With a new Major League Soccer season just around the corner, Sportsnet looks at six players on Canadian clubs who have to “step up” in a big way this season.
Doniel Henry – Toronto FC
Doniel Henry shows promise. Lots of it. He has a great deal of athleticism and displays fearlessness on the pitch. But the 20-year-old’s first three seasons in MLS were blotted by silly errors—both mental and physical. Henry always seemed to make that one mistake that broke the Reds’ collective back, and hasn’t been up to the standard of starting centre backs in MLS. But the Canadian is coming off a successful training stint with West Ham United this winter, and coach Ryan Nelsen has been singing his praises. Team captain Steven Caldwell can’t be expected to continue to babysit him. With TFC lacking genuine depth at centre back, Henry needs to prove he can be a regular starter in this league, finally able to play mistake-free soccer.
Felipe – Montreal Impact
How important was Marco Di Vaio to Montreal last season? Consider this: The Italian’s 20 goals accounted for 40 percent of the team’s offence. But even though Di Vaio is set to turn 38 this summer, the Impact only brought in unproven Uruguay forward Santiago González to help lighten the Italian’s load. More than ever, Montreal will need secondary scoring from midfield, which is where Felipe comes in. The Brazilian was one of the Impact’s best players in their expansion season in 2012, getting four goals, but he wasn’t nearly as influential last season—even though he scored five times. Felipe needs to step to the fore to take pressure off of Di Vaio and offer Montreal another viable scoring option.
Darren Mattocks – Vancouver Whitecaps
The Whitecaps suffered a major loss when Camilo forced his way out of the club, engineering a transfer move to Mexican club Querétaro in the off-season. Camilo had an MVP-like season in 2013, scoring a league-leading 22 goals. Who will fill the offensive void this year left by the Brazilian? Darren Mattocks is one answer. After a respectable rookie campaign, Mattocks was far from his best last season with only three goals in 20 games. He made matters worse in the off-season when he complained about his lack of playing time to a Jamaican media outlet. Mattocks patched things up with new coach Carl Robinson, but the incident left a bitter taste. A return to form with plenty of goals in 2014 could bury the hatchet for good.
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Andrew Wenger – Montreal Impact
What is Andrew Wenger’s best position? Selected first overall by Montreal in the 2012 draft, Wenger was a central defender at Duke University who was also routinely used as a defensive midfielder. In his senior year, Duke moved him to the forward position and he ended up scoring 17 goals. But his goal-scoring prowess at the college level hasn’t carried over into his pro career. He netted a respectable four goals in 23 games in his rookie campaign in 2012, but managed only one in 24 matches last season. Wenger has a knack for working himself into dangerous positions, but he lacks a natural goal scorer’s touch. He’ll have to find a way to develop that part of his game this year, as Marco Di Vaio can’t be expected to duplicate his 20-goal tally from 2014.
David Ousted – Vancouver Whitecaps
Italian newcomer Paolo Tornaghi has looked impressive in pre-season and Canadian prospect Carlo Carducci has a bright future ahead of him. But David Ousted, who former coach Martin Rennie brought in last summer to challenge incumbent Brad Knighton, is unquestionably Vancouver’s number one goalkeeper. Is he up to the task, though? The Dane looked good—but far from great—after joining the Whitecaps last year, registering four clean sheets in 13 starts. He has also battled a nagging hamstring injury this pre-season, leading to questions as to whether or not he can establish himself as one of the top shot stoppers in MLS.
Andrew Wiedeman – Toronto FC
With Jermain Defoe and Gilberto topping the depth chart at the striker position, Bright Dike was expected to be the Reds’ first option off the bench. Dike showed flashes of promise when he joined TFC in 2013, and had the extra motivation this season of fighting for a spot on Nigeria’s World Cup roster. But Dike tore his Achilles tendon in pre-season, likely ruling him out for the campaign. Step forward Wiedeman, who will be called upon to fill in for Defoe or Gilberto from time to time. Dubbed one of the greatest finishers in the modern era by former coach Paul Mariner (no really, he said that), Wiedeman hasn’t yet lived up to that lofty billing, netting only four goals in 29 league appearances (16 as a starter) during two seasons with Toronto.
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