It was with a roar that Atletico Ottawa entered the Canadian Premier League, with a major announcement at Lansdowne Park that included fanfare, giveaways and speeches from Mayor Jim Watson, club president Jeff Hunt, Atletico Madrid brass and new head coach Mista. The day was capped off with an opportunity for supporters to ask questions in a panel hosted by OneSoccer; there was a palpable buzz in the soccer community.

However like a summer’s dawn overlooking an Outaouais lake, the buzz had settled on the waters surface like a calming morning mist, waiting for news, preferably player signings, to break the silence and get the 2020 season officially underway. It took nearly three weeks, but last week the club began announcing players signings each day. Here is an overlook of the Atletico Ottawa first six signings.

Ben Fisk

Photo: Ryan Byrne

Atletico Ottawa made a big splash with their first signing, securing the services of Canadian winger Ben Fisk. Born in Vancouver, Fisk is a product of the Whitecaps system and played with Vancouver Whitecaps U23 side and Charleston Battery before making a move to Europe. Fisk spent two years in Spain playing with Coruxo and Deportivo B before returning to Canada, signing with FC Edmonton. In 2018 he made the move to Northern Ireland, playing with Derry City in the League of Ireland Premier Division and spent 2019 playing with Pacific FC in the Canadian Premier League.

Now 27 years old, Fisk decided not to return to Pacific FC for 2020, and instead stuck a deal with Atletico Ottawa. A leader on and off the pitch, Fisk is an ideal signing for Ottawa to announce early on, and one many supporters will be excited to see play. While being a BC native, Fisk’s parents both attended University in Ottawa, and Fisk has mentioned that he is excited to play in the nation’s capital.

Fisk plays in the wide areas as a winger, usually preferred on the left side. Optimized in a modern 4-3-3 system, such as the one utilized by Atletico Madrid, Fisks ability in the #11 role includes the use of both feet, meaning it is easy for crosses to be made into the box, but also for the winger to cut back and move the ball into the middle of the pitch in just a matter of touches. He has many connections to Ottawa soccer, having been coached by Martin Nash (former Ottawa Fury assistant coach) in Vancouver, played with Nicki Paterson and Colin Falvey (both of Ottawa Fury) during his time in Charleston. Fisk also played in Ottawa as a member of FC Edmonton.

Antoine Coupland

Coupland is the only one of the first six signings to have previously played in Ottawa, and is the only one of the six to come from the Ottawa valley region. At just fifteen years old Antoine signed his first professional contract with Ottawa Fury, and made his USL debut in 2019. Now at sixteen years old, Antoine has dismissed offers for trials and academy spots in England and Germany in order to play professionally for his home club.

As one of the highest calibre players in the Ottawa area youth system, Coupland is the living embodiment of what the Canadian Premier League, and the overall growth of the game in Canada, can mean to up and coming players. Many of us who grew up playing soccer dreamed of one day having a local club, and playing for it, and Antoine is accomplishing that dream just now. Should he feature for Ottawa before July, he will become the youngest CanPL player to be featured in a match.



Extremely versatile, Coupland is very confident on the ball and great at keeping possession in tight spaces. He has an eye for the right pass and has no problem switching play quickly, and with pace. As a midfielder he is preferred on the left, and would likely occupy the #8 spot when playing. There will no doubt be an adjustment time for Antoine in the jump to professional from his local Ottawa side, for now the midfielder will be focused on taking in all the sights and sounds of training camp at the Atletico Madrid facilities

Malyk Hamilton

Photo: West Ham United

Born in Calgary, Hamilton is an product of the West Ham United youth system, before moving to Toronto FC III an II. Upon being released from Toronto FC, Malyk signed with his hometown club Cavalry FC in the CanPL for the 2019 season. At just 20 years old, he joins Atletico Ottawa as their third signing.

Hamilton is a right winger who can play complimentary to what Fisk plays in the front three in the #7 role. He can also equally play in the right back (#2) position and overlap with the winger, and sometimes as a left back (#5). He is extremely quick with the ball and when given open space he can easily out run the average full back. He is utilized on the counter attack to quickly switch play and move the ball down the pitch with pace, and his crossing ability makes it easy for the center forward to direct the ball home.

At only 20 year old, Hamilton will help Ottawa keep roster quotas for young players and Canadians, will add league experience to the roster and his versatility will help cover during injuries and tactical changes. During a long season with likely injury pile-ups, it is players like Hamilton that can often make or break form, and in a league with a budget cap like the CanPL, getting a player that is comfortable in multiple positions can be vital.

Ajay Khabra

Ajay Khabra is an Edmonton native, who like the three previous signings represented his hometown side. A product of the FC Edmonton academy and later on the Universty of Alberat’s Golden Bears, Khabra joined FC Edmonton professionally in 2018 and brings league experience to the nation’s capital having played with FCE on 24 occasions in the CanPL last season. Paulus has stated he would have liked to have kept Khabra for 2020 but budget restrictions hindered the deal.

Ajay is a midfielder who can work the ball around with patience and precision. Utilized mostly as a #6, Khabra can also play in an advanced midfield role and has been known to score from outside the box. The experience and composure Khabra brings to the roster is extremely important, especially as the position he plays is one that requires a certain level of comfort and control.

Ricky Gomes

Photo: Arbroath FC

Gomes became Ottawa’s first goalkeeper signing, and could be the clubs numbers one choice. Gomes was born in Kitchener but has spent the last twelve years playing in Europe. He had a spell at Deportivo B in Spain and Arbroath in Scotland, but he has spent the majority of his time playing in lower league Portugal. He returns home Canada for the first time professionally, but he will feel right at home during Atletico Ottawa’s European training camp.

Ricky is a very confident goal keeper but he lets his saves do the speaking for him. He is excellent at decision making in terms of when to come out and attack the ball or when to sit back and wait for the shot, but his main skill is his ability to make quick diving saves. He is quick off his feet after a shot is taken, and not only is more than likely able to make the save, he also allows few is any rebounds. His highlight reels consist of many quick-succession saves made at close range, as well as several long distance saves that require immense athleticism.

Michel Djaozandry

Michel joins Ottawa in a very unique situation as a product of the Montreal Impact academy. After representing the Impact he attended the CanPL open trials, making the first day cut but was never picked up by any of the clubs. After deciding to go to school and attempt the U-Sports route to become a professional, Michel was phoned by Atletico Ottawa and offered a spot in the squad for 2020, helping make his hard work worthwhile and make his dreams from true.

The Trois-Riviers native doesn’t have any league experience, but he brings versatility to the squad that every manager would dream of. Djaozandry is captable in playing in at both left and right back, as well as on either wing, providing coverage in case of injury pile ups or suspensions. On paper it would be quick to believe that Michel may be more of a fringe player for Atletico Ottawa, but if his story has proven anything it’s that sometimes big opportunities can come your way, a Michel looks ready to take advantage of every opportunity thrown at him.

More To Come

Atletico Ottawa will continue to announce signings on a daily basis for the foreseeable future, so stay tuned to Northern Starting XI for more Atletico Ottawa news and opinions as pre-season gets under way and the season approaches. Until then follow me on twitter @ottleti for daily news and thoughts.

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Stuart Mactaggart Stuart has covered Ottawa soccer for six years, most recently covering Atletico Ottawa.

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