The road to Voyageurs Cup kicks off on Wednesday night in Toronto and Edmonton with a pair of first leg matches in the 2013 Amway Canadian Championship.

Canada’s four professional clubs - Toronto FC, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, FC Edmonton and the Montreal Impact are all aiming to earn the title of Canadian Champions and the right to represent Canada in the 2013-2014 CONCACAF Champions League.

In this RNO roundtable the discussion, RedNation contributors from across Canada provide their thoughts on predictions for the opening semifinal round of the competition.

Kamal Hylton:

Toronto FC vs. Montreal Impact

In the first Semifinal I’m giving Montreal Impact the edge for a few reasons, mainly due to my belief that Toronto FC will be using this competition to blood young players like Emery Welshman, Kyle Bekker, Jonathan Osorio, Taylor Morgan and Ashton Bennett. Furthermore, I feel the Impact are eager to win this competition and qualify for CONCACAF Champions League. Adding to the memory of its 2008-2009 Quarterfinal tie against Liga MX side Santos Laguna in front of over 55,000 in Olympic Stadium is something supporters are craving, especially to do so as an MLS side on this occasion.

TFC are four-time Canadian Champions. However, this edition of the squad is still being pieced together and the fixture congestion just comes at the wrong time.

Semifinal Winners: Montreal Impact

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. FC Edmonton

The other Semifinal, with due respect to FC Edmonton, is the Whitecaps to lose in my opinion. However, it has less to do with the Eddies being an NASL side and more to do with them being under new management in Colin Miller, going through major squad turnover and the club’s main priority being to better its 2012 last place league finish. Vancouver will be motivated to win this competition after having seen both Montreal Impact and Toronto FC represent Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League. I believe that with Martin Rennie being the only coach with previous experience in this competition, it gives him an edge in how to deal with fixture congestion. Another advantage that will be less talked about is the fact they’re playing the same MLS club between the two legs (FC Dallas), cutting down on major deviations from the game plan.

Semifinal Winners: Vancouver Whitecaps

Armen Bedakian:

Do you know what happens when you win four trophies?

You literally cannot hold all that success in your hands. Four trophies are too heavy to carry around. Four trophies means you need a trophy room. Four trophies means you are not just a winner, you are a champion. It's a feeling that Toronto FC exclusively revels in. Not the Vancouver Whitecaps. Not the Montreal Impact. Not FC Edmonton. Toronto FC - the four-time Amway Canadian Champions, the team that has excelled in the CONCACAF Champions League, the team that continues to win this prize time and time again against all odds.

Now, I know that the Voyageurs Cup isn't replicated every year, that Toronto FC just keeps the one trophy indefinitely, but four symbolic trophies weighs heavy on Toronto's pride. At this point, winning the Amway Canadian Championship isn't even a big deal for Toronto FC anymore - it's just part of the regular season. Winning breeds winning, and Toronto FC somehow figured out how to win this tournament over and over and over (and over) again. The trophy has sat at BMO Field for so long that removing it from its place would be sporting sacrilege. It's why, for the fifth season in a row, I'll throw my prediction for the trophy to Toronto FC. I'll take another Toronto FC win against Vancouver in the finals. Heck, Emery Welshman will probably score the goal on a Kyle Bekker assist. This is next-gen Canadian dominance, exclusively available at Toronto FC.

Semifinal Winners: Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps

Jake Vendramin:

Toronto FC vs. Montreal Impact

As we all know, Montreal had an incredible start to the season but have dipped in form recently, only getting one point out of a possible 6 from the last three weeks. Toronto, on the other hand, have had an average to an above average start to the season by their standards. It is actually difficult to decide who I think will progress to the finals between these two sides. At first glance many would select the Impact because they have had great success so far this season but at second glance TFC have a great record in this competition. It was a difficult decision but I am going to take the Impact moving onto the final, only by a narrow aggregate victory.

Semifinal Winners: Montreal Impact

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. FC Edmonton

In my opinion, FC Edmonton should definitely not be written off in this match just because they are an NASL side. The Whitecaps have had an absolutely dreadful start to the season and are at their most vulnerable to defeat at this time. I also have a feeling the Caps will go into this match feeling like they are the top-dogs right off the bat because they are playing lower division competition. Whitecaps fans are just hoping and praying that they do not see another disaster of a lineup like they saw against FC Dallas on the weekend. Primarily due to the difference in skill between most of the Whitecaps and Edmonton players, I will take Vancouver to win, but not by a lot.

Semifinal Winners: Vancouver Whitecaps

Ian Clarke:

Toronto FC vs. Montreal

As has been the case for the last, well three years for sure, Toronto come into the tournament as underdogs, but with an asterisk beside them, as year after year (ok four in a row) they've managed to significantly raise their game against the likes of Vancouver or Montreal. I think most people will be leaning towards the Impact raising the trophy this year as they look to be the best team on paper, and are actually going out and delivering good performances.

It is a tough one to call because Montreal probably should go through, but even as we saw in their home opener, Toronto found a way to keep it close. You can't really pull too much from last year's match-up because Bernier wasn't in form yet and Di Vaio had yet to join the team. This is a much better team that the 2012 edition, but here we are again with that voice in the back saying don't count out TFC and they can pull it off. I'll just say on this one, I'll be more than happy being wrong as I have to try and be somewhat logical and lean towards the Impact as I think they are a bit more in sync and should be rested and 100% focused on these two games.

Semifinal Winners: Montreal Impact

Vancouver Whitecaps vs FC Edmonton

This one should be the easiest to pick, but I think it's tougher than just looking at it as MLS v NASL. As we've seen in the past, most notably the 2008 tournament, there is no reason why Edmonton can't pull it off if they catch Vancouver in a bad spot, which they are right now. For the last three seasons, the Whitecaps have looked like a solid side on paper, and the last two Voyageurs Cups, probably should have done much better based on that.

I don't think Vancouver adequately addressed some of their problems from last season, most notably scoring, and I think that narrows the gap in this match-up. Edmonton have some good players with MLS experience, or in the upper echelon of the NASL, most obviously the likes of Sean Saiko. I think if Edmonton comes out in the first leg and show real confidence that they think they can beat Vancouver, it could be an upset in the making. However, like the other pairing, I'm trying to stay logical, Edmonton have had a rough start to their season and I think in the end Vancouver should have a bit more quality and that will be the difference.

Semifinal Winners: Vancouver Whitecaps

Kevin Duarte:

The 2013 Amway Canadian Championship sees two matchups for the second year in a row. The Montreal Impact and Toronto FC will renew hostilities in their two-legged semi-final. In leg one, TFC will host the Impact at BMO Field, while Montreal will return the favour in leg two. With history on their side, Toronto FC will be going for their fifth straight title. Montreal comes into this match following a 10-day rest. Just as this can be advantageous, this can easily work against the Quebec side. At the moment, Montreal is the best Canadian side when looking at the MLS standings. If there is a team to end TFC's consecutive title run, it's the Impact right now. Montreal has already defeated TFC once this season. Leg one will be tough, so I predict a 1-1 draw. The away goal will be useless, as I believe the Impact will win 3-1 at Saputo Stadium a week later to gain a spot in the final.

In the other semi-final, Vancouver Whitecaps will travel to Edmonton first then play host in leg two. Vancouver's start the MLS season has been average so far. After winning their opening two matches, the Whitecaps are winless in their last five. FC Edmonton hasn't had the best of starts either in the NASL. Vancouver is the clear favourite to advance. As much as I love seeing smaller clubs succeed, I cannot see Edmonton eliminating Vancouver. I believe the Whitecaps win the first leg 2-1 and win 3-0 at BC Place the following week, setting up a Montreal-Vancouver final.

Semifinal Winners: Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps