Canadian Premier League player signings: Ledgerwood, Bekker highlight inaugural class

The Canadian Premier League has revealed the first-ever player signings for all seven of its teams, ahead of the league’s kickoff date in April. A total of 10 players were announced as each club can now boast at least one piece around which they’ll be building their team.

Highlighting the class is 33-year-old Nik Ledgerwood, who has played professionally in Germany and Sweden and has 50 caps for the Canadian men’s national team. The Lethbridge native (to the surprise of no one) signed for Cavalry FC, after playing with PDL club Calgary Foothills FC for the past year. He’s joined at Cavalry by Sergio Camargo, who Toronto FC fans may remember from his time in the TFC Academy and at TFC II.

Another former Red to make the jump to the CPL is Kyle Bekker, who has bounced around North America since his time in Toronto in 2013 and 2014. He and Chris Nanco make up the first contingent for Forge FC.

FC Edmonton proved me wrong by signing not Tosaint Ricketts but rather Randy Edwini-Bonsu, who has 10 national team caps. The forward spent a few years in the Vancouver Whitecaps residency program (making 32 appearances for the first team as well) before moving to Germany. Allan Zebie, a French-born midfielder/fullback who spent his teenage years in Edmonton, is FCE’s other signing.

To York 9 FC goes Kyle Porter, a 28-year-old winger who has played all over the map in MLS and the USL. He’s also got seven caps for Canada. Former TFC II and Charleston Battery defender Skylar Thomas will suit up for Valour FC, hoping to anchor a solid backline for the Winnipeg club.

HFX Wanderers FC didn’t go quite as local as some of their rival clubs, picking up 23-year-old Ottawa native Zachary Sukunda, who was most recently playing in Australia’s second division.

Finally, Pacific FC went with 20-year-old BC-born fullback Kadin Chung.

There’s plenty to digest from this news dump; some clubs went with experienced, recognizable names, while others opted for youth. True to their brand, all the clubs have enlisted Canadian talent to anchor their first season.

We’ll take a closer look at some of these players soon, but for now, here’s the list of those signings again:

Cavalry FC: Nik Ledgerwood, Sergio Camargo

Pacific FC: Kadin Chung

Forge FC: Kyle Bekker, Chris Nanco

HFX Wanderers FC: Zachary Sukunda

FC Edmonton: Randy Edwini-Bonsu, Allan Zebie

Valour FC: Skylar Thomas

York 9 FC: Kyle Porter

Which signing are you most excited by?