Gabriel Balbinotti also joins Ottawa and the Impact will keep his MLS rights

MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact announced on Wednesday that striker Michael Salazar and defender Thomas Meilleur-Giguère have been loaned to Ottawa Fury FC, the Impact’s affiliated club in the USL, for the 2018 season.

Salazar, 25, has recorded five goals and three assists in 34 regular season games, including 15 starts, with the Impact in 2016 and 2017. He also scored two goals in four starts last season with Ottawa in the USL. He was selected in the second round by the Impact, 24th overall, at the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.

Meilleur-Giguère, 20, played with Fury FC in 2017, appearing in four regular season games. He then signed a contract with the Impact as an MLS Homegrown Player on November 13. He joined the Impact Academy in 2013 and played with the Impact U16 and U18, before spending one season with FC Montreal in the USL, in 2016, with which he started 21 games, playing 1,866 minutes, as well as scoring two goals.

Per the Right of Recall incorporated in the loan agreement, the players can return to the Impact at any time.

Striker Gabriel Balbinotti, 19, formed at the Montreal Impact Academy, also signed a contract with Ottawa Fury FC. Montreal will keep his MLS rights.

Transaction: The Montreal Impact (MLS) loaned Michael Salazar and Thomas Meilleur-Giguère to Ottawa Fury FC (USL) for the 2018 season.