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CanPL Editorial’s Unofficial 2019 Awards: The definitive (obscure) honours

Award season is upon us here at the Canadian Premier League offices, with Forge FC’s Tristan Borges cleaning up at the ~official~ version by winning the Golden Boot, U-21, and Player of the Year prizes, and Marco Carducci and Tommy Wheeldon Jr. claiming Goalkeeper and Coach of the Year, respectively.

But … CanPL Editorial figured five awards wasn’t quite enough to celebrate. So, in that spirit, and obviously having been inspired by the fine folks at Waking the Red for their own tongue-in-cheek prizes, here’s our official unofficial awards for 2019.


The “Gorgeous Borges” award
Best-looking CPL player

The nominees are:

  • Tristan Borges (Forge FC)
  • Mason Trafford (Cavalry FC)
  • Marco Bustos (Valour FC)
  • Andre Rampersad (HFX Wanderers FC)

And the winner is …

Cavalry FC defender Mason Trafford (5) and Forge FC midfielder Tristan Borges (19) battle for the ball in the second half during a match at ATCO Field, Spruce Meadows. (Photo: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports).
Tristan Borges (“obviously”) by one (1) vote over Mason “Serious dad energy” Trafford, as per CPL HQ ladies.

The “Courtesy of OneSoccer” Award
Satisfaction-factor of a goal-scoring play

The nominees are:

And the winner is …


The “Nakajima-Ferry” award
Best off-field storyline of 2019

The nominees are:

And the winner is … 


The “Skublak winning like $2K at the blackjack table in Punta Cana” Award
Biggest gamble that paid off

The nominees are:

  • York9 sticking to the game-plan all season
  • Using Emery Welshman cap space for David Edgar (Forge FC)
  • Terran Campbell replacing Marcus Haber up top (Pacific FC)
  • Dominick Zator stepping in at right-back (Cavalry FC)

And the winner is …

Pacific FC's Terran Campbell. (James MacDonald/CPL).
Terran Campbell and his 11 goals for Pacific FC, of course. (James MacDonald/CPL).

The “Saddest backflip of my career” Award
Best goal celebration

The nominees are:

And the winner is …

2019 Canadian Premier League-Cavalry FC v FC Edmonton , Jose Escalante of Cavalry FC rides the conner flag after scoring a goa.lCalgary, Alberta,Canada . Oct1 9, 2019 , Jack Cusano.
Bring in the Cavalry, Jose Escalante!

The “I’m leaving social media” Award
Tweet of the Year

The nominees are:

And the winner is …

*And every other thing Valour tweeted during 2019, because one tweet cannot capture the totality of their wit and sassiness.


The “Kurt, if you’re watching this …” Award
Best quote from 2019

The nominees are:

  • Jeff Paulus on Prince Amanda: “It took me 27 games to realize I have a winger who can do that.”
  • John Herdman on facing the U.S.: “It’ll be blood, guts and thunder from us regardless.”
  • Stephen Hart on work ethic: “The ball doesn’t sweat.”
  • Anthony Novak on scoring form: “Something I had been craving, but hadn’t had in a while, were the breakfast sausages.”

And the winner is …

HFX Wanderers head coach Stephen Hart. (HFX Wanderers).
The man behind the Stephen Hart-isms,” of course.