Day 1 of the Canadian Premier League’s #GotGame Open Trials in Toronto has come to an end, with former Canadian international striker Alex Bunbury leading the tryouts at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughan. Now, only 60 of the more than 220 participants will be invited back for Day 2 of the Toronto trials, to play in full-fielded 11-v-11 matches.
Like Montreal, Toronto is considered one of the major hotbeds of soccer talent in Canada, a fact that was on full display on Day 1, but should be even more evident on Day 2, according to Bunbury.
“The first day is usually the most difficult day, especially when you have quality players playing with some players who are not quite up to their level,” Bunbury told CanPL.ca. “What we’ve done in the past with Halifax, Montreal and Hamilton, the cream rises to the top, and on the second day, that’s when we get to see a higher level of play. That’s what we’re seeing right now – there are some really good players here, and there are some players that are not quite ready yet and are mixed up with the players who can play. We’ll see a high level of play tomorrow though, for sure.”
He added: “In Quebec, you had some individual brilliance but in Hamilton, you saw consistent team play in the games. So what do you look for? That’s dependant on the individual coach as well. What does he prefer? A team player, or a player that can have all the flair?”
Whether solo stars or team-oriented talents, only 60 trialists will return on Day 2 of the Open Trials in Toronto – who might those trialists be? Here’s the first cut list:
| Sunny | Dhaliwal | Goalkeeper |
| Spiro | Koskinas | Goalkeeper |
| Baj | Maan | Goalkeeper |
| Carter | Osborne | Goalkeeper |
| Senad | Poracanin | Goalkeeper |
| Morad | Al-Muhandes | Defender |
| Michael | Caccavo | Defender |
| Aron | Carlos | Defender |
| Carmine | Fiore | Defender |
| Pierre | Gomez | Defender |
| Marcus | Holmes | Defender |
| Elijah | Hosein | Defender |
| Abdullah | Masud | Defender |
| Taejon | Mikle | Defender |
| Anthony | Peticca | Defender |
| Drew | Ramsay | Defender |
| Jacob | Rodrigues | Defender |
| Lorenc | Sharko | Defender |
| Holden | Smith | Defender |
| Yong-Chan | Son | Defender |
| Lucas | Sterling | Defender |
| De Vante | Walker | Defender |
| Daniel | Whyte | Defender |
| Alfred | Hess | Defender |
| Peter | Accardi | Midfielder |
| Ian | Blugh | Midfielder |
| Boris | Gujardo | Midfielder |
| Jonathan | D’Aguilar | Midfielder |
| La’el | Daniel | Midfielder |
| Emilio | Estevez | Midfielder |
| Duwayne | Ewart | Midfielder |
| Maximilian | Ferrari | Midfielder |
| Giovanni | Folino | Midfielder |
| Julian | graca | Midfielder |
| Mohamed | Hassen | Midfielder |
| Ehsan | Hirji | Midfielder |
| Kevin | Lazo | Midfielder |
| Tristyn | Lee | Midfielder |
| Ismael | Longo | Midfielder |
| Abdoul | Madaraka | Midfielder |
| Victor | Munoz | Midfielder |
| Andrea | Nguionza | Midfielder |
| Thomas | Nykl | Midfielder |
| Konata | Mannings | Midfielder |
| Mohammed | Mohammed | Midfielder |
| Junior | Abya | Forward |
| Jordan | Carey | Forward |
| SamIr | Oshin | Forward |
| Gonzalo | Cabrera | Forward |
| Luca | DiMarco | Forward |
| Marvelous | Drumps | Forward |
| Milan | Gandesha | Forward |
| Ismaila | Jagana | Forward |
| Elijah | Larin | Forward |
| Nico | Ossa-Williams | Forward |
| Basel | Rashrash | Forward |
| Jesse | Tavener | Forward |
| Gavean | Valdez | Forward |
| Julian | Wade | Forward |
| Ardit | Xhameni | Forward |
In the video (above), CanPL.ca’s Managing Editor Kurt Larson talks to Pacific FC head coach Michael Silberbauer about the #GotGame Open Trials in Toronto. You can follow Kurt throughout the trials by adding “CPLsoccer” on Snapchat.
The CPL’s #GotGame trials continue in Toronto on Friday before making stops in Winnipeg (Oct. 18-19), Calgary (Oct. 25-26) and Vancouver Island (Nov. 5-6). Think you’ve #GotGame? Register at CanPL.ca/GotGame.