With our national men’s soccer team coming off its best-ever performance at the World Cup, it’s a great time to be a Canadian sports fan. Now that the tournament has reached the semifinals and most of the other players are back home following the international break, Major League Soccer returns to action, with the Vancouver Whitecaps (10 wins, two losses, two draws) just one point shy of first place on the overall table as we go to press.
We’ve also got four CFL games to consider for this week’s all-Canada parlay bets, and for an extra treat, how about some summertime hockey featuring one of our leading exports? It’s all here in our latest Ozoon Backs Canada parlay:
– Thursday: Vancouver Whitecaps over Chicago Fire (+127)
– Sunday: Winnipeg Blue Bombers over Ottawa Redblacks (–170)
– Friday: Melbourne Ice over Melbourne Mustangs (+120)
– Combined parlay odds: +693
Vancouver Whitecaps over Chicago Fire (+127)
These are heady times for the Whitecaps. After nearly a decade in the MLS doldrums, Vancouver broke through last year with the signing of veteran German powerhouse Thomas Muller, winning the Western Conference to reach their first-ever MLS Cup, which the ‘Caps lost 3-1 to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. We could see a rematch this December, with Miami (+300) and Vancouver (+600) holding down the top two spots on the 2026 MLS Cup futures market at Ozoon.
Thursday’s match with Chicago (eight wins, four losses, two draws) won’t be a walkover. They’ll be playing at Soldier Field (8:30 PM ET, Apple TV), with the Fire priced as competitive +185 underdogs and the draw at +265 on the 1X2 lines. And the Whitecaps will be making the short turnaround from Monday’s Canadian Championship match in Calgary, where they’ll face Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League at ATCO Field.
That match could help or harm the Whitecaps for Thursday. This has been a seven-week layoff for the MLS; Vancouver’s leading playmaker, Sebastian Berhalter, did make it onto Team USA, while three Chicago players saw World Cup action – including Canada’s Joel Waterman. Otherwise, rust is a real concern for both teams.
But definitely more so for Chicago. The Whitecaps played the first leg of their Canadian Championship series with Cavalry FC on July 8, winning 4-1 at Swangard Stadium; manager Jesper Sorensen fielded a strong starting XI that day and intended to do so again for Monday’s second leg. This is a golden opportunity for Sorensen to get his team MLS-ready while the Fire sit idle. Even better, Monday’s result should be in the bag by the time you read this, so you’ll have that valuable information on whether Berhalter featured for the Whitecaps, or if anyone got hurt along the way.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers over Ottawa Redblacks (–170)
Two weeks ago, we faded the Blue Bombers in Hamilton, but everything went sideways when both quarterbacks – Zach Collaros (upper body) for the Bombers, and Bo Levi Mitchell (lower body) for the Tiger-Cats – were knocked out of the game. Canada’s own Taylor Elgersma took over for Winnipeg and led them from a 13-4 halftime deficit to a 14-13 victory.
This changes everything for the Bombers. Collaros ably guided them to three Grey Cups, and was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2021 and 2022, but he’s on the decline at age 37; former Redblacks QB Dru Brown recently made his return to Winnipeg via trade and got the timely start in Week 6 ahead of Elgersma, giving the Bombers a boost on offence as they beat the visiting Toronto Argonauts 30-21.
Meanwhile, the Redblacks are still looking for their first win at 0-5 (2-3 ATS). Their defence got mauled by the Edmonton Elks last week, and QB Jake Maier threw four interceptions as Ottawa fell 40-17. We might see McLeod Bethel-Thompson get the start instead this Sunday, but the Rouge et Noir still don’t have a run game, and tackling seems to be an even bigger issue in our nation’s capital.
As for home-field advantage, the Redblacks might be looking at some empty seats Sunday night (7 PM ET, TSN). This time slot has always been tough to fill at TD Place, but with this record, there’s a good chance we’ll see fewer than half of those 24,000 seats filled, even if the heat wave that’s gripping Ottawa right now should have eased off somewhat by the weekend.
Let’s call this what it is: a complete teardown and rebuild for Ottawa’s first-year head coach and GM Ryan Dinwiddie. These things don’t happen overnight. Until they start making some tangible progress, this is the perfect time to kick the Redblacks while they’re down.
Melbourne Ice over Melbourne Mustangs (+120)
Nothing is more Canadian than hockey. Yes, they’ll be playing in Australia, specifically at the O’Brien Icehouse in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne – home to both the Ice (9-8-1-3) and Mustangs (13-9-1-0) of the Australian Ice Hockey League. But there’s ample Canadian talent on both sides; the Mustangs have 11 on the roster, including goalie Noah Giesbrecht (South Surrey, BC) and forwards Brody Crane (Union, Ontario) and Colin McIntosh (The Pas, Manitoba), while the Ice respond with defenceman Simon Despres (Laval) and five other homegrown products.
Even if you haven’t been keeping up with Australian hockey, that last name might be familiar to you. Despres was a first-round pick (No. 30 overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, then won the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the QMJHL’s top blueliner while leading the 2010-11 Saint John Sea Dogs to the Memorial Cup championship.
Unfortunately for Despres, he suffered a concussion in 2015 while playing for the Anaheim Ducks, courtesy of an illegal hit by Colorado Avalanche defenceman Tyson Barrie. That was the beginning of the end for Despres in the NHL. He’s been a hockey vagabond ever since, most recently in Scotland with the Fife Flyers of the Elite Ice Hockey League.
That was until June 13, when the Ice came calling. Despres has played seven games for his new employers, scoring one goal and 11 assists; sure enough, the Ice are hot right now, winning five of their last seven and eight of 10 since their last encounter with the Mustangs, which they lost 6-3.
The Ice are the reigning AIHL champions, and won four more titles between 2010 and 2017, so their recent success is a return to form – although you have to be careful given the roster churn these teams go through every year. You also have to get up pretty early (5:30 AM ET) if you want to do some live betting at Ozoon. But the Ice appear to be undervalued here given their slow start and the recent addition of Despres, a first-round talent playing semi-professional hockey Down Under.
That’s our all-Canadian parlay for this week here at Ozoon, and one that will pay out at close to 7-1 if all three legs come true. If you like what you see, fire up our odds board, add these to your bet slip, and we’ll see you next week for more sports betting tips and analysis from the Great White North.