Shaan Hundal

[Dub Narcotic]

Forward for TFC2, born in 1999 in Brampton. Not signed to a pro contract yet but has scored two weeks straight in USL games. Been in u-14, u-15 and u-17 camps for Canada.

[FC_Hali]

Looks like another good prospect coming through TFCA/ TFCII. Not your typical physically gifted #9 but he's holding his own for a 16 year-old playing against senior pros. From what I have seen he seems very technical and a good dribbler but very one footed. Hopefully Bent can help him develop his weaker foot over the coming years.

It will be interesting to see if he's part of the u20 qualifying squad, which could potentially be very deep with strikers/wingers (Zanatta, Elva, Davies, Tabla, Roberts...).

[El Hombre]

22 minutes ago, FC_Hali said:

It will be interesting to see if he's part of the u20 qualifying squad, which could potentially be very deep with strikers/wingers (Zanatta, Elva, Davies, Tabla, Roberts...).

Yeah, we haven`t had this much depth since our last squad with Larin and Hamilton up front and Bustos, Froese, Boakai and Petrasso backing them up.

[Vince193]

48 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

Yeah, we haven`t had this much depth since our last squad with Larin and Hamilton up front and Bustos, Froese, Boakai and Petrasso backing them up.

Ya I'm done talking about how great the youth is until they actually qualify for something.

[red card]

3 hours ago, Vince193 said:

Ya I'm done talking about how great the youth is until they actually qualify for something.

This reminds of what Klinsmann has just recently said about the American system and youth players. Lots of stuff but it is must reading for any Canadian player under 22.

"We have too many talents sitting on benches in every league. They are sitting on benches in Mexico, in European leagues, in MLS teams. A lot of our younger players struggle to understand that it takes a lot more work and determination and aggressiveness to really make it to become a consistent, driven professional."

"Whatever path they took the last two years, we’ve got to make it clear to them you’ve got to do more. You’ve got to live differently, got to sleep differently, feed yourself differently. You’ve got to train longer, train extra sessions. You’ve got to become physically stronger, got to be nastier in training sessions. You’ve got to become a man."

"Every coach sees the talent but then you sound like a broken record and you say talent is only even 50%"

"You have to fight your way through. [In Europe] they select the kids very early and you have to swim in the cold water very, very early. They are accountable to that. Their coaches are explaining it to them from a very early age, which is different from education. I am talking about understanding the bigger picture... Don’t be content because you get a pro contract, don’t be content because you get a scholarship for college. All these next steps are just an entrance ticket to the next level.We drive an amazing amount of young talent in all different ways and then once they turn toward the professional level, from 17 or 18 until 22 or 23, that is where we kind of lose a lot of quality kids, because they don’t find their right footing. They don’t fight their way through into the club teams. Whatever they choose, wherever they go, whatever their direction is, they find ways to accept it instead of saying I’m not accepting it."

"To play is the most important thing. We will always have that discussion of what level of a league are they playing in. ...If you look at the players that come into MLS, they are 25 or 26 years old, like when we started January camp a couple years ago with the Matt Beslers and Geoff Camerons and Graham Zusis and now Steve Birnbaum. The process compared to the process in Europe is very late. We are not talking about an 18 or 19 year old. We are talking about players that when they came in, they were already 24 or 25. And here they are still saying they are a rookie. A rookie in soccer is 18 years old."

"For a national team, the end goal is that you have difference makers. Our standards are you should be a difference maker in your club. We cannot take a player who is just a floater in his club. A striker in his club should score every second game if wants to be a national team player. An attacking midfielder should, every second game, give you one assist or exceptional pieces. And defenders need to scare away and shut down and intimidate the striker."

"How can we explain to people in U.S. that soccer is a player-driven game and the decisions are made by the player? Because once the game is rolling, you have barely any influence on it. You have you three subs, a little talk at halftime and you can scream as loud as you want on the sideline, but they can barely hear you. So our challenge is always to tell them you have to take the game into your own hands, you have to drive it."

"We definitely expected more youngsters to be stronger and breaking through and getting to the next level. Too many of the young players are stagnant at the moment or losing a year or two. That worries us. If it’s Rubio Rubin, or Julian Green still on the second team, or Emerson Hyndman. The years where we lose a lot of our future are between 18 and 22...How can we get so many young boys who are driven to take their careers in their own hands and [not] to just trust their talent?"

"Europeans don’t understand the fact that American society is driven by the educational system in the U.S. In Europe no one would ask you where you went to college. They would ask you what did you study, but they would never ever ask you whether you went to the University of Berlin or Amsterdam or Paris.

The way I grew up, I was 10 and I saw Gerd Mueller scoring the winning goal in the 1974 World Cup and I said “I want to be him.” After that game was over, I was playing for four hours non-stop. And I did that every day. My school was done at 1 p.m.and I got lunch and then quick homework and then I was out until it got dark. That gave me my skill set for later on. By 11 or 12, I had the full skill set, bicycle kicks and all that. You don’t find that here. But you still find talent."

"The athletes, the players write the story. It’s not the coaches who write the story or the agent or the parent. That has always been the message to them because soccer is so different to baseball, football and basketball. It’s not outside driven. I can have a timeout in basketball, and I can have a different play. I can tell them all the time when there is a commercial break, “OK, next strategy.” Soccer is an inner-driven sport and this is one of the of the biggest challenges for the American soccer fan and also the athletes."

"Every new cycle you have unbelievable talent and then five years later we look at these names and they are gone. Their big step into the professional world is so difficult for them. They look outside and say, “Who helps me now?” and they don’t have the maturity to say, “I am taking it into my own hands.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-q-a-with-jurgen-klinsmann-ahead-of-the-copa-america-1464907320

 

[nolando]

"For a national team, the end goal is that you have difference makers. Our standards are you should be a difference maker in your club. We cannot take a player who is just a floater in his club. A striker in his club should score every second game if wants to be a national team player. An attacking midfielder should, every second game, give you one assist or exceptional pieces. And defenders need to scare away and shut down and intimidate the striker."

Getting OT but how many do we have, I wonder? Hutch, Larin and Arfield for sure. Hoilet and Tesho and Johnson quite often fill the criteria. Anyone else?

[youllneverwalkalone]

Not enough, that's for sure.

[Floortom]

1 hour ago, nolando said:

"For a national team, the end goal is that you have difference makers. Our standards are you should be a difference maker in your club. We cannot take a player who is just a floater in his club. A striker in his club should score every second game if wants to be a national team player. An attacking midfielder should, every second game, give you one assist or exceptional pieces. And defenders need to scare away and shut down and intimidate the striker."

Getting OT but how many do we have, I wonder? Hutch, Larin and Arfield for sure. Hoilet and Tesho and Johnson quite often fill the criteria. Anyone else?

I would say you're right but I personally wouldn't include Johnson.

Its crazy that we still have guys like Ouimette and Ricketts not only being called but getting on the pitch in World Cup qualifiers 

[BCM]

7 hours ago, red card said:

This reminds of what Klinsmann has just recently said about the American system and youth players. Lots of stuff but it is must reading for any Canadian player under 22.

"We have too many talents sitting on benches in every league. They are sitting on benches in Mexico, in European leagues, in MLS teams. A lot of our younger players struggle to understand that it takes a lot more work and determination and aggressiveness to really make it to become a consistent, driven professional."

"Whatever path they took the last two years, we’ve got to make it clear to them you’ve got to do more. You’ve got to live differently, got to sleep differently, feed yourself differently. You’ve got to train longer, train extra sessions. You’ve got to become physically stronger, got to be nastier in training sessions. You’ve got to become a man."

"Every coach sees the talent but then you sound like a broken record and you say talent is only even 50%"

"You have to fight your way through. [In Europe] they select the kids very early and you have to swim in the cold water very, very early. They are accountable to that. Their coaches are explaining it to them from a very early age, which is different from education. I am talking about understanding the bigger picture... Don’t be content because you get a pro contract, don’t be content because you get a scholarship for college. All these next steps are just an entrance ticket to the next level.We drive an amazing amount of young talent in all different ways and then once they turn toward the professional level, from 17 or 18 until 22 or 23, that is where we kind of lose a lot of quality kids, because they don’t find their right footing. They don’t fight their way through into the club teams. Whatever they choose, wherever they go, whatever their direction is, they find ways to accept it instead of saying I’m not accepting it."

"To play is the most important thing. We will always have that discussion of what level of a league are they playing in. ...If you look at the players that come into MLS, they are 25 or 26 years old, like when we started January camp a couple years ago with the Matt Beslers and Geoff Camerons and Graham Zusis and now Steve Birnbaum. The process compared to the process in Europe is very late. We are not talking about an 18 or 19 year old. We are talking about players that when they came in, they were already 24 or 25. And here they are still saying they are a rookie. A rookie in soccer is 18 years old."

"For a national team, the end goal is that you have difference makers. Our standards are you should be a difference maker in your club. We cannot take a player who is just a floater in his club. A striker in his club should score every second game if wants to be a national team player. An attacking midfielder should, every second game, give you one assist or exceptional pieces. And defenders need to scare away and shut down and intimidate the striker."

"How can we explain to people in U.S. that soccer is a player-driven game and the decisions are made by the player? Because once the game is rolling, you have barely any influence on it. You have you three subs, a little talk at halftime and you can scream as loud as you want on the sideline, but they can barely hear you. So our challenge is always to tell them you have to take the game into your own hands, you have to drive it."

"We definitely expected more youngsters to be stronger and breaking through and getting to the next level. Too many of the young players are stagnant at the moment or losing a year or two. That worries us. If it’s Rubio Rubin, or Julian Green still on the second team, or Emerson Hyndman. The years where we lose a lot of our future are between 18 and 22...How can we get so many young boys who are driven to take their careers in their own hands and [not] to just trust their talent?"

"Europeans don’t understand the fact that American society is driven by the educational system in the U.S. In Europe no one would ask you where you went to college. They would ask you what did you study, but they would never ever ask you whether you went to the University of Berlin or Amsterdam or Paris.

The way I grew up, I was 10 and I saw Gerd Mueller scoring the winning goal in the 1974 World Cup and I said “I want to be him.” After that game was over, I was playing for four hours non-stop. And I did that every day. My school was done at 1 p.m.and I got lunch and then quick homework and then I was out until it got dark. That gave me my skill set for later on. By 11 or 12, I had the full skill set, bicycle kicks and all that. You don’t find that here. But you still find talent."

"The athletes, the players write the story. It’s not the coaches who write the story or the agent or the parent. That has always been the message to them because soccer is so different to baseball, football and basketball. It’s not outside driven. I can have a timeout in basketball, and I can have a different play. I can tell them all the time when there is a commercial break, “OK, next strategy.” Soccer is an inner-driven sport and this is one of the of the biggest challenges for the American soccer fan and also the athletes."

"Every new cycle you have unbelievable talent and then five years later we look at these names and they are gone. Their big step into the professional world is so difficult for them. They look outside and say, “Who helps me now?” and they don’t have the maturity to say, “I am taking it into my own hands.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-q-a-with-jurgen-klinsmann-ahead-of-the-copa-america-1464907320

 

This should be given to all our talented 16 and 17 year olds. There's massive stagnation in Canada, and to go along with our tendency to over-hype, we all end up disappointed time and time again. I'm guessing the USL teams will help, but it really is up to the player to put in the extra effort and not just to be content with a contract (only to fade to CIS obscurity).

[Macksam]

2 hours ago, BCM1555362349 said:

This should be given to all our talented 16 and 17 year olds. There's massive stagnation in Canada, and to go along with our tendency to over-hype, we all end up disappointed time and time again. I'm guessing the USL teams will help, but it really is up to the player to put in the extra effort and not just to be content with a contract (only to fade to CIS obscurity).

Canadian and American kids no doubt. Klinsmann is money in his assessment. The biggest reason imho for North American kids stagnating is MLS' subpar quality level. Until this league has a high salary cap with minimum salaries ranging in the $500000 range, you'll continue to have teams, and TFC was a huge culprit a few years back, giving away senior contracts like candy to undeserving kids. The league has fostered an environment where getting offered a pro contract means nothing, and this is known by the kids, who don't respect it, and it ultimately has an adverse effect on their practice/work ethic. There's literally no competition for them besides other like minded teens brought up in the same environment. I'm adamant both countries would produce a lot more world class talent if MLS had a 20-30 million dollar salary cap, a competitive entry level salary. In that situation, teams wouldn't have a "fling it against the wall and see what sticks," mentality to their youth. They would only select the guys who are truly ready for the next step, which in turn would make the kids try that much harder at it. Unfortunately I don't see this happening anytime soon.

I'm also not ragging on the current crop of guys as they do look better than the kids 4 or 5 years ago and with things being different now that TFC 2 is around.... but you still got to make them respect it.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Macksam

[shamrock]

There's not a think I can find to disagree with. That also explains why he keeps looking at "European" Americans over domestics. He doesn't say it, but I have to with Macksam here that I don't think the way MLS is set-up, is very beneficial to the development of players. It can't be if the overall goal is to keep wages low. 

[mpg_29]

I still think it comes down to Canadians/Americans ingrained mentality that soccer is a game (a kids game at that) and not a real sport.  Until that changes talent will continue to be wasted unless they go to Europe at young age. 

[Macksam]

10 hours ago, mpg_29 said:

I still think it comes down to Canadians/Americans ingrained mentality that soccer is a game (a kids game at that) and not a real sport.  Until that changes talent will continue to be wasted unless they go to Europe at young age. 

We're talking about kids trying to become professional players, not ones who give the sport up at an early age or use it as a recreational, summer activity only.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Macksam

[Dub Narcotic]

#13 in the USL 20 under 20.

TopDrawerSoccer.com Scouting Report
Since being unearthed by the Canadian federation three years ago, Hundal has slowly matured into a forward who can change a game with his speed and agility. It’s no secret Hundal, now 17 and firmly in the Canadian youth national team mix, lists Sergio Aguero as one of his playing icons. At least in playing style he bears some similarity to the Manchester City luminary, all quickness and quality around the final third. He has three goals so far this year playing with mostly older players, and he’s gotten minutes as much for his ability to rope the players around him into the action as for his prowess in front of goal. Toronto FC, which has become known for bringing along quality forwards, has a good one on its hands.

 

[Gian-Luca]

Scored another two goals for TFC II in a 3-2 win over Bethlehem (Luca Uccello getting the other assisted by Raheem Edwards - Uccello also assisted Hundaal on the 2nd goal and had a goal-line clearance) - well-taken goals by the 17 year old as well

http://www.torontofc.ca/post/2016/07/31/match-highlights-tor-vs-bst-july-31-2016?autoplay=true

[Soccerpro]

Hundaal is really coming on strong lately. If he keeps working hard, it looks like he has all the tools to make it to the next level.

[Bison44]

I like the topdrawer comment about TFC being know for bringing along top notch forwards.  WOW, that was news to me, maybe its something new that Hundal is starting.  He has alot of poise for a 17year old and good size...he looks taller than the 5'11 they have him listed at.  

[shamrock]

He doesn't look athletic, but sure is fast on the first yards. He's not tall, but his timing on the header was perfect. He's got the right age, Hundal is as big a prospect as they come. 

[Macksam]

He looks about 6 feet tall. 

He just turned 17 so I'd expect his body To fill out over the next 1 to 2 years. 

[Shway]

I can't wait for the day when TFC stops giving unexceptional draft picks a chance before academy products... Well now TFC2 top prospects. 

[Bison44]

Its almost like they think that if they used a draftpick on a guy it makes them look bad not to play them.  I would think all the effort they put into bringing up academy products would give them an incentive to play them over 2nd round draft picks.  But hey we are biased eh?  

 

[lazlo_80]

what players are you referring to?

4 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Its almost like they think that if they used a draftpick on a guy it makes them look bad not to play them.  I would think all the effort they put into bringing up academy products would give them an incentive to play them over 2nd round draft picks.  But hey we are biased eh?  

 

 

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

22 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Its almost like they think that if they used a draftpick on a guy it makes them look bad not to play them.  I would think all the effort they put into bringing up academy products would give them an incentive to play them over 2nd round draft picks.  But hey we are biased eh? 

Is Klinsmann's point not that players need to have the right mentality to battle through this sort of thing?

[Dub Narcotic]

24 minutes ago, lazlo_80 said:

what players are you referring to?

 

Kyle Bekker? Emery Welshman?

[Coramoor]

11 hours ago, Dub Narcotic said:

Kyle Bekker? Emery Welshman?

those two were pre-USL.

I'd guess he's referring to Daniel Lovitz although Hundal isn't remotely ready for MLS so I don't see the point