The Canadian Premier League (CPL) held its draft Jan. 29. Of the 16 picks, three Carleton Ravens were selected.
Headlining this class was fourth-year defender Cristopher Malekos, who was selected second overall by Atlético Ottawa, the city’s professional soccer club. Malekos is the first draft pick in the team’s young history.
Malekos described being drafted by Ottawa as an honour, and said he was excited to get the call from Atlético manager Mista.
“When I got my name called, it was screaming, it was a lot of excitement. I had to replay what Mista was saying about me because I couldn’t even hear what he was saying,” Malekos said.
Fourth-year Ravens forward Stefan Karajovanovic was also selected in the first round, seventh overall by the Halifax Wanderers. Karajovanovic was selected by York United in the 2020 draft, but returned to Carleton because he felt he wasn’t given enough opportunity to play.
Karajovanovic said he felt lucky to be drafted again and is looking forward to the opportunity.
“It’s a true blessing and I feel like it was God’s plan,” he said. “You know, after getting taken by York the year before that and not getting my chance I think I deserved, it is a true blessing.”
The third Raven selected in the draft had to wait somewhat longer to hear his name called. Third-year defender Tony Mikhael was selected 14th overall by Valour FC, based in Winnipeg.
Mikhael said the tension mounted with every pick that passed without hearing his name called, and he was relieved when he finally heard his name.
“I’m so proud to be representing my team,” Mikhael said. “Because I was the 14th pick, you know after every single pick it was like, ‘Oh man there’s less and less chance of me getting selected,’ so it built up a lot of hype around it.”
“Thankfully, that moment when they announced my name, I was in a bit of disbelief. I was speechless,” he added.
Being selected in the draft is only the first step for the three players on their way to becoming full-time pro soccer players. As Karajovanovic experienced last year with York, a player can be drafted and not receive a pro contract, or not receive enough playing time and decide to return to school.
This year, the CPL implemented a new caveat in the process. While the details aren’t entirely public, players can now play for their CPL club in the summer and return to U Sports in the fall.
However, the team that drafted them would retain the rights to the player. Previously, the player would have to re-enter the draft again if they returned to school.
Mikhael is a player who might benefit from this new rule given his age. “For someone like me, [Valour] knows I’m a bit younger, I have a lot of room to develop,” he said.
Despite the new regulations, the three of them aren’t letting their age stop them from trying to make a name for themselves.
Karajovanovic said the three of them have spoken since the draft and each of them are training hard to earn a spot for themselves out of training camp.
“We’re super ecstatic and it’s an amazing thing, right, but at the end of the day it’s an invite to the camp. We still have to go and show ourselves,” Karajovanovic said. “So ever since we heard our names, we said, ‘OK, Monday, new month, new week—we start the process on Monday.’”’
Malekos said being drafted has given him a boost in his motivation to work extra hard in preparation for training camp. An injury last season also pushed him to work even harder in preparation for the draft.
“Since last year when I couldn’t play at nationals, I’ve been working my ass off,” Malekos said. “That gave me the motivation when I was watching my team play without me—it was a little saddening. So, for the last year I’ve been working my ass off for this moment.”
Although the professional future of these players remains to be seen, they are all hoping to leave a lasting impact on the Ravens soccer program.
“If I do sign a professional contract with Valour, before I do that, this will be my last season at Carleton in terms of playing, so I want to finish the job in terms of getting a ring with the team and winning nationals,” Mikhael said.
“What I do with Valour, I want it to be kind of a gateway [for] future generations at Carleton, that they know if they just work hard and do the right things in the league and stay consistent, that there’s an opportunity for them as well,” he added.
The CPL will open training camps in the spring, where Malekos, Karajovanovic and Mikhael will try to earn a spot with their teams. As far as Carleton, the Ravens will be hosting the men’s soccer championships this fall where they will look to take care of unfinished business.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
