In many ways, it has been the year of the striker in the Canadian Premier League.

For the first time in the league’s history, eight players have managed eight goals or more, a number that could still grow before the season’s end on Oct. 19. Six of those players are strikers.

All this has made the Golden Boot race incredibly compelling, and as it enters the final weekend of the season it is far from decided yet.

As a reminder, there is no tiebreaker for the league’s Golden Boot so multiple players can win the award — as was the case last year when Atlético Ottawa’s Ollie Bassett and Cavalry FC’s Myer Bevan shared the honours with 11 goals each. Past winners of the award include Alejandro Díaz (Pacific FC, 2022), João Morelli (Halifax, 2021), Akeem Garcia (Halifax, 2020) and Forge’s Tristan Borges in 2019.

Here are the four players currently at the top of the Canadian Premier League’s goalscoring leaderboard, vying for the coveted ‘Hunter’, given to the Golden Boot winner, an award crafted by Cape Dorset artist Pitseolak Qimirpik.

Rubén del Campo, Atlético Ottawa – 11 goals

An Atlético Ottawa player is in pole position to win the Golden Boot for a second consecutive year, as with a league-leading 11 goals so far in 2024, Rubén del Campo has already equalled teammate Ollie Bassett’s 2023 Golden Boot-winning tally (shared with Cavalry’s Myer Bevan). Impressively, ten of those goals have come from open play as well, with only a single penalty goal.

Del Campo tied a Canadian Premier League record when he went five straight games with a goal between April 27 and May 25 and has continued to be prolific throughout the campaign. He sits third in the league in shots on target (with 24), and 4th in expected goals at 8.37.

He has done this by getting himself into good areas all season, with a league-leading 120 touches in the opposition box. For an Atleti team that has scored the second-most goals in the league this season, he has been the only truly consistent threat. Interestingly, those 11 goals have also come in 11 separate games.

Tobias Warschewski, Cavalry FC – 10 goals

After a difficult end to the summer from a goalscoring perspective, and with injury struggles, Warschewski got himself back in the Golden Boot conversation by scoring three times in Cavalry’s past two matches.

That brings him ten on the year, a number for which he has been full value. The German leads the league in shots on target, with 28, and sits third in expected goals at 9.04. He has also hit the woodwork six times, more than any other player this season, so he has perhaps been unlucky not to have more goals to his name.

Warschewski is incredibly adept at creating chances for himself and others, with a league-leading 46 completed dribbles, and having won possession 21 times in the attacking third this season (fifth most).

Alejandro Díaz, Vancouver FC – 10 goals

The 2022 Canadian Premier League Golden Boot winner is very much in the conversation again this year. Díaz, who has scored the second most goals all-time in league history, also sits tied for second in goalscoring this season, with ten to his name.

On an Eagles team which has struggled to score goals, with the second-fewest (29) in the CPL this season, and create chances (29.08 xG, also third fewest), especially over the back half of the season, his numbers are even more impressive.

If Vancouver are to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in club history, they will likely require a few more clutch goals from their number nine.

Brian Wright, York United – 9 goals

It has been a resurgent season for the York number nine, who, after scoring just twice last season, has been one of the most goal-dangerous players in the Canadian Premier League in 2024. In fact, no player has more goal contributions than his 15, nine of which have been goals to go with six assists.

After finishing sixth in expected goals last season, with 8.01, Wright currently sits second in the league in the statistic this season, at 9.06. The biggest difference, however, is how much more composure and confidence he has shown with those chances.

Wright would need a big performance on the final day of the season against Halifax in order to win the Golden Boot, and goals have been a bit less frequent for him of late, as he has not scored since August 2. But no matter how this year finishes for the 29-year-old it has been an impressive campaign, and he has been central to the most successful season in club history.

All highlights courtesy of OneSoccer