Kyle Hiebert

[Ivan]

I broke down and got the MLS package on Apple TV last night.  After the TFC game and Leafs game were over, I noticed the St. Louis/Portland match was on so I decided to check out Hiebert.  Saw the last 25 minutes or so and was lucky enough to see his goal.  Not overly big from what I could tell, but plays a no nonsense, quiet game.  Lots of good clearances and urgent play.  Looked pretty good.

[jonovision]

On 2/27/2023 at 12:41 PM, K Edgar said:

Ed Tait (wpg free press I believe) -- also covers the Bombers

Tait is a former WFP reporter who now works for the Blue Bombers.

[Soccerpro2]

I don't see how Hiebert isn't in the conversation for a CMNT place if he keeps starting and playing well for STL in MLS.

He's also a really high-character guy. Really positive, thankful, and all-around great guy to have in the program.

His whole career to get to this point has been a grind. Strike 1 is he's from Winnipeg. He tried to trial with the Whitecaps academy as a youth but didn't get the chance. He reached out to lots of the higher end NCAA programs, but everyone ignored him. He went to Missouri State in the NCAA. They were horrible before he got there and he helped turn the program around in a massive way despite 2 season-ending injuries during his time there. He persevered and got an MLS Next Pro contract and then proved himself at that level and is now starting in MLS. He's an example for a lot of young players who think they've made it before they've done anything.

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by Soccerpro2

[gigi riva]

His road to MLS is something from a Hollywood movie , lets hope he continues his play and gets some consideration come Gold Cup time  He plays a position that we need help in  big time

[top cheese]

I think it shows how much potential talent exists in this country that is missed because the Canada Soccer program is set up to reward British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec players who live close to a MLS academy. Seems like a lot of things had to fall into place for Hiebiert to have the chance he has now. Great to see him take the chance hes been given a go with it. 

As for the CMNT call up - I think that Herdman would be smart to bring into the camp some younger players who are off to good starts this season. To integrate them into the program and give them a taste of the culture systems etc. I think the fact that Hiebiert is starting with an MLS team and has contributed to its early success would give him the opporitunity to get into a camp and get a look in. I would even think something similar for Raposo, Kerr, etc for example would be highly benifical to the program. But with the current racket with the womens team the Men probably wont be alot to spend much on the upcoming nation league games. 

[BearcatSA]

^The Whitecaps do have an academy affiliate based in Winnipeg.

Great story and I hope he continues to develop in his pro journey.

 

[Strait Red]

He’s up for the fan voted player of the week.

 

[Aird25]

8 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

The Whitecaps do have an academy affiliate based in Winnipeg.

And they pulled Bustos and Froese from Winnipeg and they’re only a year older than Kyle 

[BearcatSA]

12 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

And they pulled Bustos and Froese from Winnipeg and they’re only a year older than Kyle 

Former cup-of-coffee Cap and current Pacific FC RB Mukumbilwa, as well.

Some guys are true late developers and you just miss them.

[Soccerpro2]

1 hour ago, BearcatSA said:

Former cup-of-coffee Cap and current Pacific FC RB Mukumbilwa, as well.

Some guys are true late developers and you just miss them.

The problem is there are less second chances for guys from smaller soccer regions. if you don’t get that one break or one chance, the odds are stacked further against you in a way that players from Ontario will never understand.

No one is ever going to “see you” or scout you in Winnipeg. And as Kyle said, everyone from top NCAA programs just ignored him.
 

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Soccerpro2

[A Different Perspective]

42 minutes ago, Soccerpro2 said:

The problem is there are less second chances for guys from smaller soccer regions. if you don’t get that one break or one chance, the odds are stacked further against you in a way that players from Ontario will never understand.

No one is ever going to “see you” or scout you in Winnipeg. And as Kyle said, everyone from top NCAA programs just ignored him.
 

 

Well again good on Kyle for his persistence, determination and balanced perspective.  His pathway has to be a motivational story for others.  In addition, CPL teams have a responsibility going forward to scout the non Vancouver Montreal Toronto areas.  Glass is definitely more than half full for future opportunities. 

[VinceA]

Should point out though that AFAIK Valour wanted him as far back as 2020 but Hiebert didn't want to turn pro in the CPL.

 

It was a gamble that paid off for him.

[Bison44]

1 hour ago, Soccerpro2 said:

The problem is there are less second chances for guys from smaller soccer regions. if you don’t get that one break or one chance, the odds are stacked further against you in a way that players from Ontario will never understand.

No one is ever going to “see you” or scout you in Winnipeg. And as Kyle said, everyone from top NCAA programs just ignored him.

Hopefully with Valour that is different now.  I dont follow the local scene enough to know if the FCMAN guys are getting overlooked or they are just not good enough.  But I would like to think that if Heibert hadnt stuck with StLouis out of college, Valour would have been all over him.  And any wonderkids running around the north end should raise the attention of PDS.  

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

20 minutes ago, VinceA said:

Should point out though that AFAIK Valour wanted him as far back as 2020 but Hiebert didn't want to turn pro in the CPL.

Well, he put down roots in Missouri so that makes sense. Also, with his degree he would make more than a CanPL salary.

[narduch]

Made MLS team of the week. 

 

[dyslexic nam]

22 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Well, he put down roots in Missouri so that makes sense. Also, with his degree he would make more than a CanPL salary.

I actually think it speaks to the issue that many of us raised way back in 2016 or 2017 (or whenever) when MLS changed its rules to only granted full “domestic” status to Canadians who signed their first pro contract with an MLS team.  This is exactly what we cautioned against - an aspiring player avoiding using CPL as a developmental pathway because it would disadvantage him in MLS.   Sure it seems to be working out, but maybe he would be even further along if he had signed with Valour in 2020.   Maybe not of course, but it would be nice if players could make that decision without the strong disincentive of handcuffing their ability to compete in MLS.   

[Soccerpro2]

1 hour ago, Bison44 said:

Hopefully with Valour that is different now.  I dont follow the local scene enough to know if the FCMAN guys are getting overlooked or they are just not good enough.  But I would like to think that if Heibert hadnt stuck with StLouis out of college, Valour would have been all over him.  And any wonderkids running around the north end should raise the attention of PDS.  

No doubt CPL has helped in Winnipeg and Halifax. Obviously, lots of work is to be done for a kid in Saskatoon, St John's or even Edmonton.

[K Edgar]

1 hour ago, Soccerpro2 said:

No doubt CPL has helped in Winnipeg and Halifax. Obviously, lots of work is to be done for a kid in Saskatoon, St John's or even Edmonton.

On a side note Manitoba still has no male soccer U-Sports team (not U Manitoba, U Winnipeg nor U Brandon).  Which greatly limits options in the province.  Many end up with U Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

[Obinna]

17 hours ago, Soccerpro2 said:

No doubt CPL has helped in Winnipeg and Halifax. Obviously, lots of work is to be done for a kid in Saskatoon, St John's or even Edmonton.

I can confirm. I grew up playing there and played on the best teams I could, which were the Newfoundland provincial teams, but your chances of progressing any further are very slim and we all knew that. I don't think any of us even saw playing NCAA div 1 as a possibility, let alone going pro, so nobody tried or even talked about it. I can think of only one guy I played with who had some possibility to play at the University of Arkansas, but he ended up playing with Cape Breton.

Most of us ended up going the CIS route actually (now called U-sports) and most of us stuck around and played at MUN (Memorial Univ. During (and after) that, its Challenge Cup soccer, trying to make it to Nationals. At that point you're just playing for fun because any delusions of going pro are gone by then. It was a shame my generation had that mindset. 

But now, I have to imagine kids have much more to aim at, thanks to the Halifax Wanderers, which are still a province away, but that's basically next door. I would say it's a good thing the standard is still relatively low, because that means it is very achievable. If I were young and finishing up my youth soccer, I would have actively tried to go to school in Halifax or at least Nova Scotia, instead of just going to MUN and playing there by default, just to get that added visibility knowing there is a CPL team there. There wasn't any real incentive to do such a thing back in the day. There was no magnet. 

I am sure those who grew up playing competitive soccer in New Brunswick and PEI have similar thoughts and experiences. Valour serves the same purpose in the eastern prairies, I imagine. These CPL clubs are a blessing as far as allowing kids to dream. All you need is a realistic next step. 

[Obinna]

15 hours ago, K Edgar said:

On a side note Manitoba still has no male soccer U-Sports team (not U Manitoba, U Winnipeg nor U Brandon).  Which greatly limits options in the province.  Many end up with U Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

This is odd. Why is that the case?

[jonovision]

55 minutes ago, Obinna said:

This is odd. Why is that the case?

Not sure why, exactly. I thought I had heard that U of Manitoba offered women's soccer, but not men's, to keep its total offerings of sports equal for each sex (there is men's gridiron, but not women's, all other sports have men's and women's teams). But I'm not sure this is founded in fact. U of Winnipeg offers a much narrower selection of sports: basketball and volleyball, and women's soccer. I believe there also used to be men's baseball.

Brandon has a strong history in basketball, but is a small university and I very much doubt it can support more than the sports it already offers.

[VinceA]

8 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Not sure why, exactly. I thought I had heard that U of Manitoba offered women's soccer, but not men's, to keep its total offerings of sports equal for each sex (there is men's gridiron, but not women's, all other sports have men's and women's teams). But I'm not sure this is founded in fact. U of Winnipeg offers a much narrower selection of sports: basketball and volleyball, and women's soccer. I believe there also used to be men's baseball.

Brandon has a strong history in basketball, but is a small university and I very much doubt it can support more than the sports it already offers.

This is a common thing at schools that do football in the States. Since it's a sport mostly played by men they offset it with a women's soccer program, but won't do a men's soccer programs. There's a bunch of school in Texas and Alabama that do this.

I know other schools in Canada offset it with different sports, for example UofT does Field Hockey for women.

[Obinna]

11 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Not sure why, exactly. I thought I had heard that U of Manitoba offered women's soccer, but not men's, to keep its total offerings of sports equal for each sex (there is men's gridiron, but not women's, all other sports have men's and women's teams). But I'm not sure this is founded in fact. U of Winnipeg offers a much narrower selection of sports: basketball and volleyball, and women's soccer. I believe there also used to be men's baseball.

Brandon has a strong history in basketball, but is a small university and I very much doubt it can support more than the sports it already offers.

Thanks. I don't know why U of Winnipeg would have such a narrow offering of sports, but for the other two Manitoba schools perhaps it's a case of big costs for gridiron. Back east there were only 4 schools that offer gridiron, St. Mary's, Acadia, St. FX and Mount Allison (although I see they've added Bishops - never heard of them), which I presume is partly down to cost, but even then the travel is very short. It's basically a bus league. Out west however there is U of Calgary, U of A, UBC, U of Regina and U of Sask.

That has to be super expensive for Manitoba (and UBC) and perhaps less expensive for the Alberta and Saskatchewan teams since they would have some drivable interprovincial games. Being sandwiched between Manitoba and BC they would also have shorter flight distances, I presume. 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

1 hour ago, VinceA said:

This is a common thing at schools that do football in the States. Since it's a sport mostly played by men they offset it with a women's soccer program, but won't do a men's soccer programs. There's a bunch of school in Texas and Alabama that do this.

I know other schools in Canada offset it with different sports, for example UofT does Field Hockey for women.

Of interest but not a lot of real relevence, I have a friend/former classmate who is a professor at the U of L(ethbridge).  They have two more women's teams that men's - rugby and ringette. The rest are combined or both.  Don't have hockey teams, or Canadian football but do have soccer teams. 

[K Edgar]

Hoping Kyle is named to the CMNT squad today.  When was the last time a Manitoban made the team?  Anyone since Tony Nocita?