FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller was happy to get a point on the road in the club’s NASL opener. But he wants more — a lot more — out of the team’s three-game road trip to start the season.

Hometown products Shaun Saiko, who led the team in scoring last season, and fullback Antonio Rago were officially placed on the list, but Alberta-born centre back and NASL Best XI member Paul Hamilton was not part of the 16.

Goalkeeper John Smits and Scottish defender David Proctor had just returned to the city and were working out. Fullback Wes Knight has been in Edmonton since January; same goes for holding midfielder Neil Hlavaty. Local products Antonio Rago and Shaun Saiko have been regular fixtures at the indoor training sessions since December.

The identity of one more player is being held back. That player will be announced just before the game Tuesday.

As FC Edmonton won just five of those 28 games and finished dead last in the NASL, the numbers aren’t expected to be pretty. But because FCE’s defensive-minded games resulted in a lot of low-scoring losses and draws, the minus numbers aren’t as severe as you might think.

“This famous stadium brings back a lot of memories,” said Miller, thinking back to the many World Cup qualifiers he played for Canada on the old grass at Commonwealth, as well as that famous 1-1 draw with Brazil back in 1994. “Edmonton was our home at the time,” said Miller. “We were very passionate about playing here.”

John Smits has never before been in a situation where he’s had to play out the string.

FC Edmonton turned September into Christmas for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Neither the Carolina or FC Edmonton put on defensive clinics in a 2-2 draw which saw Eddie Kyle Porter trade braces with the RailHawks’ Nick Zimmerman.

A spectacular drive from the boot of Bryan Arguez gave the Eddies a point on the road in Blaine, Minn., cancelling out Cristiano Dias’s opener.