To begin the most important year in Canadian men's national team history, all indications are that the team could be hosting a January camp for domestic-based players. This might potentially include a friendly or two against other national teams with domestic leagues currently out of season.
Primarily, of course, the goal of this camp shouldn't be about expanding the talent pool. It is an opportunity to get key North America-based national team fixtures like Richie Laryea, Ali Ahmed, Joel Waterman, Dayne St. Clair, Max Crépeau and Jonathan Osorio more time together to prepare for the 2026 World Cup.
But with the team's European-based talents unavailable, it is important that the camp be filled out with players who will bring intensity and quality to both training sessions and potential friendlies. There are several Canadian Premier League players who would be an outstanding fit for such a camp.
Here are six CPL players who deserve consideration from Canadian men's national team coach Jesse Marsch during a potential January camp:
Noah Abatneh (Atlético Ottawa)
At just 21, Abatneh was nominated for the Canadian Premier League's Defender of the Year award, as well as Best Canadian U-21 Player of the Year. When Amer Didić suffered an ultimately season-ending injury early in the 2025 campaign, Abatneh became the focal point of Atleti's incredibly young backline.
Abatneh's on-ball ability and composure are well above his years. Only Forge's Dan Nimick had more progressive carries this season than Abatneh's 257, and he completed a stunning 95.6 per cent of his passes this season, a league-leading 1,855 of which were successful.
He is also a former Canadian youth international, having played at the U-20 level back in 2022 and spent multiple seasons with the Roma and Lazio academies in Italy.
Thierno Bah (Vancouver FC)
A breakout season for the 21-year-old earned him a nomination for the league's Best Canadian U-21 Player of the Year award. Versatile and capable of playing on either flank as a full-back, winger or wingback, and even leading the line at times under Martin Nash, Bah was at his best when he played an attacking role later in the campaign.
He has shown a penchant for raising his game on the big stage, scoring a brilliantly-taken goal and adding an assist in the 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship final against the Vancouver Whitecaps. He finished the year with three goals and nine assists in all competitions.
Bah is also one of the best pressers of the ball in the Canadian Premier League, winning possession in the final third 16 times this season, tied for fifth most in the league. His relentless energy and ability to create dangerous attacking moments, finishing the year sixth in dribbles completed (34), and created 25 chances.
Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers)
The reigning Best Canadian U-21 Player of the Year in the CPL, 21-year-old Tiago Coimbra is the kind of player that Jesse Marsch would love to have leading his line.
A relentless and aggressive striker, Coimbra is consistently putting the opposing backline and goalkeeper under pressure, an attribute that makes him a strong fit within the type of football that Marsch loves to play. He also holds up the ball brilliantly, and is outstanding in the air, allowing his team to play direct and decisive football.
Coimbra is a prolific goalscorer as well, scoring 0.87 goals per 90 between the regular season and playoffs. He finished the CPL campaign with 13 goals and three assists in all competitions. With Jacen Russell-Rowe the only domestic striker called up in recent years, it's a position where Marsch can afford to experiment a little bit during this camp.
Dan Nimick (Forge FC)
In his first season with Forge FC, Nimick was the best defender in the Canadian Premier League on the league's regular season winners. In a season where goals were up across the CPL, Forge conceded a league-low 22, the second fewest all-time in a CPL season and set a new record for clean sheets with 13.
Nimick was class on both sides of the ball this season, leading the league in progressive carries (282) and led all outfield players in long passes completed with 197. On the defensive side of the ball, he won 71.7 per cent of his duels, and led the league in possession won in the defensive third, doing so 99 times.
Beyond Joel Waterman and Kamal Miller, there have not been many domestic central defenders called up by the national team of late. With the body of work that Nimick has put together across the past few years in the Canadian Premier League, he feels like the perfect candidate to see what he can provide at the next level.
Shola Jimoh (Inter Toronto)
Jimoh is the lone player on this list to previously receive a call to a senior national team camp. That came in November 2024 for a camp featuring North American-based players ahead of the Nations League quarters against Suriname. He was also part of Canada's preliminary roster for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
He has since gone on to represent Canada at the youth level, including at the recent U-17 World Cup, where he scored in a 2-1 loss to Chile as Canada made history by winning a match and advancing from the group stage for the first time at the tournament.
While this past campaign was a little bit of a learning curve for the 17-year-old as he adapted to playing as more of an inside forward in Mauro Eustáquio's 3-4-3, he still finished the year with four assists between the regular season and playoffs. Calling him up would be a good chance to keep one of the most promising prospects in the country in the national team picture.
Sergei Kozlovskiy (Atlético Ottawa)
Another Canadian youth international with an incredibly bright future, Sergei Kozlovskiy is fresh off an outstanding first professional season in the nation's capital.
Starting the season at just 16, the now 17-year-old central defender made 21 appearances this year for the CPL champions, including 18 starts. At one of the most demanding and unforgiving positions of the pitch for a young player, Kozlovskiy adapted tremendously well to the physicality of senior football. His on-ball abilities, including picking passes into the box and lethal strikes from distance, remain the hallmarks of his game.
He was not with the group during the playoffs, but that was because he wore the captain's armband for Canada at the U-17 World Cup, where he scored in their first-ever knockout match at the competition, a loss on penalties to the Republic of Ireland. He, alongside Shola Jimoh, was recently called up by the Canadian U-20 team as well for friendlies against Costa Rica
Honourable Mention: Sam Salter (GAIS)
While not technically a CPL player anymore, the league's Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner deserves consideration for this camp before he plays his first season in Europe with Swedish side GAIS.
With 24 goals this season in all competitions, Salter had only four fewer goals than all nine Canadian attackers who finished the season in MLS combined, in all competitions (28) — and that's only if wide attackers like Jayden Nelson, Theo Corbeanu and Jacob Shaffelburg are included. The leading scorer on that list was Columbus's Jacen Russell-Rowe with nine.
All that to say, in a camp that might be a little bit light on forward options, Salter, before he takes a big step to play in Europe for the first time, would get a big boost from a chance to test himself.
