Goalkeepers (Rayane Yesli / Aiden Rushenas)
Farewell then, Yann Fillion. Au revoir to you and yours. May the road rise up to meet you and may the light of your local Walmart remain forever aglow.
Just promise me this: the next time you find yourself loping down the Walmart cereal aisle, think of me. As you paw the last box of Raisin Bran into your cart, think of me. Those footprints in the sand you saw during times of strife? That wasn’t God, lad. That was me. So goodbye Yann, and good luck. I hear Malta is lovely at this time of year.
But as one door closes, another opens…
And in walks Rayane Yesli.
First things first: he’s massive. Like, eyeball-to-eyeball with a soaring magpie massive. He’s all Inspector Gadget arms and wiry ostrich legs; a Quebecois Slender Man with tremendous hand-eye coordination.
I was fortunate enough to attend a recent training session, and his height –6’7! – jumps out at you. That, and his presence. I’ve often measured a goalkeeper’s ability by how they make me feel. It’s a position I don’t understand too well, so I rely on vibes when judging the person between the sticks, and the vibe I got from watching Rayane Yesli this week was comfort.
He dominates his box. He claims crosses. He is vocal and demanding. Best of all, he’s still young. For a goalkeeper, 25 years-old is young, with their peak years tending to come between 30 and 35.
I imagine he sees Halifax Wanderers as the next step in his career development. After two years with Valour and one with Atletico Ottawa, it’s vital he continues progressing and avoids stagnation. A successful year or two on the East Coast should set him on his way.
Understudy to Rayane Yesli will be Dalhousie alumnus Aiden Rushenas. After waiting a season and a half for his first start, Rushenas played 30% of Halifax’s final twelve matches. With a less experienced goalkeeper ahead of him this year, expect Rushenas to turn his attention away from being a capable back-up, and towards being a hopeful usurper.
Defennders (Nassim Mekidèche / Thomas Meilleur-Giguère / Jefferson Alphonse / Kareem Sow / Julian Dunn / Wesley Timoteo / Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé / Adam Pearlman*)
Here’s a statistic for you:
Last year, in the seven games between August 5 and September 7, Halifax Wanderers conceded fourteen goals.
Here’s another one:
In the seven games that followed, Halifax Wanderers conceded seven goals.
From an average of two goals conceded per game to an average of one – how do you explain such a reduction?
As subscribers to Occam’s Razor will certify, the simplest answer tends to be the correct one. And in this case, the simplest answer is Nassim Mekidèche (CB).
The 24-year-old arrived in Halifax to minimal fanfare - hardly surprising given the malaise around the team at the time. But looking back now, it’s clear what a fantastic signing he was. Mekidèche combines smoothness with strength, gracefulness with combativeness, and a sweeping left foot with a bullet header. The poise and calm he brought to the team dramatically reduced the number of goals Halifax Wanderers conceded.
But despite this, the goals against column come October wasn’t pretty: 28 games played, and a league-high 43 goals conceded.
Forty – three – goals – conceded.
It’s a number that led to much off-season contemplation among the club’s leadership, and one, among others - see Down the Pub’s interview with Derek Martin for the full story – that persuaded Halifax to move away from the attacking Dan Nimick and towards the defence-first Thomas Meilleur-Giguère (CB).
I had coffee with Thomas Meilleur-Giguère recently. We’re not mates or anything, or at least I’m not his mate (who cares that I’ve already had us friendship bracelets made - as my cat will attest, I’m no stranger to unreciprocated affection). He is, however, part of a project I’ll be working on this season, and one thing was clear throughout our time together: this is a serious, focused, and highly competitive footballer.
“It’s impossible” he told me at one point, between mouthfuls of something frothy, “that we lose at Wanderers Ground this season. Impossible!”
Maybe he’s right, maybe he’s wrong. But either way, you’ve got to admire the ambition.
After five seasons in the CPL with Pacific FC and four in the USL with CF Montréal and Ottawa Fury, Meilleur-Giguère remains one of the finest centre-backs in the league. His education in the CF Montréal youth system guarantees a level of technical competence, and it’s that, mixed with a genuine love for the uglier, scrappier parts of defending, that makes this signing so exciting.
While Cale Loughrey and Dan Nimick dovetailed nicely as an offensively minded centre-back partnership, Nassim Mekidèche and Thomas Meilleur-Giguère will bring a defence-first, thou-shall-not-pass miserliness to the table.
Perhaps losing at Wanderers Grounds this season isn’t “impossible”, but with this pairing at the back, conceding 43 goals again likely is.
Deputising at centre-back will be Jefferson Alphonse (CB/RB), Kareem Sow (CB/LB), and - should he get healthy - Julian Dunn (CB).
Alphonse was a mid-season signing for Halifax, and a player I warmed to very quickly. A quality Wanderers lacked in 2024 was the ability to carry the ball through the lines. There were plenty of players on the team who could punch a pass through, and even some long-ball specialists like Dan Nimick who could break lines with long diagonals, but the club lacked a player who could break through the press with the ball at their feet. From the moment Jefferson Alphonse came into the team, it was obvious he could do that.
An interesting point on Alphonse is the potential for him to earn minutes at right-back. As of now, a specialist senior right-back isn’t in the squad – though I’ve heard the club is working on an MLS loan to address this*. In the meantime, Alphonse seems the most likely candidate to step up.
While the 21-year-old is a centre-back by trade, a feature of Patrice Gheisar’s system is, during attacking phases, to have one full-back act as an auxiliary winger, and the other as a stay-home defender who tucks in to form a back three. Alphonse is a good candidate for the latter of those roles.
Next up, Kareem Sow.
Sow has been part of the Halifax Wanderers set-up since 2021. Injuries curtailed much of last season, but he’s a player – and person – who is highly thought of inside the club. He’s also a left footer, something we know Patrice Gheisar values in his stable of defenders.
Speaking of injuries, it's easy to forget that Julian Dunn is still attached to the club. After a positive start to life in Halifax, the 24-year-old suffered a season-ending injury in June. Should he recover, expect him to be reintegrated into the squad.
The evolution of Wesley Timoteo (LB/LCB/LW/RW) from an attacking end-product monster to a defensively astute left-back has been commendable. While 2023 saw Timoteo learning the defensive requirements of being a left-back, 2024 saw him reintroduce his attacking qualities and begin to layer them on top of his defensive strength.
The combination and balance of these attributes are what make a complete, well-rounded full-back. Despite playing a multitude of positions since turning pro, it would be wise for Timoteo to fully lean into being a full-back and base his career path on this position. The global game is full of the type of attacking midfielder he was, but genuinely two-way left-backs tend to be a rarer commodity in the game.
Completing the full-back options is Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (CM/LB).
Although Gagnon-Laparé primarily considers himself a midfielder, he remains a solid "break-in-case-of-emergency" option should Timoteo or Sow pick up injuries.
*Adam Pearlman (RB/CB) arrived on loan from TFC after the original publication of this piece. The 19-year-old is a centre-back who profiles very nicely as a right-back, the spot in which he'll likely get minutes in Halifax. With MLS minutes already under his belt, 2025 is a big developmental season for Pearlman. Watch this space.
Midfielders (Lorenzo Callegari / Isaiah Johnston / Andre Rampersad / Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé / Sean Rea / Giorgo Probo / Vitor Dias / Alessandro Biello)
Oh, the lies we tell ourselves to heal a broken heart.
A confession: I spent much of the 2025 off-season finding ways to fall out of love with Lorenzo Callegari (CM).
You know what, I’d quietly mumble to myself, he’s not very fast, is he? And he's never even scored a goal!
I agree, I’d reply, and when was the last time he won a header?
And so on. Until that fateful day in late January when Josh Healey of the Wanderers Notebook dropped the most welcome of bombshells: Lorenzo Callegari was returning.
The importance of this re-signing can't be overstated. Lorenzo is the team’s beating heart. He’s the conduit through which the game flows. Removing him from the Halifax Wanderers XI is akin to removing a limb, and while I trust the club’s ability to find an external solution to his departure, his return remains the best-case scenario.
As the league’s best deep-lying midfielder, Lorenzo Callegari is Halifax’s gravitational center. He shuffles around the pitch prodding, probing, and finding gaps to play through. A non-negotiable for a Patrice Gheisar #6 is the capacity to play progressive passes into the feet of his attackers. There isn’t a finer player in the league at doing this than the Frenchman.
No player is perfect, though. Lorenzo’s limitations lie in his physicality and in his ability to cover large spaces. A complementary athletic profile to partner him has been required since the departure of Mo Omar in 2023, and there is hope that in the signing of Isaiah Johnston (CM), Halifax has found the answer.
After an impressive three years in the CPL, Isaiah Johnston spent two seasons between Huntsville City in MLS Next Pro and Loudoun United in the USL Championship. It was during Johnston’s time with Loudoun United that Halifax was approached by former CPL Director of Football Oliver Gage, now in the same role at the Virginia-based club, regarding the availability of the player.
Halifax was keen. Johnston’s profile as an all-action, box-to-box player met a number of roster requirements. The spine of the team last season looked leggy and ponderous on occasion - technical, yes, but slow and easy to run through.
Isaiah Johnston’s ability to affect both boxes, his mobility to dominate central areas, and his physicality to cover ground suggest he’s going to be the Swiss Army Knife of midfield solutions.
Competing for those two central midfield spots will be Andre Rampersad (CM) and Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (CM/LB).
It’s slightly jarring to think of these players as the team’s veterans. Andre Rampersad is still remembered by many of us as that fresh-faced, slightly startled looking young man who, in February 2019, landed in a city recovering from a recent a snowstorm.
His evolution from wide-eyed new arrival to club captain, and eventually to Mr. Halifax has been extremely gratifying. As he enters the autumn of his career—now with deep familial ties to the city—the Trinidadian’s fourth incarnation will likely begin. First and foremost, he remains an important member of the squad, but secondly – and most importantly – he’s the human being who best exemplifies the culture and ethos of this football club.
One player still at the start of his Halifax Wanderers career is Sean Rea (AM).
Much was made of the 22-year-old’s signing in July, and rightfully so. After two seasons in CPL – one of which earned him the U21 Player of the Season – and 18 appearances for CF Montreal in MLS, Rea was the most sought after free-agent on the market.
While there were considerable highs during his first half-season in Halifax, his overall output didn’t quite reach the levels he’s capable of. Some of this can be put down to his positional use: he frequently featured as a right-winger tasked with drifting inside, a slightly different assignment from his preferred position as central #10 or an inverted left-winger. Another factor was the bottleneck of players striving for an attacking midfield spot on the team. With Daniels and Ferrin gone, an obvious hole has opened for Rea to make his own.
I must say, he's a player I like. He’s a dynamic, snake-hipped footballer. He likes to ghost into central spaces, receive passes on the half-turn, and create moments.
A key objective for the coaching staff this off-season will be to rebuild the player’s confidence. Sit him down, look him in the eye, and say: Sean, this is your team now. You are our most important attacker. If Lorenzo is our deep progessor, you are our advanced creator. This team’s ceiling is your ceiling. Show us who you are.
Rounding out the attacking midfielders are Giorgo Probo (CM/AM) and Vitor Dias (AM/RW), two players who sparked without fully setting alight in 2024.
Giorgo Probo is an intriguing footballer. When he joined the club, I thought he profiled nicely as a #6, and I still get the sense he could operate well in a deeper role if he reduced the number of touches he takes before moving the ball on. However, his minutes last season primarily came higher up the pitch.
There’s an intelligence to his game. A slyness to him. You can tell he reads play well by the types of space he finds himself in and in the actions he attempts. He played several passes last season which no one else in the stadium could see were on. Some of what he does is, quite simply, magic. The trick now is producing magic that is repeatable, rather than occasional.
Vitor Dias’ 2024 was one of several lows and a final, redemptive high. After struggling with injuries and being used only sporadically, the Brazilian’s moment came in the final seconds of October’s home match versus Vancouver. His last-minute equaliser that afternoon was beautifully took - a half-volley drilled through a crowd of players into the corner of the net.
The explosion of joy after the goal was a reminder that this sport isn’t just about trophies or championships. Moments such as these can exist in isolation. A burst of consequence-free euphoria in the midst of a disappointing season can make it all worth it.
For Vitor Dias to progress this season, he’ll need more moments like this. With his ability to play as either a left-footer who inverts from the right or as a dedicated #10, he offers multiple solutions to multiple problems. Staying healthy and maintaining fitness throughout the season will decide his future trajectory, one way or another.
*Alessandro Biello (CM) is another player who arrived after the publication of this piece. A loan signing from CF Montreal, Biello can play as a holding midfielder (Callegari depth) or in a more advanced central role. He's a tidy, metronomic player, with scope for improvement in the risks he takes on the ball.
Attackers (Tiago Coimbra / Ryan Telfer / Yohan Baï / Jason Bahamboula / Camilo Vasconcelos / Tavio Ciccarelli / Joven Mann)
After a decade of being Barca-pilled, elite level soccer is drifting back towards familiar ground. Pint-sized False 9s are out; The Big Man Up Top is back.
Teams still pass out from the back, of course. It’s rare a coach will exit a UEFA A course without muttering the words “so yeah, my philosophy is basically to pass out from the back and play through the thirds” at some point. But the game evolves, devolves, adapts, and shapeshifts. And now we find ourselves in the era of Pep Ball 5.0: The Revenge of the 9.
Given Halifax Wanderers’ investment in Tiago Coimbra (ST), this is something the club’s coaching staff have clearly been paying attention to.
It’s been an interesting two years for the Brazilian. His underlying data is excellent, and his minutes-per-goal numbers are fantastic. In fact, if you were to measure his attacking output by ‘minutes played’ rather than across a whole season, you’d find yourself looking at one of the leading strikers in the league.
The concern for Tiago Coimbra is that while these numbers reflect positively on his qualities, they raise concerns about his durability. Or, to put it more bluntly: Tiago Coimbra needs to stay fit.
Should he do so, anything is possible.
The 21-year-old has all the tools: he can play back to goal, he can score with his feet and head, he can occupy defenders with his physicality, and he can operate as a focal point or a facilitator. He’s about as well-rounded a striker as you’ll find at this level. The next crucial step for Tiago is consistency in both performance and availability.
Sharing the striker role this season will be Ryan Telfer (ST/RW/LW). While he was much maligned as an opponent and cooly received as a new signing, the Trinidadian has turned the tide of opinion his way in Halifax.
I’ve often wondered how the non-soccer fans in attendance at Wanderers Grounds identify the players they like. My theory is they focus on footballers who most resemble athletes in the sports they follow, such as hockey or American football. The non-negotiables in these sports are things such as “heart” and “guts”, and players who exemplify such qualities earn cult status.
Peter Schaale was a good example of this in the early years of the club. While Schaale lacked a high technical level, he was physically imposing and full of fight. As a result, the supporters loved him. I see Ryan Telfer carving out a similar niche amongst Halifax Wanderers supporters.
That’s not diminish him as a footballer, mind you. Telfer was excellent in 2024, and many peoples pick for Player of the Season. While I wouldn’t go that far (it was Lorenzo Callegari for me, and likely will be for as long as he’s around), but I’d certainly place him in the top three.
A side note on Ryan Telfer: I was fortunate enough to observe a recent team meeting and was intrigued to see him organise a player-only gathering before that day’s session started. He wanted to address the group and to set the standards for the season. Positioning himself as a dressing room leader is, to my knowledge at least, a new development in this player.
Tasked with providing service to the Halifax Wanderers strikers this season are newly acquired French duo, Yohan Baï and Jason Bahamboula.
Yohan Baï (RW/LW) arrives in Halifax by way of Bulgarian top-flight club Lokomotiv Plovdiv, for whom he made five appearances after a mid-year move from Ligue 2’s SC Bastia. In terms of pedigree, he’s perhaps the most well-established of the Wanderers off-season arrivals.
It’s always interesting to trace the journey of this sort of player. Much like Lorenzo Callegari, the temptation is to ask why – or, perhaps more pertinently, how? How does a player who recently scored a winning goal versus French powerhouse Olympique de Marseille end up in Nova Scotia?
A cursory glance at his club history suggests a case of career drift. We should remember that for many players a consequence of reaching their professional ceiling is spending a lot of time as a substitute. For example, a fantastic player in the English Championship will likely be a substitute if they jump up to the Premier League.
While it looks like this was the case with Baï’s Ligue 2 career, do not sleep on him. This is a player who, given his reputation in France, Lorenzo Callegari was shocked to find out we’d be signing.
Speaking to a few people around the club about Baï after he was announced, the main feedback focused on his speed. Over short distances, the Frenchman is rapid.
When analysing Halifax’s performances in 2024, the lack of pace and dynamism in attacking areas of the pitch stands out. Too often it was easy for oppositions to squeeze play into the centre of the pitch, aware that Halifax didn’t have the pace to play over the top of their defence. It’s unlikely there was a more perfect antidote to this problem on the market than Yohan Baï.
Lining up on the opposite flank to Baï in the coming season will be Jason Bahamboula (LW/RW)
At five years younger than Baï, Jason Bahamboula is more of a long-term investment than his fellow Frenchman. The raw attributes are there: skill, pace, and directness. Given the scarcity of footage, the breadth of Bahamboula remains unknown: For example, what’s he like off the ball? How will he adapt to Gheisar’s desire to aggressively press? How does he combine with his full-back and #10?
For me, this is the most exciting part of a new signing. The gradual peeling of the onion to see exactly what it is that we have.
One thing a YouTube highlight reel does show is how a player moves, and Bahamboula moves with lightness, grace, and a lithe-hipped sprightliness. This type of athletic profile works best on the exterior of the pitch, where he'll look to attack from either wing at pace, by either driving down the outside to create crossing opportunities or by moving inside to score goals.
Between Baï and Bahamboula, Halifax has nudged its forward play in an interesting new direction. If you don’t evolve in attack, you get found out, and by sacrificing its surplus of small-space #10s and replacing them with speedy wingers, a key component of Halifax Wanderers’ off-season recruitment objective becomes clear: we need more athletes.
And finally, to the attacking back-up.
Camilo Vasconcelos (LW/RW), Joven Mann (AM/ST) and Tavio Ciccarelli (LW/RW/ST) will likely be used to take minutes out of the legs of the more established forwards this year.
Camilo Vasconcelos has a lot of supporters internally at the club. According to people I’ve spoken to, some of what he does in training is incredible. His speed, his positivity on the ball, and his energy are traits which suggest he could become something of a supersub this season. The key now is to help him unlock these qualities in a breakneck, high-stakes CPL game.
With Vasconcelos only 19, Tavio Ciccarelli 18, and U-SPORTS' Joven Mann 20 , Halifax has three players whose careers are still a blank canvas waiting to be drawn on. May their first significant brush strokes arrive this season, with Halifax Wanderers Football Club as the primary benefactor.
Gary is an Arsenal supporting, Halifax-based Brit who moved to Canada in 2016 unaware that he was about to fall in love with another football team. He can be found on on Blue Sky at @fromawayshfx.bsky.social and Twitter at @FromAwaysHFX. He also guests on the Down the Pub - a CPL/Halifax Wanderers-focused podcast - alongside Anthony Abbott.
Well-written as usual.