The Canadian Premier League’s (CPL) HFX Wanderers FC are set to begin their third season in club history in the coming days. The Wanderers are the lone club from the Atlantic Canadian region in the eight-team league.

The 2021 season will begin in a one month bubble in Winnipeg, where every club is scheduled to play eight games. Depending on the COVID-19 pandemic situation, each side looks to return home after to continue play in a full season format with travel and supporters in attendance.

Last season, the Halifax-based club made massive improvements from their first season as they battled all the way to the final in the 2020 Island Games, a bubble season on Prince Edward Island (PEI), before falling just short to the defending champion Forge FC.

For the 2021 season, Wanderers supporters can expect to see 14 returnees and eight new faces, while nine players from last years’ squad are no longer wearing the crest.

The 22-man squad features three homegrown talents, including returning GK Christian Oxner (Clayton Park, NS) and MF Scott Firth (Windsor Junction, NS), as well as new signee Kieran Baskett (Halifax, NS).

RETURNING (14)

Goalkeepers: Christian Oxner (Clayton Park, NS)

Defenders: Jems Geffrard, Mateo Restrepo, Jake Ruby, Eriks de Souza Santos Pereira, Peter Schaale

Midfielders: Scott Firth (Windsor Junction, NS), Omar Kreim, Andre Rampersad

Attackers: Cory Bent, Akeem Garcia, Alex Marshall, João Morelli Neto, Alessandro Riggi

The Wanderers see 14 of their 23 players from the Island Games last summer returning the squad, a 60.8% retention rate, 65.2% if you consider that one has transitioned back into the coaching staff full time.

Oxner returns in net for his third season with the club and is the projected starter. He was a key piece in the Wanderers’ run to the championship game last season.

Five players return on the back end, including Cape Breton University graduate Peter Schaale, who is the only defender remaining from the clubs inaugural season. Geffrard, Restrepo, Ruby and Santos were all Island Games additions and look ahead to their first full season with Halifax.

At midfield, Firth and Rampersad both return for their third season while Kreim returns for his second. Firth was the first ever hometown player to sign with the club.

The Wanderers beef up at the attacking position. While they are only losing one player from last season and adding three new ones, they are also retaining five. This group is highlighted by 2020 CPL Golden Boot winner Akeem Garcia and Cape Breton University grad and first overall pick Cory Bent. Morelli made his league debut at the Island Games, standing out with four goals in eight appearances. Marshall and Riggi are both also returning for their second season.

NEW FACES (8)

Goalkeepers: Kieran Baskett (Halifax, NS)

Defenders: Morey Doner, Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, Kareem Sow

Midfielders: Pierre Lamothe

Attackers: Stefan Karajovanovic, Marcello Polisi, Samuel Salter

Baskett is one of eight new additions to the club and the only local talent. The 19-year old is a promising young goalkeeper from Halifax returning home after playing NCAA Division I at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

With three defenders exiting the club, the Wanderers bring in three more. 27-year old More Doner spent two seasons with York9 FC (now York United) and brings lots of Canadian Premier League experience to Halifax. Coquitlam’s 24-year old Marcello Polisi played at Simon Fraser University and has spent time in the Vancouver Whitecaps FC residency. Rounding out the trio, the Wanderers drafted Sow 10th overall in the 2021 CPL-U Sports Draft. The 20-year old has most recently played at Université de Montréal and is with the Wanderers on a developmental contract.

23-year old Lamothe joins the Wanderers from A.S. Blainville and CS Longueuil of the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec.

The Wanderers stack up at the attacker position, with one player leaving and three joining for a total of eight.

NOT RETURNING FROM 2020 (9)

Goalkeepers: Jason Beaulieu, Jan-Michael Williams

Defenders: Alex De Carolis, Daniel Kinumbe, Chrisnovic N’Sa

Midfielders: Louis Béland-Goyette, Luke Green (Halifax, NS), Aboubacar Sissoko

Attackers: Ibrahima Sanoh

There are realistically eight faces not returning but technically nine. After serving as the starting keeper in the Wanderers’ inaugural season, Williams moved into the coaching staff but was signed back on as a third keeper last summer following an injury to Oxner. Williams has since returned to the coaching staff. Also at the position, Beaulieu announced his retirement in November, 2020 to pursue a career in engineering.

Halifax lose three players on the back line. De Carolis played for the Wanderers in each of the first two seasons before returning to Sweden where he once played, signing with IFK Eskilstuna in Division 2, the fourth tier of Swedish football. N’Sa also played for Halifax in 2019 and 2020 and will stay in the CPL, but has joined his brother at York United. Kinumbe and the Wanderers parted ways this past March.

At the midfield position, homegrown talent Luke Green joined the club at training camp in March on a youth trial but has not been signed. Béland-Goyette was released in November and Sissoko moved south of the border to join Indy Eleven in the USL Championship, second tier of American football.

The Wanderers have only lost one attacker from the Island Games, as Sanoh has not been re-signed.

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2021 Schedule

“The CPL season will begin in a bubble at IG Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The bubble will last nearly one month from June 26 – July 24, 2021. All eight clubs will play eight games in total, once each against six clubs and twice against a seventh. This will allow all clubs to, on paper, have an even number of home and away games played.

After July 24, the clubs will look to head to their respective homes where they will carry out the remainder of the season in usual fashion. This gives the league an opportunity to start early in the summer and get a near full season in, without having to wait for Canada to boost vaccination numbers and decrease new case counts before starting play.”

– Article: 2021 HFX Wanderers FC season set to begin on June 26 – East Coast GameDay

The following schedule includes eight games where clubs exclusively match up with teams from the other side of the country and the league plans to release a full schedule at a later date.

DATE	TIME	OPPONENT	LOCATION
June 26, 2021	6:00 PM ADT	Pacific FC	IG Field (Winnipeg, MB)
June 30, 2021	8:00 PM ADT	Valour FC	IG Field (Winnipeg, MB)
July 3, 2021	6:00 PM ADT	Cavalry FC	IG Field (Winnipeg, MB)
July 10, 2021	3:00 PM ADT	FC Edmonton	IG Field (Winnipeg, MB)
July 13, 2021	9:00 PM ADT	Pacific FC	IG Field (Winnipeg, MB)
July 17, 2021	3:00 PM ADT	Cavalry FC	IG Field (Winnipeg, MB)
July 21, 2021	8:00 PM ADT	FC Edmonton	IG Field (Winnipeg, MB)
July 24, 2021	3:00 PM ADT	Valour FC	IG Field (Winnipeg, MB)

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The third season in HFX Wanderers FC history begins against Langford, B.C.’s Pacific FC in the Winnipeg bubble on June 26, 2021. All matches can be watched on OneSoccer.