York 9 signs St. Kitts & Nevis defender Justin Springer

Jim Brennan talks to James Sharman about building his York 9 squad for the new Canadian Premier League and the unique chance he has to start with a blank slate.

TORONTO — York 9 FC has made St. Kitts & Nevis defender Justin Springer its first internationally capped signing.

The Canadian Premier League team also added Canadian midfielder Emilio Estevez and fullback Morey Doner to its roster.

The 25-year-old Springer, who was born in Burlington, Ont., and now calls Guelph home, has won 10 caps for St. Kitts, where his father was born. The former Vaughan Azzurri defender was a five-time OUA all-star at the University of Guelph.

"He’s an international and he’ll be going through qualifying now for the Gold Cup. He’s a big unit, but very agile, considering," York 9 head coach Jimmy Brennan said in a statement. "We love his athleticism … He likes to be physical. He is a good signing for us. We watched him quite closely at Vaughan. He kept getting better and better."

Estevez, 20, is a former Sheridan Bruin coming off a trial with Spain’s Levante.

Doner comes to York 9 after a season captaining Brennan’s former side Aurora United in League 1 Ontario. Prior to that the 24 year-old from Collingwood, Ont., was with Palm Beach Suns FC of the PDL.

York 9 is slated to kick off the CPL’s inaugural season on April 27 in Hamilton against Forge FC.

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