Last year they were at the top of the league and took it all. This year they are fighting to stay out of last place (RIP Nevada). The Kelowna Knights are struggling just one season after raising the Four Star Cup. With 32 games played, they have won 6 games and lost 26 (lost 1 in OT). Such a sharp decline is unbelievable, especially since they just were crowned the best team in the league. But what has caused such fast decline? The answer lies mainly in how many players left the roster. Only 9 players of that winning roster currently remain on the team. Not only that but notable players in leadership positions left too. Both assistant captains, Richard LaFleur and Vlatislav Malik are not with the team this season, since they were called to their respective SHL teams.
So what seems to be Kelowna’s glaring weakness? Well they have 2! Their goal tending and defense have been abysmal so far. In goal we have a rotating duo between last year champion Benjamin Blue-II and rookie Jason Playstation. Benjamin is currently at 319 TPE while Jason is at 175 TPE. The duo is statistically the worst in the league, and while it is partly due to the lack of defense in front of them, the stats do not look good, especially when compared to the goalie in the worst team, Willie Miller for Nevada, who despite only having two wins, is still posting a .964 save percentage.  The Knights goalies are currently at .773 and .524 save percentages and both have a little over 4GAA. The tenders are going to have to figure something out soon, since they have also allowed the most goals against in any team.
 
This struggle is mostly because of the defensive core, which has been less than stellar. While +/- is not a deciding stat, it is rough to see that 3 out of the 5 worst +/- belong to Kelowna players. The main problem the defense has is lack of depth. They do not have enough star players to maintain a decent level throughout the games. But it is not only the defensive players, but the forwards are not helping out their goalie.
 
While this year might seem like a hellhole, the future of the team does look promising, especially some of the rookies in this class. Keep an eye out on LD Leons Briedis, who has 12 points and is actually performing great despite his team situation. If he can keep developing, he will be a great asset for the Knights and any SHL team that drafts them. The highlight of his season is the fact that he is leading the league on blocks, with 77 so far, further cementing the possibility that he pans out to be a great defensive asset that can shut down anyone on the ice.
 
Kelowna has a bit to go before they can go back to their golden days, but the foundation is there for them to rebuild this team from the ashes and light up the league like they once did.


(word count: 516)

@Drokeep GRADED! +5 TPE