Toronto FC’s Tosaint Ricketts scored his first MLS goal Wednesday, a game-winner against Real Salt Lake. The Canadian forward, who recently signed with the Reds, is one of 40 Canadians who have got onto the field for an MLS or NASL team so far this season. Last year, in between the two leagues that count Canadians as domestics on Canadian sides …

There were some hints dropped Friday that suggest that the loan of Canadian keeper Nathan Ingham from FC Edmonton to TFCII could be the beginning of something greater.

Five MLS teams — a quarter of the league — have yet to a record a road victory. Six more have just one road win each. Put that together, and 11 of 20 teams — 55 per cent of the league — have zero or one home win each in 2016.

The Ottawa Fury has not only won three NASL matches in a row, the club is spiking in terms of minutes on the pitch it is providing to its Canadian players.

In Saturday’s win in Jacksonville’s 40-plus C heat (with the humidity), the Ottawa Fury gave 464 of a possible 990 minutes playing time to Canadians. Canadian Carl Haworth scored the second goal of the game in a 2-0 win. And, with that, Ottawa not only leads all NASL and MLS teams in terms of giving minutes to Canadians, the Fury …

Dixon is just part of a growing trend of Canadians who are deciding that home soil is the best place for them to be. Dixon, who got his first national-team call-up earlier this year, is the newest member of the “come back to Canada club.”

So, despite all the good Canadian news from the Whitecaps, after the team's two matches this past week, its season-long average of minutes played by Canadians per match dipped below 90. That means the Whitecaps average less than one full 90 minute session for a Canadian player per game. And that puts them far behind the four other Canadian MLS and NASL sides.

Now, wait a second here. It is a conflict for someone to cover an MLS team but also be involved in the NBA? If that’s the case — and if MLS approves this message — by that logic, should it not also be a conflict for an MLS owner to also have a stake or fully own an NBA team? Since Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment owns the Raptors, TFC, the Maple Leafs and the Marlies, don’t they in some way aid and abet the competitors in RSL’s coveted marketplace? Following Carroll’s logic, should MLSE be allowed to own an NBA team and an MLS team?

And now that Vancouver has become the de facto home for the national side, the Whitecaps lack of, well, first-team Canadian-ness was only accentuated. But, on Monday, the Whitecaps were able to tweet out highlights of their new signings playing for the national team and wrap themselves in the flag.

In Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Colorado, the Whitecaps didn’t have a Canadian in the starting lineup, and didn’t have a Canadian come off the bench, either. That’s not the only depressing news when it comes to minutes played by Canadians in the major North American leagues. The Montreal Impact only had three minutes played by a Canadian this past weekend — Patrice Bernier in a substitute role.