Brock Faber, his Wild, Gophers and Twin Cities ties showing, represents at World Junior Summer Showcase

As Team USA practice was wrapping up Friday afternoon during the World Junior Summer Showcase that’s taking over Ridder Arena for the next week, the youngest skaters dropped to the ice for push-ups — except one.

“Coaches don’t have to do push-ups,” Brock Faber said.

The 22-year-old Wild defenseman was invited to the evaluation camp for the next World Junior Championship as an alumni ambassador, a reunion for the Maple Grove native with the Gophers’ Bob Motzko while Motzko prepares to coach the U.S. under-20 team that will play in the Minneapolis-St. Paul tournament when it starts the day after Christmas.

“It’s a 10-minute drive for me, so of course I said yes,” Faber said after participating in the session. “It’s really cool that Bob thought to do this. Being able to just hang around these guys, just knowing that I’ve been in their shoes, it’s cool, and it’s definitely a privilege that I got asked to do it. It’s fun.”

Fellow Gopher alums and NHLers Matthew Knies and Jackson LaCombe and Farmington’s Drew Helleson are also expected to join the camp, which includes hopefuls for Canada, Finland and Sweden alongside the Americans.

Split-squad action for Team USA begins Sunday before one lineup faces each country once, with a showdown the following Saturday against rival Canada the final game.

Faber last appeared in the tournament in 2022 as a captain after winning gold in 2021 when the U.S. held off Canada 2-0.

“You’re a team, and you get to play against other countries,” said Faber, who also planned to be at Ridder Arena on Saturday. “So, support each other and work as hard as you can. You don’t have to be at your best during these practices. They’re going to obviously watch you during the year, so don’t put all that pressure on yourself, and be a good teammate, be a good person.”

Although his role excused him from the end-of-practice push-ups, Faber’s approach is to interact with the players like he is their teammate.