Hudson Fasching

History

2009-10: Hudson Fasching was the leading scorer for Minnesota’s Apple Valley High School as a freshman. He scored 24 goals with 18 assists and was +18 with 12 penalty minutes. The Eagles captured the Section 3AA championship and finished fourth in the state – falling to Hill-Murray in the third-place game. Fasching was selected by Kelowna in the 8th round (163rd overall) of the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft and taken by Chicago in the 20th round (289th overall) of the 2010 USHL Entry Draft.

2010-11: Fasching played in the Upper Midwest Elite League in the fall before returning to Apple Valley for his sophomore season. He was the second-leading scorer for the Eagles behind junior A.J. Michaelson, finishing with 18 goals and 32 assists and was +27 with 16 penalty minutes in 28 games. Apple Valley lost to Eagan, 1-0, in the Section 3AA Final. In 18 games with Team Southeast during the UMEHSL he scored 7 goals with 8 assists and had 12 penalty minutes.

2011-12: Fasching moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to skate for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program’s U17 squad. He scored 16 goals with 20 assists in 54 games and had 52 penalty minutes. He scored 3 goals in four games for the first-place USA squad at the Four Nations Tournament in Russia in the Fall. In five games at the 2012 U17 World Hockey challenge he scored 4 goals with 2 assists as the USA finished second. The USA U17 team capped the season winning the 2012 Vlad Dzurilla U18 tournament in Slovakia and Fasching scored 1 goal with 1 assist in three games. In December he committed to playing for the University of Minnesota in 2013-14.

2012-13: Fasching returned to Ann Arbor to skate for the USA NTDP’s U18 squad and was part of the silver medal-winning USA squad at the 2013 U18 World Junior Championship. He scored 11 goals with 25 assists and had 58 penalty minutes in 67 games for the NTDP U18 team. At the WJC tournament he had 6 assists and was +4 with 4 penalty minutes in seven games. The USA lost 3-2 to Canada in the gold medal game. Fasching was ranked 70th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Los Angeles in the fourth round (118th overall) in the 2013 NHL Draft. 

2013-14: Fasching skated in 40 of 41 games for the University of Minnesota and played for the USA U20 team at the 2014 World Juniors. One of four players tied for second on the Gophers with 14 goals, two behind team leader Justin Kloos, he had 16 assists and was +17 with 22 penalty minutes. Minnesota finished first in the newly-formed Big Ten hockey conference and advanced to the Frozen Four championship game. After an upset loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament semifinals the Gophers defeated Robert Morris and St. Cloud State to capture the NCAA West Regional and then defeated North Dakota, 2-1, with a game-winning short-handed goal in the game’s final second. Union defeated Minnesota, 7-4, in the championship game. Fasching scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was +2 with 2 penalty minutes in five games at the WJC. The USA finished fifth after falling, 5-3, to Russia in the quarterfinals. Fasching was dealt by the Los Angeles Kings along with Nicolas Deslauriers to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Brayden McNabb and draft picks in March 2014. 

2014-15: Fasching returned to Minnesota for his sophomore season and again represented the USA at the 2015 World Junior Championship. The Gophers won their second straight Big Ten regular season title and defeated Michigan, 4-2, in the Big Ten championship game to earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota fell to in-state rival Minnesota-Duluth, 4-1, in the NCAA Northeast Regional semifinals Fasching scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was +7 with 4 penalty minutes in five games at the WJC. The USA again finished fifth, losing 3-2 to Russia in the quarterfinals.

Talent Analysis

Fasching is your prototypical big power forward. He has great hands for a player with his size and is a surprisingly good skater with a powerful stride. He works well in the corners and is not afraid to muck it up in the dirty areas of the ice and in front of the net. He was an all-situations player for the USNTDP and showed great promise as a skilled two-way player, penalty killer, and leader. Consistency has been an issue with Fasching, but when he is dialed in and playing every shift and every game with the same intensity he has a lot of promise.

Future

Fasching has been the University of Minnesota's top goal scorer in his junior season as the Gophers have battled Michigan for the top spot in the Big Ten Conference for much of the 2015-16 season. A promising power forward, Fasching will likely have a tough choice to make following the college season —whether to turn pro or return to Minnesota for his final year of college hockey. There is not a lot of subtlety to Fasching's game but his combination of size and determination will fit well with the other talented young forwards in Buffalo.