At the beginning of this year's League1 Ontario season, I picked my top 10 CanPL prospects from the league. I stand by that list, and would pick those ten players over almost any other player available in terms of putting an expansion CanPL side together. With League1 Ontario having 16 clubs and a talent pool of over 700 players, I thought I would return to the league now that the 2017 season is complete and add to this list.
Like my previous list, I decided to not include TFC III players as they are currently part of the TFC Academy system and have goals of playing for Toronto FC instead of the CanPL. That being said, I think there are 10 players on that team that could be on a list of their own and are names you will be hearing in the future for TFC III, TFC II, Toronto FC and the Canadian National team.
I tried to include players who played a good amount of minutes in the league this season, and ones I was able to see play live or from video of games. League1 Ontario provided a "Grade A" multimedia package this season,which included highlights of the week videos. They will also hand out awards, giving their own acknowledgement for players who performed strongly this season and those who I may of missed in my lists should also be looked as future CanPL players as well.
Here is my end of season top 10 League1 Ontario prospect list, not including the players I chose at the beginning of the season.
10. Kembo Kibato, North Toronto Nitrosi
One of the younger, more exciting, stars of the 2017 League1 Ontario season. The seventeen year old Kibato held his own against players a number of years older than him, while also scoring four goals and setting up many more scoring opportunities. The winger uses his speed, dribbling skills and offensive awareness to give him space in 1v1 situations. He plays an even more dominating role as a striker against players in his own age and was a key contributor in Ontario's Gold Medal at the recent Canada Games. He is definitely a player to follow going forward.
9. Noah Pio, Windsor TFC Stars
Despite some struggles during the 2017 League1 Ontario season, Windsor has a history of developing good players, highlighted recently by the Pio brothers and Gianni Ferri. Noah, younger brother to Micheal, now has 10 goals in 21 games, scoring six in seven during the 2017 season. Noah attends Cleveland State University in NCAA D1 and is a regular starter either as a striker or in an attacking midfield role. The 20 year old has two more years of University but should be on CanPL future prospect lists.
8. Bruce Cullen, Durham United
Cullen started out his soccer career in a more of an attacking role, eventually being recruited to Rider in NCAA D1. He completed his American college career with 10 goals and 16 assists in 51 games. While as a more senior player with Durham in League1, Cullen has been asked to play many roles with the club from left-back, to central midfield and attack, and has been a prominent player for them since the league began. The 26 year old has great versatility, which will be very useful to a CanPL side.
7. Kyle Walton, Sigma FC
An athletic, yet versatile defender, who also started out as a more attacking player prior to joining the Sigma program. Since then, the 24 year old played for US Junior College power Lincoln College before finishing his collegiate career at NCAA D1 School Northern Illinois. He is a good sized defender who can play both center or full back and is naturally left footed. Walton helps Sigma in transitioning their offense in League1 as well as having enough speed to keep track of the opposition attacker while playing against a counter attack.
6. Justin Earle, OSU Force
Earle joined fellow Canadian prospect Kamal Miller as a freshman with the Syracuse Orange this fall. He had been part of both the Ottawa Fury Academy where he was crowned Super Y League North American Champions and has also been part of the Canadian U20 identification pool. A natural left back, Earle reads the game very well as well as possessing strong dribbling and crossing ability. He had played with the Ottawa Fury Reserve in the PLSQ before joining the OSU Force in their inaugural season in League1 Ontario scoring two goals in nine games.
5. Kadell Thomas, Sigma FC
Prior to this season, Thomas was more known as a winger setting up the striker from wide positions. However, with Leaford Allen now playing professional soccer in Sweden, Thomas took over the role as the number one forward and excelled in the position scoring 17 goals in 18 games for Sigma during the 2017 League1 Ontario season. Although if you look at his size, strength and speed, it is not surprising that Kadell scored as many goals as he has, while still possessing the skill set to beat a player 1v1 on the dribble.
4. Michael Krzeminski, Woodbridge
Krzeminski grabbed some headlines recently when he was called into the Canadian National Team training session in August. The 24 year old left footed central defender was previously part of the Canadian U-20 camp and played on the Canada U-21 team at the Francophone games. A Mississauga native, Krzeminski was part of the TFC Academy program and also played with pro academy teams in Poland. Now with Woodbridge, Krzeminski was part of the best defense in the league which helped the Strikers win the Eastern Conference championship.
3. David Velastegui, Sigma FC
Velastegui joined Sigma late this season after playing professionally in the Dominican Republic. He previously played in the CSL with Brampton United and Toronto Croatia and was also on the Sheridan CCAA Champion side that included Raheem Edwards and Mo Babouli. Velastegui has Ecuadorian roots, although has been part of the Canadian National Team system since first identified at the U15 level, and has been a part of the Canadian Indoor Soccer National Team. He is a classic number 10 showing the ability to set up his teammates or score with his greatest skill, being a quick decision maker on the ball with an ability to both pass and shoot from range.
2. Mathew Santos, Oakville
A newcomer to League1 Ontario, Santos made an immediate impact in the league scoring 14 goals in 20 games and helped lead Oakville back to the championship game this season. He joined the Oakville youth club in 2010 and was their outstanding player as well as his high school team, Halton Champions Loyola. Santos attended Canisus in NCAA Divison 1, playing more deeper role scoring six goals in 53 career games, while also adding 11 assists. Santos can play either as an attacking midfielder or second striker and is best known for finding space to shoot or create a chance for his teammates.
1. Jarek Whiteman, Vaughan
I have been a long time fan of Whiteman's game from his time with SC Toronto, K-W United, York University and now Vaughan. I included him in my 2015 list of overlooked players by MLS and in all honesty should have had him my top 10 League1 Ontario prospects at the beginning of the season. Whiteman, along with some other older League1 Ontario players, should be on the marketing cover of the CanPL in terms of a combination determination and skill. Whiteman showed both of these traits during the 2017 season, scoring 29 goals in 22 games winning the 2017 League1 Ontario Golden Boot proving once again he needs to play at a much higher level.
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Aaron Neilsen is a co-founder of Prospect XI (Prospect Eleven), a scouting network and online magazine dedicated to tracking/highlighting young players that refer to as "prospects" as well as their development pathways both within North America and worldwide. Follow PXI via www.prospectxi.com or on twitter @ProspectXI.
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