability to do that once they develop.

*Yes, I know LA's pick was used on Ohgren, but if we didn't have that pick we wouldn't have swung on Yurov. At least, that's what the media tells us via interviews with Wild management.

I’m just pointing out that there are not a lot of “reasonable” posters on here when it comes to Faber. I don’t particularly care if I used a strawman or not, it got the point across.

Ohgren is the more important piece in the Fiala trade in my books. Faber is likely going to be a top 4 dman, but not the type you trade a 1st line caliber winger for. Think Hall for Larsson as a comparable trade. Ohgren needs to be something. Especially considering there were a number of intriguing prospects available: Gaucher, Snuggerud, Kulich, Lambert, Howard, etc.

 

[BagHead]

I’m just pointing out that there are not a lot of “reasonable” posters on here when it comes to Faber. I don’t particularly care if I used a strawman or not, it got the point across.

Ohgren is the more important piece in the Fiala trade in my books. Faber is likely going to be a top 4 dman, but not the type you trade a 1st line caliber winger for. Think Hall for Larsson as a comparable trade. Ohgren needs to be something. Especially considering there were a number of intriguing prospects available: Gaucher, Snuggerud, Kulich, Lambert, Howard, etc.

I think player evaluation is where our opinions diverge. I think Hall was better then than Fiala is now, I think Faber has a chance to be better than Larsson, and I view it as us gaining Yurov, not Ohgren, because of the trade. Looking at it from your POV, I can understand why you don't love that trade.

 

[AKL]

I think player evaluation is where our opinions diverge. I think Hall was better then than Fiala is now, I think Faber has a chance to be better than Larsson, and I view it as us gaining Yurov, not Ohgren, because of the trade. Looking at it from your POV, I can understand why you don't love that trade.

I think trying to justify it by saying it allowed them to take a better prospect that they otherwise wouldn't have taken is a pretty large reach. If they were gonna take the worse prospect then that's another, separate, and also pretty big problem.

 

[BagHead]

I think trying to justify it by saying it allowed them to take a better prospect that they otherwise wouldn't have taken is a pretty large reach. If they were gonna take the worse prospect then that's another, separate, and also pretty big problem.

I'd say it's not a big leap, but that it is a problem.

 

[Digitalbooya]

I think player evaluation is where our opinions diverge. I think Hall was better then than Fiala is now, I think Faber has a chance to be better than Larsson, and I view it as us gaining Yurov, not Ohgren, because of the trade. Looking at it from your POV, I can understand why you don't love that trade.

Fiala was #22 in the NHL for points the year before he was traded. Taylor Hall was #23 in the NHL for points the year before he was traded. That's about as close to the same level as you can get for offensive wingers. Larsson was an established top 4 RD. Faber is not established, but has higher potential. Larsson is pretty close to what I expect Faber to be long term.

I don't view it as us adding Yurov. If the Wild played politics with the draft, that's really dumb on their part. Even if they did luck into it working out.