The 2024 Canadian Premier League season kicks off the weekend of April 13, when all eight clubs will begin their quest to hoist the CPL Shield and vie for the North Star Cup.

Here at CanPL.ca, we’re celebrating the start of April by previewing each individual club ahead of 2024. To check out all eight team previews, click here. To see all of our season preview coverage ahead of the sixth year of the CPL, click here.

In 2023, their first season under head coach Patrice Gheisar, the Halifax Wanderers made the playoffs for the second time in club history, and first in a full 28-game season.

A rebuilt Wanderers squad started the season slowly, with no wins through eight games, but found their form from June onwards to climb up the table and eventually finish third. The first home playoff game in club history didn’t end the way the Wanderers wanted, however, falling 1-0 to Pacific FC on a first half own-goal at Wanderers Grounds.

That taste of an even more boisterous crowd than usual in Halifax will be motivation enough to want to get back into the playoffs, and a bit of retooling on the pitch sets them up to potentially have an even stronger season in 2024.

READ MORE: 6 questions ahead of Halifax Wanderers’ 2024 season

STORY OF 2023

• 2023 CPL regular season record (W-D-L): 11-9-8 (42 pts, 3rd place)
• Goals scored: 39
• Goals against: 32
• Goal difference: +7
• Top scorer: Massimo Ferrin (8)
• Canadian Championship: Lost 3-1 in Preliminary Round to Atlético Ottawa

The Wanderers made their first postseason appearance since the shortened 2020 season last year, taking a huge step forward under new head coach Patrice Gheisar, before ultimately losing at home to Pacific FC in the playoffs.

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

It’s been another off-season with a lot of change for the Wanderers, but the team has again added a lot of quality while keeping much of their 2023 core. Amongst the biggest departures are those of 2021 CPL Player of the Year João Morelli (who has retired), midfielder Mo Omar, and Canadian international defender Doneil Henry.

The recruitment team in Halifax has made some big additions, however, with former Toronto FC defender Julian Dunn bolstering the backline, standout midfielder Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé returning to the club, and the addition of a proven goalscorer in Christian Volesky. Add the league’s first-ever goalscorer Ryan Telfer and midfielders Vitor Dias and Giorgio Probo, among others into the mix, and the Wanderers seem to have bolstered their squad, especially in attack, going into 2024. 

Add these players to a core that already includes 2023 Player of the Year nominee Lorenzo Callegari, Defender of the Year nominee Dan Nimick, longtime club captain Andre Rampersad, and attacking standout Massimo Ferrin, and Patrice Gheisar’s side looks set to potentially take another big step forward this season. 

This team is very deep, and has the quality to win a lot of games in 2024.

COACH’S PROFILE

Patrice Gheisar is entering his second season at the helm of the Halifax Wanderers, and looking to build on a campaign in which he guided the club to a playoff appearance and received a Coach of the Year nomination as a result. 

Under Gheisar, the improvement in the Wanderers’ attack has been noticeable, with the team scoring 15 more goals in 2023 than they did in 2022, jumping from 24 to 39 goals scored. Gheisar has completely overhauled the squad since joining the Wanderers after years with Vaughan Azzurri, with only two players staying at the club to this day since inaugural boss Stephen Hart left at the end of the 2022 season.

Gheisar’s teams are designed to entertain and to score a lot of goals, with the Wanderers boss firmly sticking to his identity. The fans love Gheisar in Halifax, and in his first year he more than repaid their faith in him.

PROJECTED STARTING XI

(4-3-3): Yann Fillion; Zachary Fernandez, Daniel Nimick, Julian Dunn, Wesley Timoteo; Lorenzo Callegari, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Vitor Dias; Massimo Ferrin, Christian Volesky, Ryan Telfer

There are a couple of locks for this Wanderers starting eleven – Dan Nimick starting in the backline, and Lorenzo Callegari starting in midfield, with Yann Fillion most likely between the sticks. Beyond that, Patrice Gheisar has a ton of different options.

This team’s strength is in midfield, where a group that includes Callegari, Andre Rampersad, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Aidan Daniels, Vitor Dias, and Giorgio Probo could be fighting for just two or three spots. It is for that reason that the projected XI is a formation that includes a lot of central midfielders, but in 2023 Gheisar also used 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations at times to unlock different elements from his team.

The left back job could be another one that is up for grabs. Wesley Timoteo impressed for the second year in a row despite a move into new surroundings, and challenging him could be Riley Ferrazzo – who was an impact player in 2023, and capable of winning that job leading into 2024.

In attack, Christian Volesky is expected to start the year as the team’s first-choice striker, but youngster Tiago Coimbra also showed flashes of excellence in 2023 and will be hoping to take a step forward in his second professional season. 

ROSTER NOTES