Justin Faulk: Grit, grind and 1,000 NHL video games

By his mid-teens, Faulk’s drive was turning heads. After starring at South St. Paul High School, he joined the U.S. National Team Development Program, the place he started sharpening the offensive instincts that will later outline his sport. Two seasons in Ann Arbor led him to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, the place he set a college file for objectives by a freshman defenseman and helped ship the 2011 nationwide championship. Months later, he was signing his first NHL contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Faulk arrived within the NHL at 19 — wide-eyed, keen, and, by his personal admission, not fairly prepared.

“My first three games I was horrible,” he mentioned with fun. “I got sent down after that…but honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. It taught me to relax. When I came back up, Paul Maurice told me ‘Just relax and play. Don’t worry about that stuff.’ It taught me a lot for the future — when things go wrong, it’s okay. You can get through it.”

From there, he carved out what would turn out to be his trademark model: unassuming success. He made the NHL All-Rookie Team, grew to become an All-Star at 20, an Olympian at 21, and a steadying presence for Team USA a number of occasions.

Ask anybody who’s shared a locker room with him, they usually’ll let you know it’s not simply the stat line — although 1,000 video games and 468 profession factors, practically a half-point-per-game tempo for a defenseman, isn’t any small feat. It’s the calm, the humor, the way in which he by no means appears rattled.

When he was traded to St. Louis in 2019, the Blues weren’t simply getting a right-shot defenseman — they have been getting a frontrunner. One who may stability the room, eat large minutes and by no means make a fuss about it. A seven-year contract extension adopted nearly instantly, cementing him as a part of the group’s core. Since then, he’s turn out to be one of many Blues’ most constant gamers — now an alternate captain — and a quiet power whose presence anchors the group.

Yet behind the quiet confidence is a participant who is aware of how a lot work it takes to get right here.

“The physical part takes a toll,” he admitted. “I’m not the most physical guy in the world, but I like to play that way. It’s hard, but it’s rewarding. You show up, put in the work and the rewards happen later.”

He’s additionally seen what longevity seems like — and what it prices.