2021 CPL–U Sports Draft

The 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft was the third annual CPL–U Sports Draft. Eight Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams selected 16 eligible U Sports athletes in total when the draft was held on January 29, 2021.[1][2]

2021 CPL–U Sports Draft
General information
SportSoccer
Date(s)January 29, 2021
Time3:00 PM ET
Network(s)OneSoccer, Twitter, YouTube
Overview
16 total selections in 2 rounds
LeagueCanadian Premier League
Teams8
First selectionThomas Gardner, FC Edmonton
← 2019
2022 →

Format

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Each CPL team made two selection in the U Sports Draft. Players could be selected if they had years of U Sports eligibility remaining and had declared for the draft.[1] In 2021, a total of 48 athletes declared for the draft.[3]

The draft used a snake format with the order reversing directions between the two rounds. The selection order in the first round is the reverse of the previous season's standings.[4]

Player selection

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* Denotes player who has signed a professional contract for the 2021 season
^ Denotes player who has signed a developmental contract for the 2021 season

Round 1

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Pick # CPL team Player Position Nationality University Last team/academy
1 FC Edmonton Thomas Gardner^ MF   Canada British Columbia TSS Rovers (USL2)
2 Atlético Ottawa Cristopher Malekos DF   Canada Carleton Ottawa South United (PLSQ)
3 Valour FC Yuba-Rayane Yesli GK   Algeria[a] Montréal CS Fabrose (PLSQ)
4 York United Christopher Campoli MF   Canada Ontario Tech Woodbridge Strikers (L1O)
5 Pacific FC Chris Lee^ DF   Canada British Columbia Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
6 Cavalry FC Victor Loturi^ MF   Canada Mount Royal Cavalry FC (CPL)
7 HFX Wanderers Stefan Karajovanovic* FW   Canada Carleton Ottawa South United (PLSQ)
8 Forge FC Garven-Michée Metusala* DF   Canada Concordia AS Blainville (PLSQ)
  1. ^ Qualifies as a domestic player

Round 2

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Pick # CPL team Player Position Nationality University Last team/academy
9 Forge FC José da Cunha DF   Portugal Cape Breton   G.D. Estoril Praia B
10 HFX Wanderers Kareem Sow^ DF   Canada Montréal Montreal Impact Academy
11 Cavalry FC Ethan Keen DF   Canada Mount Royal Calgary Foothills (USL2)
12 Pacific FC Victory Shumbusho FW   DR Congo[a] British Columbia Victoria Highlanders (USL2)
13 York United Danial Rafisamii MF   Canada Ontario Tech Toronto Skillz FC (L1O)
14 Valour FC Tony Mikhael^ DF   Lebanon[a] Carleton Ottawa South United (L1O)
15 Atlético Ottawa Reggie Laryea DF   Canada York Sigma FC (L1O)
16 FC Edmonton Jackson Farmer DF   Canada British Columbia Calgary Foothills (USL2)

Retained

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The following players signed development contracts with their respective CPL teams in 2020 and had U Sports eligibility remaining. Their CPL clubs chose to retain their rights for another year, exempting them from the draft.[4]

Drafted CPL team Player Position Nationality University
2019 (7th) Forge FC Gabriel Balbinotti FW   Canada UQTR
2019 (14th) HFX Wanderers Jake Ruby RB   Canada Trinity Western
  1. ^ a b Qualifies as a domestic player

Selection statistics

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Draftees by nationality

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Rank Country Selections
1   Canada 12
2   Algeria 1
  DR Congo 1
  Lebanon 1
  Portugal 1

Canadian draftees by province

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Rank Province Selections
1   Ontario 5[a]
2   Quebec 4[b]
3   Alberta 3
  British Columbia 3[c]
  1. ^ Mikhail's hometown is in Ontario, but represents Lebanon internationally
  2. ^ Yesli was born in Algeria, but resides in Quebec since his youth
  3. ^ Shumbusho was born in Congo, but resides in British Columbia since his youth

Draftees by university

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Rank University Selections
1 British Columbia 4
2 Carleton 3
3 Montréal 2
Ontario Tech
Mount Royal
6 Concordia 1
Cape Breton
York

References

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  1. ^ a b "Canadian Premier League announces amended plans for 2020 CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "FC Edmonton take UBC's Thomas Gardner 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "2021 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: The full prospect list". Canadian Premier League. January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "2021 CPL-U SPORTS Draft to take place on January 29". Canadian Premier League. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.