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None of the other young Canadians is on quite the same trajectory as Davies — comparing them really isn’t fair — but the club has been happily puffing out its chest about having a young crop of Canadians in the mix again.

A few years ago, the Caps were in a similar situation with the likes of Kianz Froese, Ben McKendry, Sam Adekugbe and Marco Bustos. All four showed flashes of promise, but never broke through into regular starting contention, for a variety of reasons. Some were about straight up quality, others had to do with a simple ability to keep the foot on the gas, day in, day out.

Much of the success of Davies is about his pure talent: Canadian soccer hasn’t seen a player quite like him before. But there’s also that get-it-done factor; there doesn’t appear to be any inklings of premature satisfaction on his part. No doubt the team is hoping the other youngsters see that in him and look to mimic it.

Photo by Bob Frid / Whtiecaps FC

Baldisimo has played 88 times for the Whitecaps’ U16 and U18 (which was carried forward into a U19 team) squad. He scored 13 times for the youth teams. He also made appearances for WFC2, the Whitecaps’ defunct reserve team that played in USL action until last year at Thunderbird Stadium.

Mostly a midfielder, he can also play right back. Born and raised in Burnaby, he’s 5’6″ and turned 18 in April. He’s played for Canada U17 and in May for Canada U21 at the recent Toulon Espoirs tournament in France.In contrast to the diminutive Baldisimo, his teammate Bair is a big unit: he’s 6’4″.

Playing alongside Baldisimo in the Caps’ U16 and U18 youth teams, Bair scored 60 goals in 98 appearances. He scored six times the recent academy playoffs, which saw the Caps group make the semifinals.

Bair, an Ottawa native who turns 19 in August, also appeared for Canada U21 at the Espoirs tournament, scoring once in four appearances.

Baldisimo has been in the Whitecaps’ system since he was 11, while Bair was recruited into the academy program in 2015.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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