After the draw: what BC fans should expect from the 2023 Canadian Championship

The 2023 Canadian Championship is set to be a monumental year for the province of British Columbia. For the first time ever BC is home to four clubs in the tournament. This includes two time champions Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS), 2021 north star shield winners Pacific FC (CPL), and two teams making their Canadian Championship debut: Vancouver FC (CPL) and TSS Rovers (L1BC). BC has been host to many great Canadian Championship matches, which includes some recent ones such as the Whitecaps' second title at BC Place last summer or Pacific FC's victory at Starlight Stadium during the first ever Ferryside Derby. This year's edition will hopefully bring many more great stories for BC's clubs and could bring BC its third voyageur's cup.

The format

A staggering 14 clubs are competing this year, which is a new high for the tournament. 3 clubs come from the MLS, 8 from the CPL, and 3 from League1Canada's various semi-professional leagues. The MLS and CPL clubs gained qualification automatically, but the 3 L1Canada sides qualified through performances is their respective leagues. This includes the TSS Rovers, as they qualified through winning the L1BC final against regular season champions Varsity FC on penalties. All of the teams were split into pots before the draw. For the most part the pots were split between east and west. There was an exception as an eastern team was randomly selected to go into the western pot due to an imbalance. The competition starts with a preliminary round, followed by a quarterfinal, semifinal, and the final itself.

TSS Rovers

The mighty Rovers were the first team to be selected into the preliminary round during the draw process. They were guaranteed to host due to weather and stadium concerns in other locations at the beginning of the season. Their opponent: Valour FC. Based in Winnipeg, Valour have had a bad past when it comes to the Canadian Championship. They have a 1-4 record in the competition, with the lone win being a 3-2 victory over a struggling Atletico Ottawa side in 2021. Valour have been the "midtable team" since the very beginning, and they are yet to qualify for the CPL playoffs over the course of four seasons. Valour have lost many key players this offseason, which include CF Montreal Loanees Sean Rea and Jonathan Sirois, experienced playmaker Brett Levis, highly capped player Moses Dyer, and solid centerback Rocco Romeo. They have countered these losses with Pacific defenders Haynes and Samake, A-league forward Pacifique Niyongabrie, and former Real Madrid product Jamie Siaj. The Rovers are also making moves of their own under the radar, which includes the addition of Altitude FC leading goalscorer Massud Habibullah which was leaked back in December. Although the Rovers are yet to comment it is known that they made an approach for Massud back then. Could a front two of Erik Edwardson and Massud Habibullah prove troublesome for a Valour squad that will still be finding it's footing?

Pacific FC

Pacific FC was the next BC team to be featured in the draw. The Tridents will enter the preliminary round with a match at Starlight Stadium against competitive rivals Cavalry FC. The two clubs are 7-3-8 on record, which means a win for either side could shift the balance. Cavalry have said farewell to many of their players, but have made some signings in Shamit Shome and the A-League's Jesse Daley. Meanwhile, Pacific have lost many of their players are could be struggling for depth at the moment. A lot of their attacking power in Marco Bustos and Gianni Dos Santos will be missed, but Ayman Sellouf, Adonijah Reid, and Easton Ongaro arrive as a fresh frontline option that can work alongside Heard and Daniels. Pacific could make a good run with the help of good league form. Could they make it all the way to the semifinals for the second time in club history?

Vancouver FC

This club has no bar to raise yet, but to set it high to start would be the dream. Vancouver FC will travel to York Lions stadium for their Canadian Championship game 2-4 days before their regular season game against the nine stripes that weekend. York have a promising squad this year, but I'm not exactly sure yet when it comes to VFC. Bitar, Romeo, and Irving are some of the big names you may notice as you look at their signings so far. Youngsters such as Mamadou Kane and Kahlil John-Wentworth could prove to be brilliant signings as the season progresses. So far the club has only brought in nine players. Vancouver FC is still a club in construction. Their stadium will not even be made in time for their first Canadian Championship match. For the time being their new fans will have to trust the process and gather their season's expectations once the club is ready to go in April. Until then, it is fun to speculate.

Vancouver Whitecaps

The caps have a bye to the quarterfinals because of their victory last summer. They will face the winner of Vancouver FC vs York United in early may. The Whitecaps will have to play on the road for essentially their whole campaign until the final. There was a rumour going around that they would host Vancouver FC in the quarterfinals if the matchup occurred, but it is unlikely because Vancouver FC's stadium will be ready to go and had already host it's home opener before the set quarterfinal dates in may. The Whitecaps is a team with a lot of expectation on their shoulders going into this tournament. Whether or not this team can handle the pressure (plus the heavy match schedule) will be interesting. The Whitecaps have barely made any signings so far, with the exceptions being Laborda, Yao, two WFC2 players in Becher and Ahmed, and their four draft picks. They say the best time to buy is when you're on top, but that doesn't seem to be the case right now. Can they defend their title?

Photos via Whitecaps FC, Pacific FC, CBC, CPL