The 2019 Canadian Premier League U-Sports draft took place on November 11th as some of Canada’s top varsity soccer players took their careers to the next level. Using the “snake draft” format, meant that Pacific FC would be drafting with the #3 and #12 spots. Most noticeably, the draft was reduced to two rounds compared to last year’s draft which had a total of three rounds. This article will break down the picks made by Pacific FC before The Purple Reign Podcast goes into further detail next week including an interview with first-round pick Jan Pirretas Glasmacher.

After releasing Ryan McCurdy, Hendrik Starostzik, and Emile Legault at seasons end, Pacific FC was left with one natural centre-back in Lukas MacNaughton. Defensive reinforcement was a clear need that the club had in mind before the draft took place. After Cory Bent and Marcus Campanile were drafted by HFX Wanderers and Valour FC respectively, CanPL commissioner David Clanachan announced that Pacific FC were on the clock with the 3rd overall pick.

Round #1 Pick #3 Jan Pirretas Glasmacher (TRU WolfPack)

⭐️ Play of the Week // Third year defender Jan Pirretas Glasmacher with a great header during Saturday's match against the @UBCOHeat.#HereWeCome pic.twitter.com/IeecChFjTm — TRU WolfPack 🐺 (@GoTRUWolfPack) October 16, 2019

James Merriman and co addressed the biggest concern right away by drafting arguably the best defensive player in the draft in 21-year-old Jan Pirretas Glasmacher. The TRU WolfPack centre-back captained his team while appearing in every single game this season. In fact, the Spanish-German defender played a full 90-minutes in every single game except for one match vs. Victoria where he was subbed off in the 79th minute. He finished the season with 4 goals, 1 assist, and 1519 minutes in 17 games started. In 2018, Jan made it into the Canada-West All-Star team and was part of the Canada-West All-Rookie team in 2017.

In years prior, Pitteras spent time in the Blackburn Rovers (England), Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Germany), and U.D. Cornelia (Spain) academy systems. During his time in Spain, Pitteras also represented his country with the Germany U16 national team. Followers of the Saskatchewan Summer Soccer Series will also recognize his name as he was a member of the SK Selects: a squad that took on various Canadian squads such as Calgary Foothills and Toronto FC II in an effort to raise awareness about a potential CanPL team in Saskatchewan.

The 6’1 defender’s natural position is centre-back, however, Pirretas is capable of playing full-back and defensive midfield. In his natural position, he is a confident distributor of the ball with a high defensive I.Q. Since Pacific FC is lacking depth in defence, expect him to make the opening day roster for Pacific FC. Currently, he joins a defensive core of Lukas Macnaughton, Kadin Chung and Marcel De Jong. Pacific FC will definitely bring in multiple defenders this summer, regardless, Jan Pirretas is well within the first-team picture for James Merriman.

Overall, Jan Pirretas Glasmacher is a CanPL ready CB who is prepared to make the jump to professional soccer. Already dubbed as “The Next Peter Schaale”, Jan is ready to follow in the footsteps of Schaale and make an instant impact for his CanPL side.

Overall Grade: A

Round #2 Pick #12 Thomas Gardner (UBC)

UBC 1 – 0 Mt. Royal (HT: 1-0)

Thomas Gardner hits a beautiful freekick in the first half to extend the win streak to 6! #GoBirdsGo #UBC #TummEst pic.twitter.com/zcQPD0z2jD — UBC Men's Soccer (@ubcmsoc) September 22, 2018

Fans of Pacific FC will recognize the name Thomas Gardner from the inaugural CanPL U-Sports Draft last November where he was chosen by PFC in the first round with the 6th overall selection. The 21-year-old Vancouver native was expected to be re-drafted by Pacific FC after a knee injury last pre-season ruled Gardner out for three months and essentially cost him his roster spot in the CanPL.

Determined to make a comeback in the CanPL, the former U-Sports Rookie of the Year returned to the UBC Thunderbirds; starting 18 matches. In those 18 matches, “Tommy” Gardner scored 5 times and assisted 4 goals in 1610 minutes of play. These consistent performances were enough for Pacific FC to bring him back after his injury. No stranger to followers of B.C. soccer, Gardner has had prior playing experience with Vancouver Whitecaps 2 and TSS FC Rovers. Internationally, he has represented Canada on a U16 and U15 level.

The 5’9″ central midfielder can also be deployed as a central attacking midfielder or right-wing. Gardner is known for his confident passing, pace, attacking threat and free-kick ability. Look for Gardner to also make the Pacific FC opening day squad. In the inaugural CanPL season, Gardner was practically a guaranteed lock for making club until his injury. Though PFC has only lost one midfielder this summer with David Norman Jr heading back to Inter Miami FC, having depth is never a bad problem to have. We all remember the Spring Season injury crisis that struck the club last season and having multi-position players like Gardner is a key asset for any CanPL club.

Personally, I was very excited to see Thomas Gardner re-drafted by Pacific FC as I feel he deserves a second chance at the club. The thought of a midfield three with Thomas Gardner, Noah Verhoeven, and Alessandro Hojabrpour is enough to excite any Pacific FC fan.

Overall Grade: A-

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Maxwell Mowbray Maxwell is a University of Guelph alumni who started watching football in his first year of university. Though his undergrad was in music, sports journalism has always been one of his interests. Max decided to support Pacific FC due to family past on the west coast, leading him to create his Twitter page, @PFCOntario. Though he is 3300 km away from Westhills Stadium, Maxwell is a dedicated PFC fan and member of the Lake Side Buoys. You can often find Maxwell scouring through the lower leagues of Football Manager games.

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