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Chewbacca · 09-25-2018, 01:16 PM

Benois Minuscule (18) has been declared eligible for joining any SMJHL team via free agency, after leaving his Latvian junior team midseason, due to misunderstandings with his head coach Renis Nutberg. From reports, Benois was upset that Renis didn’t let him play enough clutch minutes in spite of Minuscule being the best defender in the team. In the last practise he took a swing at the head coach and was immediately dismissed by the team. Nutberg was later hospitalized with broken nose, but seems to be ready to coach again next week.

Scandalous exit might be the reason why Benois only got so few offers to play in SMJHL. That, or the fact that it’s past midseason in most prestigious North American junior league. The three teams which showed interest in Minuscule’s abilities were Detroit Falcons, Vancouver Whalers and Kelowna Knights. 3 historically very successful teams, bearing many Four Star Cup championship wins and has many legendary alumni players, who conquered the big waters later on. From sources we gathered information, that Benois will be closely looking at each team’s positive and negative aspects, mostly concentrating on current season performance and chances to win the championship, current place in the roster, future in the roster and locker room personalities.

So let’s take a look at every one of them closely and see, which one of the 3 legendary teams will suit Minuscule better:

Falcons

1.Detroit Falcons Falcons

Current standing: 6th. Detroit’s been doing poorly this season, barely hanging in the playoff spot. Although they are just 5 points shy from the 2nd place, 3 teams are still in better positions to grab a higher spot.
Chances to win the championship: I would say not the greatest, but Detroit is not the team to be ruled out completely, as they always been close to the finals, even when they’re not having brightest regular seasons.
Benois’s place in current roster: 3rd pair. Not the best offer out there, especially with the situation in the last team, where Minuscule was unhappy with the playing time.
Future in the roster: Could move up to 2nd pair in the next season, but the 1st pairing is and will be a long shot. Minuscule will definitely try to reach the 1st pair in any team he’s on, but the higher odds of him not being a 1st pair defender, the higher the odds he’s not going to stay long in this team.
Locker room personalities: One of the strongest pros of Falcons is their locker room. Bright personalities every season. Why not add to this list another one - Benois Minuscule?

Whalers

2.Vancouver Whalers Whalers

Current standing: 1st. Whalers have really got it this season. Currently in the first place with 48 points, 10 more than the second place St.Louis Scarecrows. Who wouldn’t want to play for a winning team?
Chances to win the championship: Keeping in mind Vancouver’s strong regular season, chances to win the championship are the best out of every team out there. They seem unstoppable, and maybe with another strong defender in Minuscule the championship would be bound.
Benois’s place in current roster: 3rd pair. Same as with Falcons, not the best offer, but playing in the winning team’s 3rd pair could be worth more than playing big minutes in a bottom team and missing playoffs.
Future in the roster: And yet again same as with Detroit, Benois could move up a pair in the next season, if he’s capable of good things on ice. Time will tell, but yet again, if the team keeps their tempo in the following seasons, the third pair or second pair minutes could be worth it.
Locker room personalities: Not as bright as in Falcons, but still, the locker room presence in Vancouver is great, a lot of likeable people who are there for eachother.

3.Kelowna Knights Knights

Current standing: 4th. Doing better than Falcons, but still are close to falling of the playoffs as much as climbing to the second place. But the GM’s of Kelowna seems to know what they’re doing, especially looking at the roster they have this season.
Chances to win the championship: Currently three-peated champions they sure are in the talks of winning it all yet again. And adding fresh blood could help them a lot. They don’t have the best roster, but chemistry and coaching is top level.
Benois’s place in current roster: Top 4 defender. Minuscule could play some big minutes here, and the possibility to help bring home the 4 star cup for the 4th straight season seems really fun to take for Benois’s personality.
Future in the roster: If Benois keeps his grind and show’s some fast progress, he might go to top pair really soon and stay there for his whole SMJHL career.
Locker room personalities: Less information about people in Kelowna, there are some people that rings a bell, but not many. Surely the locker room itself can’t be that bad.

Recap: Benois has some tough thinking ahead. All of the 3 teams seems to be a really good pick for him, so it’s hard to tell which one he will choose. Will he choose a great locker room in Detroit, high chance for a championship in Vancouver or big minutes in Kelowna. The time will tell.