2021 CPL–U Sports Draft

General information
Sport| Soccer
Date(s)| January 29, 2021
Time| 3:00 PM ET
Network(s)| OneSoccer, Twitter, YouTube
Overview
16 total selections in 2 rounds
League| Canadian Premier League
Teams| 8
First selection| Thomas Gardner, FC Edmonton

<- 2019

2022 ->

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]

## Format[edit]

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[edit]

* | 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

### Draftees by nationality[edit]

Rank | Country | Selections

|
|

1 |  Canada | 12
2 |  Algeria | 1
DR Congo | 1
Lebanon | 1
Portugal | 1

#### Canadian draftees by province[edit]

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[edit]

Rank  | University  | Selections

|
|

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

## References[edit]

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.

* v
* t
* e

2021 CPL–U Sports Draft selections

In preparation for the 2021 season

First round|

* Thomas Gardner
* Cristopher Malekos
* Yuba-Rayane Yesli
* Christopher Campoli
* Christopher Lee
* Victor Loturi
* Stefan Karajovanovic
* Garven Metusala

Second round|

* José Cunha
* Kareem Sow
* Ethan Keen
* Victory Shumbusho
* Danial Rafisamii
* Tony Mikhael
* Reggie Laryea
* Jackson Farmer

* v
* t
* e

« 2020

2021 Canadian Premier League season by team

2022 »

* Atlético Ottawa
* Cavalry
* FC Edmonton
* Forge
* HFX Wanderers
* Pacific
* Valour
* York United

* 2021 U Sports Draft
* 2021 Transfers
* 2021 Final

* v
* t
* e

2021 in Canadian soccer

« 2020

2022 »

| Men's leagues|

* CPL
* Final
* MLS
* Playoffs
* L1O
* PLSQ
* USL1
* USL2
* CSL

|

Women's leagues|

* UWS
* L1O
* PLSQ

Cups|

* Canadian Championship (Final)

Other|

* CPL transfers
* CPL–U Sports Draft
* MLS transfers
* MLS All-Star Game
* 2021 Summer Series

International

Club competitions|

* 2021 CONCACAF Champions League
* 2021 CONCACAF League

National teams|

| Men|

* 2022 World Cup qualification
* Canada 2–1 Mexico
* 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup
* U23: Olympic qualification

|

Women|

* 2020 Summer Olympics (Final)
* 2021 SheBelieves Cup

Team seasons

Club seasons|

| CPL|

* Atlético Ottawa
* Cavalry FC
* FC Edmonton
* Forge FC
* HFX Wanderers
* Pacific FC
* Valour FC
* York United FC

|

MLS|

* CF Montréal
* Toronto FC
* Vancouver Whitecaps FC

USL1|

* Toronto FC II

* v
* t
* e

CPL–U Sports Draft

Edition|

* 2018
* 2019
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

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