Seven CPL Players Facing A Big Battle For Minutes

The battle for silverware has been intense in the Canadian Premier League‘s sixth season, with clubs continually improving their rosters and trying new things in an effort to gain any advantage possible.

That competition is great for the overall level of the league, though there are a few players we thought we’d see more of this season. In no particular order, here’s a look at seven CPL players who are facing a big battle if they’re to get serious minutes in 2024:

Halifax Wanderers – Christian Volesky

Update: two days after this article, Halifax and Volesky mutually terminated their contract.

When the Wanderers brought in USL Championship veteran Christian Volesky, there was palpable excitement from fans: he’d garnered 67 goals and 23 assists in his stateside career and his can-do attitude was was exactly what you’d want in a new striker

It didn’t take long for things to go off-track for the veteran striker, however: not only has he failed to find the net thus far, but Patrice Gheisar hasn’t handed him a minute of game time for nearly two months now. After starting the club’s first two games, Volesky was dropped to the bench, and now rarely cracks the matchday roster at all.

After seven appearances in blue, his time out east could be over before it had a change to begin. If he can develop a link with Sean Rea, however, maybe things could turn around…

Atletico Ottawa – Liberman Torres

It took quite some time for Villareal loanee Liberman Torres to arrive at the nation’s capital, and it ‘s safe to say he hasn’t exactly broken through yet – though we could credit this to a slow acclimation period.

While Liberman is appearing regularly, Ottleti head coach Carlos Gonzalez is only handing him handfuls of minutes at a time, typically in each game’s closing minutes. He’s averaged under twenty minutes per appearances eight games in, having started just once during his loan spell with the red-and-white so far.

That’s not bad, but for an international occupying a slot, fans might want to see more of the of the Ecuadorian after all the hype.

Forge FC – Matteo Schiavoni

Highly-touted Canadian youngster Matteo Schiavoni turned heads in his three-step move to Forge FC, having departed Bologna for CF Montreal before being quickly loaned to the hammers for 2024.

The 19-year-old midfielder has only come off the bench four times, averaging just over one minute per appearance. Having tallied 29 appearances split between Bologna’s U-18 and U-19 ranks last year, his main gains from the season will likely come from the training ground at Tim Hortons Field.

It’s tough to break into the setup at Forge FC, but fans would be forgiven in thinking the on-loan youth prospect might be given more of a run-out than what Schiavoni has carved out so far.

Valour – Jordan Haynes

Any full-back in the CPL would have a difficult time putting their name in front of Themi Antonoglou, and Jordan Haynes has seen his minutes suffer as a result of the TFC fullback’s arrival to Princess Autio Stadium

The 28-year-old has mostly stayed on the bench this season, coming on as a substitute six times to tally 39 minutes of league action. The 2021 league champion will be hungry to restore some minutes, but he certainly faces an uphill battle against the in-form Antonoglou, who leads the league in assists with six.

That being said, Jordan is a player who’s faced plenty of adversity in his career. Now nearing the end of his contract in the ‘Peg, it’ll be interesting to see what transpires for the tough full-back both this season and next.

Forge – Jordan Hamilton

Barring a cup match against league rivals York United, Forge striker Jordan Hamilton has had a tough year so far. All but one of his ten league appearances have come late off the bench, with the former TFC man being used somewhat sparingly by Bobby Smyrniotis – which is just how he finished is 2023 campaign.

With Terran Campbell having been sidelined since the start of the campaign, Hamilton’s opportunity for big minutes was usurped by the unexpected emergence of Kwasi Poku up top, so it’ll be interesting to see what unfolds for Hamilton in the hammer.

Vancouver FC – TJ Tahid

Tahid made waves as the league’s youngest pro last year, tallying an incredible twenty appearances in a rookie campaign that saw him contribute three goals in the club’s inaugural season.

After turning heads and going on trial in the offseason, things seem to have regressed for the 17-year-old at Willoughby this year. He’s made just six appearances in ’24, and has been absent from the matchday roster in half of Vancouver’s games.

At such a young age, however, there’s a lot of time for this exceptional young talent to keep developing. Youngsters Anthony White and James Cameron find themselves in similar drops of game time after strong introductions and plenty of hype last year.

Vancouver FC – Zach Verhoven

Surrey’s own Zach Verhoven made the move to Vancouver FC this spring, but the CPL original evidently hasn’t landed well back home.

The 25-year-old has made just four appearances for the Eagles thus far, and outside of those matches he hasn’t actually been named to any matchday rosters, forgoing him the opportunity to even ride the bench. With Ghotbi using him extremely sparingly at a point in his career where he needs minutes, we’d guess that Verhoven – who has a club option for 2025 – might be on the move again next year.

Having just quietly hit 100 appearances for CPL clubs overall, Verhoven faces a big challenge to grow in stature alongside the league he helped launch in 2019.

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With all eight clubs jostling for position in the back-half of the season, there’s still plenty of time for these athletes to stake a strong claim for minutes. It’ll be interesting to see who is able to grasp the opportunity with giving, though the reality of sport is that it won’t happen for everyone. That’s just the way it is.

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Header Image Photo Credits: John Jacques, Beau Chevalier