Jonathon Brodie – Recorder & Times
Welcome back, Eric Faith.
The 19-year-old forward was traded by the Brockville Braves in late October to the Kemptville 73s, along with defenceman Ben MacDonald, for Tyson Kirkby. Less than three months later and Faith is back in a Braves uniform after Brockville and Kemptville managed to swing a deal at the CCHL trade deadline Wednesday evening.
“We love the kid and we wanted to have him back. I know what he means to our locker room, so we made a fair deal to get him back,” said Braves general manager Dustin Traylen.
In exchange for Faith the Braves traded defenceman Hunter Fraser, 19, who scored three points in 15 games for the Braves after coming to Brockville in a deal with the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, and goalie Yaniv Perets, who left the Braves early in the season to go play for the Boston Jr. Bruins in the National Collegiate Development Conference.
Traylen added he believes Faith right now is a better player than the guy he traded a few months ago and that, “I think Eric would be the first to tell you that he was probably a bit too comfortable and, I think, he’s learned his lesson.”
As a top-six forward for Brockville this season Faith earned 12 points in 20 games. When he moved to Kemptville he was immediately put on their top line and picked up 19 points in 18 games.
It’s not clear where exactly Faith will be penciled into the lineup, but since his departure the Braves have added veteran scorers Kirkby, who is still out with an injury, and Michael Locatelli. Faith’s role on the Braves might change in his second run with the team with those additions and he may fall down the lineup chart, but he definitely gives the Braves some much added depth and another option to put into the top-six if they’re ever looking to shake things up.
Traylen said the Braves continued to keep an eye on Faith after they traded him to the 73s and he has noticed a change in his style since the move.
Faith played against the Braves in three games as a member of the 73s and picked up a goal and two assists in those matchups.
“He’s over a point a game with Kemptville, so he kind of figured it out and that was on a team that is in a rebuild so that was pretty impressive,” said Traylen. “The kid has done a very good job given the circumstances and we saw a change in his play and that’s why it warranted the trade.”
The Braves always had lofty ambitions for Faith since picking him in the 2013 CCHL Draft.
In his first full rookie season in 2015-16 he picked up 20 points in 53 games and then digressed a little the following year with 18 points in 56 games despite playing a more prominent role on the team.
This season Faith was on his way to bettering his previous numbers, but the consensus was that he wasn’t exactly fulfilling the expectations placed on him as one of the few veterans on the team.
“We’ve had (Faith) since he was 17, so I told him at some point the word potential becomes an ugly word so it’s time to start playing hockey and he figured that out, I think, in Kemptville,” said Traylen. “We’re expecting big things from him when he comes back.”
Last week Traylen said he was on the hunt for a forward and a defenceman before the trade deadline. He ended up with two forwards with Faith and Locatelli, but wasn’t able to bring in a blue-liner.
On Thursday Traylen said there was some consideration of getting an older defenceman, but he wasn’t willing to part with any of the pieces that make up their young core of blue-liners. Simon Mack, 16; Zac McMahon, 16; and Theo Citrullo, 17, are all regulars on the Braves back end.
“Not only is our future bright, but I think we’re very competitive in the present and to have two horses on the back end like Andrew Jarvis (20-years-old) and Jonathan Hill (19-years-old), two very good players, we’re very comfortable with what we have,” Traylen said.
Original Story at Recorder.ca
