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For the first time ever, an Alberta Premier League side will take on Major League Soccer opposition this week, when the Calgary Blizzard head to Stade Saputo for a TELUS Canadian Championship battle against CF Montreal (Wednesday, May 6, 5:30 p.m. MT on OneSoccer).

The APL’s defending champions will represent the league in this year’s tournament after winning the 2025 title, and they’re faced with the daunting task of playing an MLS foe.

However, the Blizzard intend to approach this game with no fear. Head coach Ramón Mifflin told aplsoccer.ca on Tuesday that his players are thrilled at the opportunity to test themselves at such a high level.

“It’s a group of young men that are buzzing with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said.

“It’s been a very humbling experience, but these guys are the Alberta Premier League champions, and they feel like they can come out here and compete. What will be, will be; we’ve got a game plan, and go from there. It’s just riding the wave of this whole experience that they’re not used to, but we’re in really good spirits. Everybody’s buzzing, everybody’s locked in, they’re enjoying themselves.”

Although this will be the Blizzard’s first competitive game of 2026, they’ve already got plenty of chemistry in place. Almost all of their title-winning 2025 squad has returned and will take part in this Canadian Championship campaign, including co-captains Moe El Gandour and Marco Plenzik.

Mifflin knows that his team won’t necessarily be able to play the same way they typically would in APL matches. Against a side with MLS quality, they’ll have to adjust in order to limit mistakes and look for ways to shock their opponent in transition.

“Let’s be fit, let’s have a game plan,” Mifflin said. “We know we’re not going to have the ball that much, but we think with the player personnel we have, if we’re fit and we can disrupt in our zones one and two, which is our defensive area, we can counter-attack. The boys have embraced that message.”

CF Montréal will, naturally, pose a serious attacking threat. They’ve struggled somewhat in their MLS season so far, sitting 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 3-0-7 record, but they’ve been good at home recently. They won their last two games at Stade Saputo, including a 4-1 rout of the New York Red Bulls.

They’ll likely rotate their lineup somewhat, especially to fulfill the CanChamp requirement of including three Canadian players in the starting XI, but there is one regular player that Mifflin and the Blizzard might want to compete against.

Victor Loturi, a born-and-raised Calgary native and alumnus of the Calgary Foothills and Cavalry FC programs, is a familiar face to many around the Alberta soccer community, and an inspiration to the Blizzard’s young players.

“I coached Victor back in the day at the REX program in Calgary,” Mifflin added.

“What a great guy, I’m so happy for him to [see] where he’s at now, and he knows some of the boys. He’s definitely the standard of player that we’re happy comes out of Calgary. We’ve talked about it, look where Victor is, and all it takes is that drive, that dedication to be there, to be a good pro, and sometimes you’ve got to catch the right breaks. Victor’s an inspiration to not just us, but the city of Calgary, as one of the signature players that have come out of there.”

Regardless of what happens on Wednesday night, the Blizzard will be able to use the unique experience of playing in an MLS stadium as a learning opportunity. They’ll hope that a CanChamp debut can help fuel them heading into their APL title defence — which begins on Saturday against St. Albert.

Calgary Blizzard’s TELUS Canadian Championship preliminary round match vs. CF Montréal will be Wednesday, May 6 at Stade Saputo. The game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on OneSoccer.