Defender Brandon John Returns To Atletico Ottawa

Canadian Premier League expansion side Atletico Ottawa has secured the return of Canadian centre-back Brandon John for the upcoming season.

John first signed with Atletico Ottawa last March, with the expansion side plucking him right out of a Valour FC trial. The former Seattle Sounders 2 and Orlando City B defender came in with some good USL-level experience, performing well and being one of the more obvious choices set to return for a second stint with the side.

The 26-year-old appeared in all seven Atletico Ottawa games last year, coming just twelve minutes short of completing an iron man season with the team. He donned the captain’s armband in a match against FC Edmonton following the death of his father, remaining with the side for the duration of The Island Games and showing plenty of internal strength to continue on in the bubble tournament.

John is essential to our backline and had a great performance in his first year in the CPL.He has demonstrated his commitment to the team and I have no doubt he will be one of CPL’s best centre-backs.

Mista

John’s career started with the Toronto FC Academy prior to a move to German side Erzgebirge Aue. Stints with Seattle Sounders B, Vaughan Azzurri, SIMA Aguilas, and Orlando City B followed before his return to play professionally in Canada.

He becomes the second player to re-sign with Atletico Ottawa for a second year, with striker Malcolm Shaw having been announced on Tuesday. With player news now starting to slowly trickle in, it looks like the Atletico Madrid-backed team’s roster will slowly unveil itself over the next month or so.

Recent rumours have indicated Chris Mannella has been linked with the side, though it’d be a fair shout to say that domestic free agent Louis Beland-Goyette would be a good fill-in for the hole in midfielder left by outbound midfielder Francisco Acuna, too.

Atletico Ottawa did not disclose the length or financial details of John’s contract.