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 7th Edition (October Recap) of who we think are the best teams despite province, competition, or league.
- Toronto FC Academy U17
Toronto FC U19 will remain in the #1 position this month as the team continues to be undefeated in League 1 Ontario Reserve with an impressive record of 11 wins 0 loss record, scoring 69 goals for and only 9 goals against. However they did receive their first loss since the MLS Next season in the FTF x VSC Fall Showcase to Vaughan SC in the last few days of October. To go on top of the impressive results this group also sent 10 players (the most amongst MLS academies) to the Canada Soccer U17 national team for the upcoming World Cup in Indonesia.
- Vancouver Whitecaps Academy U19
Whitecaps hold firm at #2 spot after remaining undefeated in the Fraser Valley Soccer League (Men’s League in Vancouver) with a 4 win and 2 tie record, scoring 22 goals for and only conceding 3 against. The group also sent 3 players to Canada Soccer U17 national team for the upcoming World Cup in Indonesia which would of probably been (4) but we assume Kyler Vojvodic is out via injury as he was a focal point in helping the group qualify via CONCACAF.
- CF Montreal Academy U19
CF Montreal will stay locked in at the 3rd spot in this edition as they currently didn’t play in any games for the month of October as the academy has been hosting trials since the conclusion of the Ligue 1 QC season. However 3 players from the group did get called to the Canada Soccer U17 National team for the upcoming World Cup.
- Burnaby FC
Moving up to #4 is Burnaby FC after taking home the gold medal at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals. The competition was littered with teams in our Top-10 / Honourable Mention categories so it is only deserving that the winner of this competition deserves the right to be called “the best non MLS Academy team”.
- Born to Be Soccer Academy
Dropping one spot is BTB Academy after finishing 2nd at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals. The team is stacked with talent and probably should have won the gold medal at the competition by dominating from a possession and chance creation stand point, but in the end didn’t end up getting the job done. We have heard rumours that the group is planning to attend the Sigma Showcase in the middle of December which will be a great opportunity to see them versus some elite teams in Ontario but for now they will stay at #5.
- Rush Academy L1R
Holding firm at #6 is Rush Academy Canada. The group has an 11 win 1 loss record in the League One Ontario Reserve Fall Season and took their only loss of the year to Toronto FC U19 (our #1 seed) so far. With the fall season coming to a close it will be interesting to see if Rush can earn another trophy and potentially move up in the rankings in our November update.
- Halifax City SC
Staying at #7 is Halifax City after a bronze medal finish at Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals. The team had a big win versus CS MRO in the competition but did have key losses to Vaughan SC and Burnaby FC which is the main reason why they didn’t move up. Regardless, a 3rd place finish in the competition is very impressive and the group has a ton to be proud of.
- CS MRO
Dropping from #8 to #5 in this update is CS MRO. The team finished 4th at Natioanls (which wasn’t a bad showing) but in the process suffered too many losses to be ranked any higher. Similar to BTB we have heard this group will be participating in the upcoming Sigma Showcase in December so we will look to see how they fair against elite competition in Ontario.
- Calgary West
Staying at #9 is Calgary West after playing no games in the month of October. In September the team was crowned champions of the Calgary Minor Soccer League and in our opinion if they qualified for Canada Soccer Toyota Nationals would’ve strongly challenged for a medal.
- Vaughan SC
Grabbing the last spot in this month’s Top 10 is Vaughan SC. The group currently sits 2nd place in the League One Reserve Fall Season going undefeated in the month of October. The group had a “mix” of results in the FTF x VSC Fall showdown where they gave TFC their only loss of the season, but also lost to Sigma FC and tied Scarborough Academy in the process.
