The Canadian Premier League unveiled this year’s top performers for the 2022 regular season at an in-person end-of-year awards ceremony at TD Place Friday evening, a ceremony that saw Atlético Ottawa honoured with three of the six league awards. Ollie Bassett was named Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year, the only winner to walk away with a pair of awards on the night, while Head Coach Carlos Gonzalez earned the title of Coach of the Year for leading the club to a regular season title in his first season at the helm.
Bassett, 24, had a breakout season with Atlético Ottawa after making the move from Pacific FC in the off-season. He was a driving force in Ottawa’s midfield as the team went from the bottom of the table in 2021 to regular-season champion in 2022. Bassett led Ottawa with eight goals and was named to the CPL’s Gatorade Team of the Week a league-high 11 times. He earned a Player of the Month nod in May. An early fan-favourite, Bassett was also selected 2022 Player of the Year by the club’s Capital City Supporters Group and Bytown Boys.
González, 36, led Atlético Ottawa to a regular-season title in his first year as the club’s head coach. González, who was familiar to Ottawa CEO Fernando López from his time coaching with Atlético’s sister club Atlético de Madrid, took the club from the bottom of the table in 2021 to the top in 2022 by instilling his team with defensive organization and the ability to convert on the counterattack. Atlético lost just five regular season matches in 2022 under González.
Also honoured Friday night were Cavalry FC’s Marco Carducci, who was awarded the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper, Valour FC’s Sean Rea who was named Best Canadian Under-21 Player and Forge FC’s Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson who was named Defender of the Year. Former Pacific FC striker Alejandro Diaz, who was transferred to Norway’s Sogndal Football in August, was also honoured for taking home the Golden Boot award as the league’s top scorer during the 2022 regular season.
“I would like to congratulate all of the winners from tonight’s award ceremony,” said CPL Commissioner Mark Noonan. “Maintaining a high level of performance consistently over 28 games is no small feat, so it is important to recognize top performers for their achievements. The talented group of players and coaches who finished as nominees and finalists for these awards is more proof of the high calibre of play within our league.”
Voting for all six of the CPL’s annual awards was based on performances during the regular season, not including Canadian Championship, Concacaf, or playoff action. Player of the Year, Defender of the Year, Best Canadian Under-21 Player, and Golden Glove winners were decided by select members of the media, who voted from three-player lists of nominees selected by the league office.
Coach of the Year was decided for the first time by his peers. The award was voted on by the head coaches of each team and one assistant coach per club. Coaches could not vote for themselves, and assistant coaches could not vote for their club’s head coach.
The inaugural Players’ Player of the Year award is the first in league history to be voted on by CPL players, who were tasked with selecting the peer they believe put in the best performance on the field during the 2022 regular season. Each player was asked to provide a three-man shortlist to determine the winner. Players could not vote for themselves or include a teammate on their ballot.
The winners of each award received a unique piece of soapstone carved by artists from Kinngait (Cape Dorset) and Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), Nunavut. Learn more about each carving here.
History is set to be made in Ottawa this weekend as Atlético Ottawa host the 2022 Canadian Premier League Final against Forge FC at TD Place at 6 PM. Completing their ‘worst to first’ journey, Head Coach Carlos González’s side is undefeated in 11 games but remains the underdog in this final. To lift the North Star Shield they must beat a team that, under the tutelage of Head Coach Bobby Smyrniotis, is heading to its fourth consecutive CPL Final match. Tickets for the championship match are available at atleticoottawa.club or on ticketmaster.ca.
