Atlético Ottawa selected Portuguese defender José Cunha from Cape Breton University (first overall) and Parisian forward Julien Bruce from the University of Montréal (second round) in Thursday’s 2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft. 

A community studies student at Cape Breton University, Cunha is a left-footed centre-back that, after being drafted ninth overall in the 2020 CPL-U SPORTS Draft by Forge FC, returned to school and started all 12 regular-season games for the Capers, offering performances that earned him the Atlantic University Sport 2021 Rookie of the Year award. Born in Cascais, Portugal, Cunha honed his craft with the Sporting CP academy before crossing the ocean to attend university and join the 2021 AUS Champions Capers.

“José is a player that will provide a lot of flexibility for us. What stood out to us was his ability with the ball, commented Fernado López, CEO of Atlético Ottawa. “We’re excited to get the preseason started and welcome him to Ottawa.”

For its second pick (ninth overall), Ottawa selected a forward from the 2021 U SPORTS National Champions University of Montréal Carabins, Julien Bruce. The 22-year-old athletic winger scored in extra time of the national final, helping his squad secure the win in penalties. The Paris, France native is a natural attacker that has completed two years in his communication sciences degree.

The two draft picks will be invited to Atlético Ottawa’s pre-season training with the hopes of securing a 2022 U SPORTS Development Contract for the upcoming season, which would allow them as student-athletes with one to four years of U SPORTS eligibility remaining to sign with a CPL club while preserving their eligibility before returning to U SPORTS competition.

Since 2018, the Canadian Premier League has held a draft for eligible U SPORTS men’s soccer players who have registered and declared themselves available to be selected through the League’s annual draft, with 165 athletes declaring for this year’s draft.