VANCOUVER – The Canadian Premier League has once again come calling for the UBC Thunderbirds as
Nicolas Nadeau and
Luke Norman have both been selected in the annual CPL-U SPORTS Draft.
Nadeau was taken 10
th overall by Vancouver FC in the annual Draft held Friday morning with Norman hearing his name called by Pacific FC with the very next pick as the UBC Thunderbirds have now had multiple selections for the second straight year.
"This is a well-deserved opportunity for both Nico and Luke," said UBC head coach,
Mike Mosher. "It's a feather in the cap for the program in terms of annually having players selected and worthy of being taken. It's not something we start a season by saying we want 'x' number of players picked, it's a by-product of the team's success."
Completing an outstanding inaugural campaign with the T-Birds in which he was honoured as both a Canada West and U SPORTS All-Rookie, Nadeau continues what's been a whirlwind of a fall semester since arriving from his hometown of Winnipeg back in August.
"The last couple months has been quite the change for me but it's been awesome, I've loved every second of it. Now hearing the news I've been drafted by Vancouver, I'm so happy," said Nadeau who also had an impressive first U SPORTS national championship in Toronto in early November. "Being able to have this opportunity is incredible. I practiced with Valour the last couple summers which has been great for my development both as a player and my overall character, so hopefully I can continue to build on that with Vancouver, I'm super excited."
Starting every regular season, playoff and national championship game for the T-Birds in 2025, Nadeau immediately became a key component of one of the strongest teams in the country. Already on the national radar from his previous success in Manitoba, Nadeau's outstanding rookie campaign no doubt saw his stock rise that much further, leading to Friday's selection by Vancouver FC. He'll now have an opportunity to train with the squad starting in the new year and strive to earn a U SPORTS development contract just as his teammate,
Henri Godbout, did with the team this past spring.
"Nico certainly from the day he stepped in with us in pre-season has put himself in a position to potentially be one of those players," Mosher added. "He's got to go and work hard and make the team but he's got a skill set on the field. I also can make some comparisons to Eric (Lajeunesse) in some of the intangibles in terms of attitude, in terms of intelligence – he's got an opportunity to potentially be one of those guys that earn themselves a U SPORTS development contract."
Norman's selection by Pacific FC marks the second time the Vancouver native has been chosen in the Draft, having been taken by Vancouver FC second overall two years ago.
Finishing 2025 with six goals and seven assists including a Canada West leading six regular season helpers, Norman landed a spot on the conference first team All-Star squad as the midfielder has continued to be a critical, consistent piece of UBC's overall success since his arrival at Point Grey.
"It means a lot, I just appreciate any opportunity that comes to fruition and I'm super excited to give it another go," said Norman. "Since I was last drafted I've matured and improved drastically as a player so I'm just happy to get out there at a higher level and see what I can do. I'm going to be playing with grown men at a faster level, a faster pace, a little better quality. It's massively beneficial to me because this is a goal, this is what I strive to do. It's also beneficial to our team because hopefully when I come back I'll be that much better and be able to help the team that much more so overall it's a really big positive."
"Good to see him get another chance to go and make a team. I think it's something he really wants and he's deserving based on his season," Mosher said of Norman's opportunity. "He's got himself on the scoresheet and quite honestly I think he could have been on the scoresheet more in terms of goal contributions. I know he's focussed and wants to try to make the most of this particular opportunity. Even before Pacific had taken him, he came to me and said he was keen to try and go do this. He's motivated and now we'll help him to be as ready as possible for when their pre-season starts and hopefully he can go and get his foot in the door and make that team."
Nadeau and Norman will now both have the chance to compete for a U SPORTS development contract which permits university players to compete during the CPL season before returning to their respective school teams prior to the start of conference competition.
Since the inaugural CPL-U SPORTS Draft in 2018, the Thunderbirds have racked up 15 total selections, the clear Canada West leader and the second most across the country.
2025 saw the 'Birds make history as Godbout (Vancouver),
Eric Lajeunesse (Pacific), and
Joven Mann (Halifax) all signed development contracts, the first time any U SPORTS school had three players sign in a single year.
"As a player, I'm not at my full potential physically yet but growing in the best environment I can is huge," Nadeau said of the importance of the opportunity in front of him. "The CPL is a great league to develop for players like me. It means the world."
"It's so important," echoed Norman. "Obviously it gives young players like me a pathway and something to strive for, it allows you to keep moving up in the football world. Beyond that, it's super important for Canadian football. I could never have imagined when I was younger for it to be at this point, it's amazing to have this domestic league along with the MLS teams of course and with the World Cup coming. Hopefully the league is here to stay for a long time because it's so great for Canadian football."
