Where did those two months go?

Forge FC emerged from a very short off-season –not unusual for a team of their competitive calibre—to hit the indoor pitch at Redeemer University Monday morning.

And just like that it was 2025. Season seven for the most the successful team in Canadian Premier League history.

There will be more turnover this year than there was last when the Hammers also had to cut holidays short to prepare for Champions Cup play. This time they’ve drawn against powerful CF Monterrey, with the opening leg of the home-and-home elimination round set for Wednesday, Feb. 5 at Tim Hortons Field.

The Forge will continue at Redeemer until they travel to Cancun Mexico next Wednesday to practice for a couple of weeks. For the first time in their three Champions Cup appearances, the Hamilton side does not feel compelled to train at altitude because the away game on Feb. 11 in Monterrey will be played at 1770 feet above sea level, far lower than their previous two Cup matches in Mexico; in Mexico City against Cruz Azul in 2022  and in Guadalajara against Chivas last February.

“Can’t wait to get to the warm weather,” said all-league defender Alex Achinioti-Jönsson, who spent part of the holidays in his Swedish homeland. “It’s exciting to be back, starting to feel the will to train again. I was pretty tired after last year. I’ve worked a lot on rehab, trying to keep the body in good shape going into this season.”

When Forge qualifies for off-season international play, their approach is to cleave their signings into a couple of distinct segments, which is reflected in certain parts of the roster. The CPL season doesn’t start until well into April.

“We’re in a very good spot,” says Head Coach and Sporting Director Bobby Smyrniotis. “We’re adding a few guys this week who will be announced very soon. Some of those guys have already started training with us. I think we’re making the right moves, with players we know very well, along with some others who will come in from the outside.

“It’s about building the squad in two parts. One is a piece that needs to be ready to play in the Champions Cup, and we also have to make sure we leave a few spots open for that roster flexibility we need for the CPL. Today is Jan. 6 and we don’t start the league season until three months from now. We look at the season in two phases, just as we did last year.”

The difference is that last year was the third year of Forge’s traditional three-year cycle of roster construction, and this is the first year of the next three-year phase. So there is a much greater turnover than there was last year; particularly on the back end where significant rearguards Malcolm Duncan and Dom Samuel have moved on, and veteran back Elimane Cissé will not be available for a few weeks as he recovers from injury The ultra-dependable Jönsson is back, as is emerging Malik Owolabi-Belewu and talented Daniel Parra is under contract on loan from, ironically, Monterrey.

There are a number of youth players in camp,  some U Sports draftees, a handful of affiliate players from lower leagues and, as Smyrniotis referenced, others whose contracts are being finalized before rosters have to be submitted for Champions Cup.

That puts more weight on the Forge’s leadership core to make sure that newcomers and younger less-experienced pros keep taking steps forward, both technically and in executing The Hammers’ well-documented commitment to disciplined team play: in games and in practice.

“That leadership core is still intact,” Jönsson said Monday. “I think it’s important to have David (Choinière), me, Bekks (Kyle Bekker) and Béni’s (Badibanga) option taken so our four captains are signed. I think that’s very important.”

While the focus will be on re-fortifying the back line, the line behind that one is in much better shape than it seemed at this time last year when Triston Henry, whom Smyrniotis always called the best goalkeeper in the league moved to the U.S. right before training camp. Christopher Kalongo, who turns only 23 on Tuesday, stepped into the breach and was outstanding and eventually, his backup Jassem Kolielat, took over between the posts when Kalongo was injured and made the job his through the end of the season. So this term, the goalkeeping –with No. 3 Dino Bontis of Ancaster on call—is now a depth spot.

“It’s completely different than this time last year,” Kolielat agreed. “From not knowing if I was even going to be on a club to getting the opportunity to play here and then proving that I can do what I can do. Thankfully I got that opportunity and now I’m just excited to keep performing. It’s something I’m extremely grateful for and I’m going to keep displaying it on the pitch, to the fans and to the coaches that I enjoy what I’m doing here and I’m trying to do my best.”

Smyrniotis amplified that: “Jassem didn’t join us until three weeks into pre-season last year while we were training in Mexico. That’s an important position to have organized and we’ve got that position settled in many ways.”

Forge knows they’re in tough against Monterrey, which lost in the final of the opening half (Apertura) of the Liga MX season and open the second half (Clausura) Saturday night at home against lightly-regarded Puebla. By the time they come north to Hamilton on Feb. 5, Monterrey will have played five league games and will be in full-season flow.

“Hopefully we can get the job done here and make ourselves a bit more comfortable when we go back there for the second leg,” Kolielat said. “We know it’s not going to be easy but it’s a good prep.”

Smyrtniotis has said before that despite Monterrey’s popularity, massive payroll, star power and long successful history, his goal is to win the series.

“Every pre-season brings its challenges,” he says. “And when you’re playing in Champions Cup and you’re in kind of that year where you transition quite a few players there’s always a little bit bigger challenge because you have to weigh the players you can bring in now against the players you can bring in later.

“So for us, it’s important to have a good balance in preparing for these two matches and to give us an opportunity to play two more. We’re not rushing into too many decisions because we know the type of players who will be around as you go later into January and February.”

HAMMERS AND NAILS: Players whose contracts have been officially announced or retained include Jassem Koleilat, Chris Kalongo, Malik Owolabi-Belewu, Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, Noah Jensen, Khadim Kane, Elimane Cissé, Nana Ampomah, David Choinière, Béni Badibanga and Orlendis Benitez.

More announcements will follow this week and next … Hungarian Ronaldo Homenski, who helped St. Catharines Roma advance into Division 1 of League1 Ontario, is in camp alongside a number of other youth players including Sigma FC’s Zayne Bruno and Oliver Clow … most noticeable, outside of the veterans, was big striker Maxim Filion, Hamilton’s second-round choice in the 2024 CPL draft. He is muscular and mobile and has shown his IQ by working himself onto the end of passes in and around the box.