The Canadian Premier League announced on Wednesday the nominees for the Defender of the Year award, honouring the best defender during the 2023 regular season.
Forge FC’s Manjrekar James, Cavalry FC’s Daan Klomp and Halifax Wanderers FC’s Daniel Nimick make up the three-person ballot. The winner will be decided through voting by CPL club technical leadership and select media members representing local and national outlets who consistently covered the 2023 CPL regular season. The winner will be revealed at an in-person ceremony in Hamilton, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 26 as part of the CPL Final weekend festivities.
James, 30, enjoyed a successful first year in the CPL for Forge, after the Canadian international joined the club as a marquee off-season signing in March 2023. He quickly made an impact, earning the title of CPL Player of the Week in week three, and went on to accumulate two Gatorade Team of the Week nods in weeks three and 15. James finished second among all CPL players with 184 recoveries and 1764 total passes. The 59 aerial duels he won ranked third within the league, and he ranked fourth in the league, and first among defenders, in duels won with 175. With James playing a team-high 2340 minutes in Forge’s defence, the team tied with Halifax for second fewest goals conceded. The 14 goals Forge gave up on the road marked the fewest by any CPL team in 2023, and Forge’s 10 clean sheets were the most by any club over the 2023 regular season.
Klomp, 25, anchored Cavalry’s defence throughout the CPL regular season, becoming the only outfield player to appear in every minute for his club in 2023 and leading his team to its league-best defensive record. Klomp finished second in the league in passes completed with 1494 and a 90 per cent passing accuracy. He ranked second in the league in blocks with 17, aerial duels won with 51 and possession won in the defensive third with 87. When Klomp wasn’t shoring things up at the back for Cavalry, he was having an impact up front: The defender scored four goals and added one assist in 2023. Scoring two of those goals in September helped Klomp earn Player of the Month honours, to go with his league-high 11 appearances in the Gatorade Team of the Week in 2023.
Nimick, 23, made quite the impression in his first professional season, proving himself a key part of the 2023 Halifax Wanderers squad as he logged a full 90 minutes in all but one of the side’s regular season matches this season. Nimick showed a nose for goal as much as he showed a knack for defending. His six goals, four of which came from the penalty spot, were the most by any CPL defender in 2023, and he set up another three with a trio of assists. Nimick’s direct play forward is just one of the attributes that stood out this season, as he led outfield players in the CPL with 174 successful long balls played. In a record-setting year for Halifax, Nimick was a standout, named to the Gatorade Team of the Week on six occasions, earning Player of the Week honours in week 12 and week 20, and winning the title of Player of the Month for August.
Voting for all the CPL’s annual awards will this year be based on performances during the regular season, not including Canadian Championship, Concacaf or playoff action.
The winner of the Defender of the Year award will receive a unique piece of Inuit soapstone art, carved by artist Ruben Komangapik. The Walrus statue was chosen to honour the CPL’s best defender because the animal is one of the ocean’s toughest creatures, feared even by polar bears and killer whales, like a tenacious defender who is a true guardian of the gates for his squad.