As soccer continues to build and grow in North America there is a premium put on young domestic talent. This has been recognized by Major League Soccer with initiatives such as MLS Combines, Super Drafts and home grown talent rules put in place.
In this article I will highlight some of the players that in my opinion given the right situation, under the right coach or academy set up and proper environment could make a serviceable to good MLS or NASL player.
All of these players are in that late teens/early twenties age range, would be affordable for North American clubs to consider, come at zero cost to a Canadian clubs salary cap, are young with room to grow and if all goes well could be the future of Canadian soccer.
FWD/MID Junior Ellis – Capital City FC
MID Emir Zrnic – Capital City FC
With an Ottawa franchise set to join the NASL in 2013 it’s almost a certainty that they will at least give a few of the young players on Capital City FC a once over. In both Junior Ellis and Emir Zrnic they have two players with quite a bit of experience, while still being young enough to grow with a new club and have proven to be quality at this level.
In Ellis they have a player who has both collegiate experience playing two seasons at Limestone College in South Carolina where he scored 17 goals in two seasons and was named All Conference both years as well as playing for TFC Academy back in 2008 where he was the teams leading scorer in their inaugural season.
Zrnic on the other hand has international experience being born in Bosnia-Herzegovina and living in Switzerland before coming to Canada. Interestingly enough he has heavy ties with Montréal Impact Academy Director Philippe Eullaffroy, as he played for his former club Stade de Reims as well as playing under him with Montréal Impact Academy.
Ellis is full of pace and has proven he can finish while Zrnic is a true playmaker and recorded an impressive 10 assists last season. Without these two Capital City FC would have never had such an impressive inaugural campaign and both have the ability to make the step up.
FWD Tihomir Maletic – Toronto Croatia
This is a player that was absolutely vital to the success of Toronto Croatia and has dominated the CSL over the past two seasons. He lead the league in scoring two years ago with 14 goals and helping his club reach the Semifinals as well as scoring 17 goals this season, leading his team to the 2011 CSL Championship and winning the 2011 CSL MVP Award. Much like in the case of TFC Academy forward Stefan Vukovic, there is nothing left for Maletic to prove at this level and it wouldn’t hurt a professional North American club in need of a goal scorer to give him a trial run.
FWD/MID Donavan Wilson – Brampton City United
GK – Jacob Matthews – Brampton City United
DEF – Michael Odhomor – Brampton City United
At the risk of sounding like a “homer” there are at the very least 6-8 quality young players coming out of Brampton City United that could make themselves a good career in MLS or NASL given the chance. The coaching put in place within the academy set up is underrated for the type of players they produce. Of those players three stand out to me in Donavan Wilson, Jacob Matthews and Michael Odhomor, all who have played for the first team and where key to Brampton City United B making it to the CSL Second Division Final and taking it to penalties.
Donavan Wilson is a tough tackling midfielder that has ability on the ball and likes to go forward. He currently plays for Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York where he started in 19 of the teams 21 games last season, helping lead them to the NAIA National Championship game and was named an NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) All American.
In the case of Jacob Matthews it’s very rare to find a young Canadian goalkeeper with quality European experience, but the 19 year old has played in both the Blackburn Rovers and Burnley FC youth systems. With steady playing time and the right coaching at the next level he could be a solid keeper.
As for Michael Odhomor, this is a kid that in my opinion is the mirror image of Toronto FC defender Doneil Henry. Much like when Doneil first arrived at Toronto FC he’s still raw in some areas but has massive potential and room to grow. The main aspect of Odhomor's game that can’t be overlooked is leadership; it’s not a coincidence that he is captain of Brampton City United B and showed himself well with the first team when given the opportunity. He is currently finishing his final year at York University, however he is a prime example of a player running the risk of falling through the cracks.
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As always there is a risk that comes with finding players through the lower leagues. For every Ashtone Morgan who receives quality coaching, shows steady improvement and makes it to the highest level representing his country and home town at senior level, there is a Gabe Gala who was just in the right place at the wrong time, never received a clear chance to show or improve his skills and ends up back in the lower leagues (he currently plies his trade with Mississauga Eagles FC in the CSL).
None of these players will likely set the world alight and become superstars, but with that being said if everything fell into place they could all be serviceable to good players in either the MLS or NASL.
With so many players and not enough professional clubs in Canada it’s really difficult, where clubs may have to start doing some “creative scouting”, dig deeper and exhaust all resources in order to continually produce talent.
Kamal Hylton is Owner/Freelance Soccer Writer at Hylton Sports Media,
he specializes in covering Youth Development in Canada and the
CONCACAF Region as well as European leagues such as Bundesliga, Serie A and UEFA Champions League. Follow him on Twitter to view all
his work.
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