The Canada West Player of The Year award is presented to the top football player in the conference as voted on by the coaches of the conference every season.
The recipient of the award is nominated to represent the conference in the voting for the U SPORTS MVP, the Hec Creighton Trophy, competing against other winners of the MVP award from the OUA, RSEQ, and AUS conferences.
Some notable past winners include Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot, who won the prize with Calgary in 2021, Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Matthew Peterson, winner of the award with Alberta in 2023, and Adam Sinagra, who won the award and the Hec Creighton Trophy in 2018 for setting a U SPORTS record for the most passing yards in a season with Calgary.
2024 was a close competition to decide the winner, and it looks to be the same this season. These are my top four candidates for the 2025 Canada West Player of the Year.
4. QB Anton Amundrud, Saskatchewan Huskies
While Amundrud led the conference with 2275 passing yards and 11 touchdowns, he did not come home with the award in 2024.
It's a safe bet to say Amundrud will be one of the top quarterbacks again when you take into account the conference leader in receiving yards and touchdowns, Daniel Wiebe, will be returning to the Huskies' offence. Wiebe's 807 yards and seven touchdowns were a significant part of Amundrud's numbers last year.
It would have been a huge hole to fill if Wiebe — who was selected 69th overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2025 CFL Draft — had not been released by Saskatchewan ahead of the 2025 CFL season. But, now it's news that should scare the opposing defences in the conference.
Both Wiebe and Amundrud make cases to be the top players in the conference at their positions, and another 2024-like campaign from the duo would certainly strengthen both of their cases for a major award significantly.
3. RB Ryker Frank, Saskatchewan Huskies
Frank misses out on the top two, but there is a good case for the fifth-year running back to make that jump when the season starts with a strong game or two. The Regina native had an electric 2024, posting 929 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground for the Huskies. Both marks were good enough to rank second in the conference.
Although he trailed Manitoba's Breydon Stubbs by 22 total rushing yards, Frank had a slightly higher average yards per carry at 6.1 compared to Stubbs' 5.9. Frank will likely post similar numbers to Stubbs, as he did in 2024, considering both running backs are returning with the same quarterback, which should mean a good battle.
Frank's potential to eclipse his 2024 numbers, though, does raise some questions. With Wiebe returning, the Huskies could go either way on leaning into one player over the other. It is risky to bet that both Wiebe and Frank can post similar numbers without expecting one to see a slight reduction in production.
With that in mind, Frank takes the third spot. However, there is a pathway to climb the rankings if he excels once again and surpasses his numbers from last season.
2. RB Breydon Stubbs, Manitoba Bisons
The conference's leading rusher last season comes into 2025 in his last year of eligibility. If 2025 is anything like his 2024 campaign, the Bisons will be scary on offence once again.
Stubbs was statistically the best out of the conference's three dominant tailbacks — Saskatchewan's Ryker Frank and British Columbia's Isaiah Knight being the other two — leading all running backs with 14 rushing touchdowns and 951 rushing yards.
The running back proved he could be the leader out of the backfield for Manitoba last season, but does he have the potential to go higher? Most of the team's wide receivers, except for last year's leading receiver, AK Gassama, are returning in 2025, which could open the door for the Bisons to focus more on the run at times this season — and gives him an edge over Frank in this category.
Stubbs will undoubtedly be a favourite for player of the year and make a great case to take home the award regardless of whether his production this year is on par or better than 2024. But if he does find a way to break the 1000-yard mark, similar to Matthew Peterson's 2023 player of the year campaign (where he recorded 1,128 yards) it would be difficult to find a reason why he should not walk away with the award this season.
1. QB Jackson Tachinski, Manitoba Bisons
The reigning Canada West Player of the Year has to be the early favourite for the award in 2025. And it's easy to see why.
Tachinski lit up opposing defences both on the ground and in the air in 2024. The quarterback recorded a combined 2,221 passing and rushing yards, 14 combined passing and rushing touchdowns, and protected the football very well, only allowing six interceptions through eight regular-season games. The Winnipeg product's dynamic season led the Bisons to first place in the CW standings last year — the first time Manitoba finished at the top of the conference since their Vanier Cup-winning season in 2007.
Tachinski has to have the edge over Stubbs, considering how the quarterback has shown his ability to be a threat by passing or rushing. While Stubbs can get more usage with Manitoba losing Gassama, the Bisons' offence ran on a by-committee approach at the receiver position last year.
And with the team's second, third and fourth leading receivers all returning for another season, it is shaping up to be another trophy-worthy season from the fifth-year signal caller.
Honourable mentions:
QB Drew Viotto, UBC Thunderbirds
WR Sam Davenport, UBC Thunderbirds
WR Daniel Wiebe, Saskatchewan Huskies
RB Mathieu Clarke, Calgary Dinos
QB Noah Pelletier, Regina Rams
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story included Dom Britton, who is not returning to the Calgary Dinos in 2025.