On Thursday, the fifth edition of the CPL-U SPORTS Draft will take place. A total of 16 players will be picked from the top prospects in Canadian university soccer.

Earlier this week, CanPL.ca took a look at five players who have re-entered the CPL Draft process and could well be picked again.

With a list of 199 eligible players, however, there are several new faces involved in this year’s draft process. Here are six players who impressed in U SPORTS this past season and could hear their names called on Thursday:

Pablo Hempelmann-Perez

School: Queen’s University
Position: Attacker
Year: 1st 

The 19-year-old is one of the more exciting attacking prospects in this year’s draft. In his first year with the Queen’s University Gaels, Hempelmann-Perez scored six goals and added an assist, while taking 35 shots, third most in the OUA. 

Hempelmann-Perez also spent this past summer playing in League1 Ontario for the North Toronto Nitros appearing in 11 matches.

Before committing to Queen’s, the Toronto native played several years for the youth teams of NAC Breda in the Netherlands. This should provide him with some good experience stepping into a professional environment should his name be called on Thursday.

Ameer Kinani 

School: Toronto Metropolitan University
Position: Forward
Year: 1st 

After transferring from George Brown, Kinani had quite the first season with Toronto Metropolitan University. That included scoring a 90th-minute penalty kick against Carleton in the OUA quarter-finals for TMU, who would eventually reach the final. He had four goals in 11 regular season matches for the Bold this season.

Kinani turned heads in League1 Ontario this past season, scoring 17 goals for ProStars FC which was fourth best in the league.

Another player with a professional pedigree, Kinani spent time with Cartagena FC in Spain and the Iraq U-19 national team for the U-19 Asia Cup. The Canadian national futsal team recently called him up for a camp in Montréal.

Jakub Parizek

School: Cape Breton
Position: Defensive Midfielder
Year: 1st 

One of the few international players available in the draft, Parizek’s solidity in defensive midfield was key to Cape Breton lifting a sixth straight AUS championship.

The defensive midfielder had two goals, both of which were game-winning goals, and an assist in his debut U SPORTS season.

Prior to coming over to Canada from the Czech Republic, Parizek played for his hometown club České Budějovice’s B team. He also spent time with FC Písek in the Czech third division on loan.

Logan Rieck

School: St. Francis Xavier
Position: Attacking midfielder
Year: 2nd

Rieck was tied for the most goals scored in the AUS this year with nine — good for sixth in all of U SPORTS. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder added six assists — tied for second-best.

He put up an assist in a 2-0 win over UNB in the AUS semifinals. StFX, however, would ultimately lose the final to Cape Breton by that same scoreline.

Prior to joining StFX, the Cambridge, Ontario native played club soccer for FC London in League1 Ontario.

Aiden Rushenas

School: Dalhousie
Position: Goalkeeper
Year: 2nd

Only one goalkeeper has been taken in the last three CPL-U SPORTS Drafts, that being Rayane Yesli by Valour. Should one be taken this year, however, Rushenas is a top candidate.

The 19-year-old has had two outstanding seasons with Dalhousie. This year he finished third in the AUS in saves made with 47.

Rushenas also played goalkeeper for the Halifax Wanderers’ recently developed U-23 side this past summer. The Toronto-born goalkeeper also spent time training with North Toronto Nitros of League1 Ontario before committing to Dalhousie.

Perry Zorbas

School: Waterloo
Position: Rightback
Year: 3rd

Zorbas became a key player for a very solid University of Waterloo Warriors team this past season. The third-year fullback finished tied for second in the OUA in assists with five, adding a pair of goals as well.

The Oakville product was named an OUA second-team all-star for his play this past season. He was a key player for Waterloo during their stunning upset of top-seed York University Lions during the OUA quarter-finals.

This past summer, Zorbas spent time with Hamilton United during their debut season in the top men’s division of League1 Ontario, playing in 19 matches.