The Lake Erie Beacons Believe in Their Guys, At What Cost?
The offseason is when you find out what a team really thinks of itself.
Every NSL franchise faced the same set of decisions last winter: which players to keep, which players to drop, and how to use their draft picks. Some teams completely overhauled their roster. Chicago dropped everyone but Sam Todd and rebuilt from scratch. Nashville overhauled their top two players in search of a new identity. Lake Erie did no such thing.
The Beacons retained their core four of Victor Crouin, Yannick Wilhelmi, Bernat Jaume, and Nick Spizzirri that led them to a 2-0 2025 regular season and an NSL Finals appearance. You can hardly blame them. Victor Crouin is the World #6 and has been on the Beacons’ roster since the NSL’s inception. He’s the headliner on a roster that’s achieved a lot of success in the NSL already. Wilhelmi and Jaume bring strength and endurance to play hard minutes throughout a match without fading. Both players extend rallies for the Beacons and rarely concede points easily. Spizzirri proved valuable in the NSL format as well. He’s a physical presence whose accuracy and consistency play perfectly into the Beacons’ slow-paced strategy.
You can say a lot of good things about Lake Erie’s roster. It’s easy to see why they prioritized continuity. But, that strategy comes at a cost.
The Opportunity Cost of Keepers
The structure of the NSL Draft means that teams can’t make their keeper decisions in a vacuum. When deciding to keep a player, you have to consider the players available in the draft you may be passing on. 2026 was a supremely talented draft pool, and you have to wonder if the Beacons left some improvement opportunities on the table as a result.
Keeping Victor Crouin was a no-brainer. The Beacons would have picked towards the end of the first round and wouldn’t have gotten anyone as good as Victor Crouin, not to mention he’s the face of the franchise! The second round on the other hand…
The NSL uses a snake draft order, meaning the Beacons would have picked first in the second round (4th overall!) had they dropped Bernat Jaume, assuming no other changes in keeper picks. There were some unbelievable names to choose from: Nick Matthew, Mohamed ElShorbagy, Baptiste Masotti, Noor Zaman, Greg Marche, Mazen Hesham, etc. The Beacons decided Jaume was more valuable than the opportunity to select any of these players.
I’m not making a judgement call one way or another. I simply want to point out the gravity of Lake Erie’s decision to keep Jaume. It just proves the belief they have in his ability in the NSL format.
Same goes for Nick Spizzirri as their fourth round keeper. The Beacons would have had the second pick in the fourth round. Here’s who was still on the board:
- Ivan Perez (defensive ace and perfect stylistic fit)
- Mohamed El Shirbini (excellent attacking player, and was tradeable for Mohamed ElShorbagy late in the offseason)
- Kareem El Torkey (rising star who’s in the top 25 at just 21 years of age)
Those three, among others, could have been a Beacon. But they opted to keep Nick Spizzirri instead. Spizzirri plays well above his rating in the NSL format, is consistently available, and is familiar with the format. I don’t mean to suggest he’s a bad player to have. But, Lake Erie passed up on some real impact players that could have aided a potential title push.
The Two Picks They Did Make, and Analyzing Friday’s Match in Greenwich
In rounds five and six, Lake Erie selected David Baillargeon and Ben Smith, both of whom will play in Friday’s match against Greenwich alongside Nick Spizzirri. You may recall that Greenwich’s top lineup of Asal, Steinmann, and Marche will be available on Friday. We’ve already seen that Greenwich’s big three is beatable after Newport beat them 3-1 on Saturday.
Lake Erie will have their work cut out for them, but they have the makings of a complete NSL lineup here. Smith will likely be the attacker, and he’ll need to fire off some winners on power plays in order to build a lead. Spizzirri and Baillargeon will have to do what Newport did to beat Greenwich: keep up with their slow, attritional style and take advantage of attacking opportunities when they come. It’s not a lineup that should beat Greenwich on paper. But, the Beacons are a deliberately assembled team of players who fit their roles well. They’re well-coached, and there’s steadfast belief within the organization.
The Beacons don’t need to win on Friday to validate their offseason, but their depth pieces need to show up and make life difficult for Greenwich’s big three. If Lake Erie keeps the match close, look out. Crouin, Jaume, and Wilhelmi are waiting in the wings.
