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Being the only CSL side outside Ontario and making good strides in their short existence, Montreal Impact Academy (in this case, their U21 side) are a very interesting team to follow. With the club in MLS, it will be that much more intriguing to watch the steps the academy program takes going forward. In this article I will outline three aspects worth watching, not only for the future of the Montreal Impact, but the Canadian National Team program as well.
1. Stefan Vukovic
Of all the players to watch on the squad, this player has and will continue to garner the most attention for a few reasons. Mainly to see how he performs after being released from TFC Academy but also to see how well he does after scoring 18 goals and winning the CSL Golden Boot award.
I’ve been a big advocate of this player as you’ve probably read in previous articles and I feel he possesses skills necessary to play at the Major League Soccer level. For a player to basically fall in the lap of Montreal Impact Academy is an absolute steal (he’s currently on a three month contract) and, provided he continues to grow and smooth out any rough edges to his game, Impact fans will likely be very happy. At the moment of writing this column, they’ve come off a 0-0 draw against York Region Shooters. By all accounts the club has liked what they’ve saw from him thus far and will re-evaluate after the three-month period.
2. Maxime Crepeau
The other player I’m interested in seeing this season is promising goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. He is definitely a player with qualities to make it to the next level. However, at such a young age and at arguably the most difficult position to play in the game, there is time on his side for him to continue his development. It will also be intriguing to see how he has recovered from a knee injury suffered while on international duty for Canada at the FIFA U17 World Cup. The injury saw him struggle for a good portion of 2011.
3. The “Jesse Marsch” Effect
Although the academy is in very capable hands with Head Coach and Academy Director Philippe Eullaffroy, the most intriguing element of all will be the variable that Jesse Marsch brings to the equation.
Being a first year coach, as well as an American coaching a Canadian club, it will be interesting to learn Coach Marsch’s philosophy on youth development and more specifically Canadian youth development, especially given that the Academy systems of all three Canadian MLS clubs hold a significantly greater value on the development of the Canadian National Youth Programs and Canadian soccer as a whole than for example the FC Dallas Academy or Philadelphia Union Academy hold for US soccer.
With this being his first season, it was expected of him to do as he has done and build his squad with MLS veterans and players with European experience. However, with a stable of young talent waiting to break through eventually (I’d say at some point next season), he’ll have to give youth development a chance to shine at some point.
While for obvious reasons - I'm located in Toronto - I won’t be able to see nearly as much of Montreal Impact Academy as I would like to, there are a slew of promising players, including the likes of forwards Anthony Jackson-Hamel and Mircea Ilcu, as well as defender Karl Ouimette.
This is not even mentioning forward Evan James, who was selected in MLS Supplemental Draft and had a great showing with Canada’s U23 Olympic qualifying team. While he won’t necessarily be playing for the academy, it’s just another example of the quality young players that Montreal have on their books.
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