Who’s the best team in the entire country? This question is quite frequently asked in Canada and truthfully no one will ever have the exact answer as there is no Canadian National competition that involves all teams.
Here at The Playbook however we will try to ‘put the pieces together’ and provide a “monthly insight” into who we think are the best U17 (2006 Teams) are across the country.
Enjoy the read below as this is our 3rd Edition (June Recap) of who we think are the best teams despite province, competition, or league.
- Toronto FC Academy U17
Toronto FC end their season as the number one team in the country in these rankings, as they were the most dominant Canadian team all year based on the strength of competition that they play. Although losing in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs the team has seen some tremendous success recently with CB Lazar Stefanovic recently making his debut for the Toronto FC 1st Team and many others earning minutes with Toronto FC 2. Congrats to the young reds and the future of some of these 2006/2007 boys are extremely bright.
- Vancouver Whitecaps Academy U17
VWFC come in at #2 as they also put an end to their MLS Next season. The group put together 2 wins and 1 loss in the MLS Next Cup Showcase division (both Whitecaps and Montreal did not qualify for MLS Next Cup Playoffs) and actually beat CF Montreal U17 1-0 in their final game of the year. This made their 2nd place selection fairly easy and also gives the Caps organization some extra “bragging rights” as even though these teams are ‘Canadian’ and play in the same league (MLS Next), they very hardly meet due to being on different sides of the country.
- CF Montreal Academy U17
With the loss to VWFC and not making MLS Next U17 Cup Playoffs this year it goes without saying why CF Montreal came in at the bottom of the 3 MLS Next academy teams this year. Overall it wasn’t a ‘great’ year for CF Montreal U17 as they were littered with “weak spots” in some critical areas of the field, the team was never really able to string consistent results due to lack of talent and key injuries. To that point it will be also interesting to see from this group who will climb and make the CF Montreal U23/ Reserve team (up to a 5 year playing difference), because as currently constructed the team does not have a youth set up from ages 18-22.
- Born To Be Academy
Moving up 1 spot to #4 is BTB Academy after going undefeated in the month of June. BTB currently sit 9 wins and 1 tie in the season with an incredible 63 goals for and only 3 against. We will see how they fare when they face some stiffer competition in Montreal in a few weeks at the FTF x FC Laval Showcase, but as of right now they seem to us like the best non MLS academy in the country.
- North Mississauga L1R
Moving up to #5 is North Mississauga L1R after bouncing back from a loss last month against Burlington L1R to also go undefeated in the month of June. The big result coming against formerly #6 Ranked Rush Canada (North Miss was ranked #7 in our latest update) where they completely wiped the floor with their rivals winning the game 5-0. The team is back firing on all cylinders but another big matchup is on the horizon as they face “outside looking in” team Vaughan SC in a few weeks time.
- AS Laval
Jumping from completely not ranked to #6 is AS Laval after an extremely impressive victory against CS MRO who was previously our #4 Ranked team. AS Laval currently sits first in the LSEQ AAA standings and if things remain, will be the Quebec representative at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals. Let’s see if the team can hold ‘true to form’ but we know CS MRO will be pushing them until the end.
- Club de Soccer Mont-Royal Outremont
CS MRO drop a few spots in this months ranking due to an conventional 3-2 loss to AS Laval who has now jumped to #6 . The team however bounced back going undefeated for the rest of the month and are still sitting 2nd in the current LSEQ U17 AAA standings
- Woodbridge SC L1R
Moving up 1 spot in this month’s edition is Woodbridge SC L1R with another undefeated month. The team scored 10 goals and only conceded one in their 3 games played in the month of June and just seem to be firing on all cylinders.
- Burnaby FC
Cracking the top 10 for the 1st time enters Burnaby FC (formerly known as Mountain United) for taking home the BCSPL championship at the 2006 division. The side from BC came into the playoffs as the 2nd overall seed and knocked off Surrey United SC in a blowout of a finals (5-1) who was previously our 10th ranked team. Burnaby now has a fairly long wait until nationals but it will be great to see them in action come October against some of the best teams from across the country.
- Calgary West FC
Calgary West Celtic 2006 Boys round out our last team to earn a spot in this month’s Top 10. The team is currently undefeated in the CMSA at 6 wins and 0 losses. They have beaten Foothills (their toughest competition in the region already this year) and we have also heard they recently beat BTB (#4 ranked team in an exhibition match). If this is the case we probably should have the group higher, but as the season progresses don’t be shocked to see Cal West much higher on the charts.
