#player-development

#player-development

They're going to keep playing, man. Even if they don't knock down shots they're going to get 2nd chances, crash the boards, rebounds, find the open man, get to the FT line, move the ball, get the ball to Bam. Try to execute from there. They're going to play hard, they have guards who can penetrate/drive and kick/that's what they do. It has to be constant pressure.

After a dreadful season in 2024 the sentiment towards Isaiah Drake swung rapidly red, and even following an impressive 2025 his national reputation is still trying to recover. Drake was awful in 2024, but with the combination of his age and the injuries that riddled that season it was not a huge surprise that he bounced back in 2025.

I think I have improved a lot in my offensive game in the last two years. This year, playing with Logan Shaw and Vinni Lettieri for most of the year has been really, really helpful. I have been really focused on my offensive game more than my defensive game. Shawsy was taking all of the responsibilities defensively, and that helped me kind of... not forget about that part, but show my skills a little bit more in that regard.

I've improved a lot since Hansi arrived. I think he's helped me develop many aspects of my game. And I think I'm having a good season with him. He's a very demanding coach, but also very approachable. He's helped me with decision-making and also with scoring goals, always staying focused during the game, and also in defence. I think he's helped me in almost every aspect as a player.

With United always keen to improve their academy setup, they've now appointed a new Head of Academy Football Development and Methodology. Like Torpey, who arrived in 2025, Hughes joins United after working previously at City, where he held multiple roles. Hughes' most recent role at City was Head of Coaching, but he now crosses the city to take up a different role at Carrington.

A lot of people tell me that Saelemaekers is a completely different person on the pitch than he is off it. It's not something that bothers me, but it does bother me a little because people never get to know the real me. On the pitch, since I'm someone who always does things 100% and with so much emotion, sometimes I don't know how to regulate them and they always come out 100%, whether they're good or bad.

When Smith took over the Senators, the franchise was basically a construction site. There was no foundation, with just a pile of high‑end draft picks and a lot of hope they would grow into a Stanley Cup contender. However, during his tenure, Smith became known as the ultimate "player's coach." He could relate to stars like Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle, pushing them to play a heavy, hard-hitting brand of hockey while the roster was still maturing.

CBC Sports was the league's initial broadcast partner. When the CEBL became the first pro sports league in Canada to resume play during covid, CBC broadcasted those games inside CEBL's bubble. The league adapted during a chaotic start, switched their broadcast partership to TSN from 2023-25, but have now returned to CBC Sports for the next five seasons.

In 2023, Casas, who made his MLB debut the prior season, was something of a revelation at first base. Over 132 games Casas hit .263/.367/.490 with 24 home runs. That's an .856 OPS and 2.2 bWAR and earned him a 3rd place finish in the AL Rookie of the Year race.