Welcome to CPL50, a series where we’ll reveal the top 50 players from the 2021 Canadian Premier League regular season, as voted on by a panel of coaches from all eight teams and media from OneSoccer and CanPL.ca.
For more information on the voting process and method, click here.
The second Pacific FC player in a row, coming in at number nine in the CPL50 is Terran Campbell.
The 23-year-old attacker, one of three nominees for the CPL’s 2021 Player of the Year award this year, was one of the most impactful players in the entire league in 2021. He played 28 CPL matches — missing just two — and scored 11 goals, adding five assists to boot. He scored some of the club’s most important goals in this season, including their first in the CPL semi-final against Cavalry FC, as well as the opener from the penalty spot in their Canadian Championship clash against Vancouver Whitecaps.
Campbell has long been the key man in front for Pacific, originally making waves in 2019 as a smash-and-grab centre-forward, but in 2021 he showed his versatility by playing most of his minutes out on the wing. He proved his ability to create from the wide areas and put pressure on opponents when defending, although his greatest attribute remains his eye for goal. Campbell is one of the CPL’s best and most clinical finishers, which he’s demonstrated over three years — as it stands, he’s scored the second-most goals in CPL history with 23 (two behind Easton Ongaro).
Over three CPL seasons, Campbell has been incredibly reliable for Pacific. He’s the club’s all-time leader in goals, assists (10, tied with Marco Bustos) and appearances (69), but this season in particular he stepped up in an incredible way to help lead them to a championship.
GOAL ?@Pacificfccpl open the scoring in this 2021 #CanPL PLAYOFF clash with @CPLCavalryFC! ⚽
It's Terran Campbell with his 11th goal of the season ?
TUNE IN ? ? TELUS ch. 980 | ? https://t.co/hishXepRT3 pic.twitter.com/yrkWUNhqXG
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 20, 2021
Pacific gave Campbell an opportunity in 2019, and he’s settled in well with the club. Prior to making the jump to Vancouver Island, Campbell had spent most of his playing career in the Vancouver Whitecaps system, where he first played in their academy and later saw significant minutes with their reserve team in USL.
Since joining the Tridents, Campbell has made improvements as a player each year. In 2021, he was an MVP-calibre player on a championship side; who knows what 2022 might bring?
The rest of the CPL50 countdown is available here. Five more players will be revealed per day until December 22.