2026 Season, MVPs, and Unsung Heroes

On Monday night, our teams gathered at the NUFC Clubhouse for a year-end celebration. It was a chance to acknowledge the hard work of the players, coaches, and staff throughout the season.

Just four short years ago, when we started this journey, the Canadian Premier League (CPL) was still a fledgling league, the Northern Super League (NSL) didn’t exist, and there was no national structure to League1 - and the World Cup was but a far off idea! Now, we have a growing and thriving Premier Soccer Leagues Canada almost clear across the country, the CPL and NSL are working hard to continue to grow the game in Canada, and we have hosted both a women’s and men’s World Cup in Canada! 

Is there still a lot of work to be done - you bet! Thank you to you, the fans, for joining us as we build together!

Our four players recognized by their peers on Monday night were:

MVPs:

Camryn Curts: Camryn is from Courtney and played for Thompson Rivers University before returning to the island. Camryn was one of this year’s co-captains. 

Jimmy Steel: Jimmy is originally from Salt Spring Island and played for the University of Victoria during his undergraduate.

Jimmy’s “favourite moment was probably the home opener with all of the fans out, and beating Kamloops at home in the Reid Davidson trophy first leg!”

Left and right: Camryn Curts, middle: Jimmy Steel

Unsung Heroes:

Mary Nicholls: Originally from Ladysmith, Mary played for UBC during her undergrad and now plays with Nanaimo United year-round. Mary was one of this year’s co-captain.  

Another great season with an incredible group of girls. Obviously we didn’t get all the results we were hoping for, but there’s so much more to this team than that. Watching so many young players come out to support us and hopefully being able to be role models for them as they continue with this sport is something really special. Seeing new faces step into the program and the next generation continue to grow is a reminder of what this club and community are all about. I’m proud to be part of it and excited to see what next season has in store.

Michael Heppelle: Michael is from Kamakura, Japan and played for VIU. He now plays for Nanaimo United year-round. Michael is Nanaimo United’s goalkeeping coach. Read an interview with him here.  

My favourite moment of this season was when we won the home game against Unity and my goalkeeper academy kids came to me after and asked for my autograph. They told me that they really enjoyed watching me play!

Left: Mary Nicholls, right: Michael Hepelle

The squads are off to Vancouver today to face off against Altitude FC. Be sure to follow along on the Premier Soccer Leagues Canada app or on the BCPL website.