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 the best U17 (2006 Teams) are across the country.
Enjoy the read below as this is our 2nd Edition (May Recap) of who we think are the best teams in the country despite province, competition, or league.
- Toronto FC Academy U17
Staying at the top is Toronto FC Academy U17. Seeing as how they are the only Canadian U17 team who qualified for MLS Next playoffs it’s only fitting. The team finished the regular season at the top of the East North Division with 26 Points (8W-1L-2T) and will be a favourite to win the whole thing in a few weeks time in Frisco, Texas.
- Vancouver Whitecaps Academy U17
Moving up one spot in Edition 2 (May Recap) is Whitecaps U17. The team didn’t qualify for the MLS Next Playoffs but finished the regular season strong reeling off 3 straight wins in the month of May against Portland Timbers,LAFC and Seattle Sounders ending with a record of 7 Wins, 6 Losses, and 1 Tie which was good for 4th in the West Division. The team will now graduate to U19 next year and we will see which players from the team will get selected for the U17 World Cup in November and push for pro minutes with VWFC 2.
- CF Montreal Academy U17
Moving down one spot in Edition 2 is CF Montreal U17. CF had a decent showing at MLS Next Flex beating Orlando City SC 2-1 but then lost to non MLS side, Sockers FC 3-0 and barely beating another non MLS side Albion SC in PK’s. The group finished 5th in the U17 North East Division (same division as TFC U17) with a 4 Win, 4 Loss and 3 Tie record. With CF Montreal Academy not having a U19 team in their academy system it will be interesting to see how many of these 2006 born players can make the jump to the academies 2nd team/ U23 system.
- Club de Soccer Mont-Royal Outremont
Moving up 1 spot in our May Recap is CS MRO. The team is off to a great start in league play winning their first 4 games of the season with a tremendous 10 goals for and not a single goal against. MRO will definitely be tested in the coming weeks as they will play FC Laval U17 AAA and Longueuil U17 AAA who are also both undefeated. But as it stands we think they are the best non MLS Academy in the country.
- Born to Be Academy 2006
BTB move up one spot to #5 in Edition 2 (May recap) with an undefeated month of May. The Edmonton based squad boast a 4 Win and 1 Tie record in league play and currently have 23 goals for and just 2 goals against in their 5 games. It’s always difficult but we expect BTB to remain undefeated in the month of June in Edmonton, but will face some challenges in July at the FTF x FC Laval showcase where they will face some quality teams from Quebec and Ontario.
- Rush Canada L1R
The first new team to the fold in this Edition is Rush Canada U19 L1R. The team had a fantastic month of May going undefeated in all competitions. In League 1 Reserve play the group has started 5-0 with a fantastic 31 goals for and only 1 against. Also in the Umbro Showcase Rush beat previously ranked #8 North Toronto 2-1, York United SC 8-0, and newly ranked Woodbridge SC 1-0. June 20th will serve as the biggest challenge for Rush as they will go up against #7 NMSC L1R U19 in what is shaping up to be an all out war.
- North Mississauga League One Reserve
Dropping down 3 spots in Edition #2/ May Recap is NMSC L1R U19 after having a ‘sub-par’ month of May to their standards. The team still sits in great position in their league at 2nd place with 5 wins and 1 loss, but the defeat versus Burlington SC was very uncharacteristic from the group. Also at the Umbro Showcase even though they were fairly ‘short-handed’ with 5 players participating in the Ontario-Quebec Provincial Series the team did tie former #10 team Suburban FC 2-2. Unlike many teams in this ranking North Miss will have tons of opportunities to push themselves back up with quality games coming week in and week out as the season progresses. The must see match up of this month is when they take on #6 Rush Canada on June 20th.
- Longueuil SC U17 AAA
Another new team added to the mix in Edition 2/ May Recap is Longueuil U17. Off to a great start in LSEQ AAA the team looks to be the most likely contender to challenge the favourite #4 ranked CS MRO for the Quebec title and a shot at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals. Some standout players for Longueil include Allan Eloundou, former CF Montreal academy player Sorin Ziane and 2007 born Karim Hamdi. In July it will be exciting to see FC Laval U17 (outside looking in), BTB Academy (#5), and CS MRO (#4), West Ottawa (outside looking in) and Scarborough Academy (outside looking in) battle it out in Montreal for the FTF x FC Laval Summer Showcase as we are sure some of the results from these games will shake up the polls.
- Woodbridge SC
The last new entry to the U17 Top 10 Teams Edition #2/ May recap is Woodbridge SC. The team is off to a blistering start in the League One Ontario Reserve league winning 5 of 5 with 19 goals for and only 4 against. Some key players to watch out for in this group are Diego Fini (ST), Diego Santana (Striker), Jasteg Gill (CM), and Jordan Persia (DEF). In terms of who they have beaten “The Bridge” have beaten Simcoe County Rovers 5-0, and ‘Outside Looking In’ team Vaughan HP 3-2. Sprinkle in just a 1-0 loss against #6 ranked Rush Canada L1R at the Umbro Showcase and this is why we have Woodbridge moving all the way up from ‘unranked’ in Edition #1 (behind 15+ teams) to #9 in Edition #2.
- Surrey United U17 BCSPL
Dropping to #10 in Edition #2/ May Recap is Surrey United out of BC. The group wrapped up regular season play in the BCSPL with 11 wins and just 1 loss in 12 games played conceding only 12 goals and scoring 46. This gave them the league title by 9 points and head into BCSPL playoffs as a favourite to qualify for nationals as playoffs kick-off in BC.
Outside looking in:
- Calgary West U17 Tier 1
- Suburban FC U17 AAA
- Sigma FC L1R
- Halifax City SC
- North Toronto L1R
- Calgary Foothills U17 Tier 1
- Vaughan SC L1R
- Scarborough Academy 2006
- Fusion FC
- AS Laval
- West Ottawa SC
- Alliance FC (London)
- Vaughan IModel
- Juventus Edmonton
- Red Academy