Cavalry FC announced the signing of 19-year-old Canadian forward Malyk Hamilton Wednesday, as the Calgary club continues to build its squad for the inaugural season of the Canadian Premier League (CPL), Canada’s new professional soccer league.

“The CPL was built for players like Malyk, Canadians who have talent and a hunger to play professionally…” – Tommy Wheeldon Jr., Cavalry FC head coach

Calgary-born Hamilton spent his childhood playing for Calgary minor league clubs South West United and Calgary Foothills. He moved to England to join West Ham United Academy when he was 13-years-old.

Hamilton spent 8 years in London before returning to Canada in 2018 to sign with Toronto FC II, Toronto FC’s reserve team. He has represented Canada at youth levels.

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Hamilton is the first signing by Cavalry FC to meet the U21 domestic player requirement demanded by the CPL. Each CPL club is to have a maximum of 23 players on the roster, with a minimum of 3 players being under the age of 21-years-old. The clubs’ U21 players are required to play a minimum of 1,000 minutes combined throughout the season. The rule’s purpose is to ensure the continued development of young Canadian players.

Creative player with no fear

Cavalry FC’s head coach is proud to see a local boy getting the opportunity to earn professional playing minutes with his club.

“The CPL was built for players like Malyk, Canadians who have talent and a hunger to play professionally but just need the right platform to express themselves on,” said Tommy Wheeldon Jr. Cavalry FC head coach, via a club statement Wednesday. “Supporters will be impressed with his exciting speed, creativity and no fear approach to the game – especially as he is one of their own local players returning home to play for the City. What’s even more exciting is that he has so much potential to be an incredible player if he continues to put the work in.”

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And Hamilton, who has already started pre-season training with Cavalry FC, said he’s happy to be home and is ready for the season to start.

“It’s been full of ups and downs,” said Hamilton of his career so far. “However, I’m delighted to be home to not just live but to play my trade for my hometown. This is the place that I began learning to play the beautiful game and It’s an honour to come back to represent my hometown in the inaugural season for Cavalry FC.”

– files from Cavalry FC

The Canadian Premier League is a new professional soccer league set to kick off in April 2019. Calgary’s club is Cavalry FC and will play its home games at Spruce Meadows.