I feel that’s a bit harsh on the CanPL, though I say that without having watched it. Canada are having a ‘golden generation’, much more so than NZ or Aus are, for example their generation are winning Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Champions’ League titles, as opposed to ours playing Danish second tier or Italian youth football.
There are only three Canadian MLS teams, so there aren’t so many that talent wouldn’t spill over into the CanPL. Football has a similarly marginalised existence as to Australia/NZ and the culture is similar, except Canada has 38 million people for 11 pro teams compared to 25 in Aus for 12 pro teams. The A League will always be held in high esteem here as it has the only pro team in NZ, but in reality it’s not that strong, and continental and Aus/NZ international results are testament to that. Obviously MLS is a much higher level than A League, but USL is probably pretty close too, when you think about how many players there are in the US compared to here.
If you compare Bevan with a guy like Ben Waine who is getting picked, there isn’t much between them. If you take the OFC Olympic Qualifiers that both played, Bevan scored 12 to Waine’s 8, and similarly Bevan scored 13 in the ISPS to Waine’s 8. It was just circumstantial that Waine is from Wellington and Bevan from Auckland, and one has the pro team and the other doesn’t.
