“I don’t want to be the player who was only called into one game,” he said. “The experience, it was huge. I gained a lot of experience from it. There are so many players there who have careers in Europe, from around MLS and other teams in North America. I can see that’s where I want my career to go.”

FC Edmonton has brought in two midfielders, American Pablo Cruz and Brazilian Thiago de Freitas. Both were on hand at FCE’s south-side headquarters Thursday as they were unveiled to the media. Cruz — who has played in NASL for the Atlanta Silverbacks and the San Antonio Scorpions — has long been admired by FCE head coach Colin Miller. Thiago is …

FC Edmonton and midfielder Chad Burt have mutually agreed to part ways, so that the player can return home to Florida to tend to personal issues.

This weekly update to the minutes-played-by-Canadians list need to be taken with more than a few grains of salt.

The analysis of FC Edmonton’s spring-season finale — a 3-0 loss on the road to the Indy Eleven — has to begin by looking at the decision to yank keeper John Smits at halftime.

It was moving day on the Quintessentially Canadian Power Rankings.

So, this is the challenge. On Monday morning, when NASL executives get into the office, the first order of business is how to get the Canadian mess sorted it out. After all, it is the North American Soccer League, not American Soccer League.

The Canadian Soccer Association has announced that FC Edmonton defender Mallan Roberts — who got his citizenship earlier this year — has been called up the men's national team ahead of their June 11 and 16 World Cup qualifiers against Dominica.

FC Edmonton left winger Lance Laing will be heading to South America.

But, if the league does indeed come to be — and, to be fair, there is still a lot of skepticism out there — the assumption that the North American Soccer League’s Ottawa Fury and FC Edmonton would simply come along for the ride is well, off-base.