The Toronto Marlies announced today that they are hanging on to one of the best Solar Bears players of last season. They have signed Lachine native Éric Faille (RW) to a contract, although whether it's one-way or two-way has yet to be announced. At 26 years old, he's a rare type of player. He's played fewer than 36 games in the AHL, and fewer than 101 in the ECHL, and therefore, despite his age, he is not considered a veteran player (one who has played 260 regular season games) in either league.

This provides a fabulous combination of relative maturity and skill to the Marlies, who brought Faille up five times last season (10 transactions recorded between the two clubs) for a total of 15 games played. In those 15 games, Faille tallied 7G/3A. Why is he so old? He played a full four years in the Canadian Inter-university Sports League (CIS) at the University of Moncton. His team made the playoffs in all four years of college.

Faille spent the 2014-2015 season with the Fort Wayne Komets, playing 21 games on loan to the Texas Stars. He didn't do as well in the transition between leagues, though (2G/4A in 21 GP with the Texas Stars), which is probably why the Marlies had the chance to sign him last season. Maybe this also speaks to the ability of Solar Bears players to transition between Anthony Noreen and Sheldon Keefe's coaching systems -- if Dubas's minor league vision is holding true, Faille would be an exemplar.

With the Solar Bears, Faille scored 24G/36A in 56 GP, over a point per game in the ECHL. He also had a relatively low 10 PIM, which is crazy low for the minors. Whenever the Solar Bears had him, they played him on the top line with various linemates, and he was always excellent at maintaining possession despite facing some of the best teams in the ECHL (hello, Everblades) in the South Division.

Toronto MarliesOrlando Solar Bears