CANADIANS ABROAD: Kadeisha Buchanan on fire | Lysianne Proulx's Bay FC debut | Janine Beckie is BACK
With the Gold Cup now in the rearview mirror for members of the CanWNT, they’ve all returned to club action over the last two weeks.
There, they’ve had some big challenges, as those in Europe get set for the business end of their campaigns, while those in North America prepared for the start of their respective seasons.
And with players still battling to be in Bev Priestman’s Olympic roster, of which Priestman will wait as long as possible to fill as she said this week, these games are crucial opportunities for players to prove themselves worthy of such a selection when that decision comes.
Along with the three windows that Canada will have before the Olympics, it’ll make for a crucial couple of months for players, from those who are locked in the team, to those who are still battling their way in.
Because of that, it’s an exciting time to follow players at their clubs, as it’ll make for some inspired performances.
This week was a prime example of that, too, as several Canadians shone across the globe, doing well to leave their mark in some important matches.
Here are some of those standout performances in this week’s Canadians Abroad.
Kadeisha Buchanan’s Chelsea breakout?
After her move to Chelsea from Lyon as a free agent at the beginning of 2022-2023, Buchanan quickly became a rock for her new club last year, playing 2179 minutes across 28 appearances in all competitions, before an injury kept her out of a bunch of crucial games at the end of the season.
Fully healthy heading into this year, however, it was expected she’d play an even bigger role, helping bring the experience that Chelsea had coveted when they’d signed the five-time Champions League winner. Especially with a big goal of theirs being to win a Champions League for the first time after dominating the English game over the last decade, it felt like Buchanan could be a key part of that.
Because of that, it’s been a surprise to see her role diminish in 2023-2024, as heading into this past week, she hadn’t even cleared 1000 minutes across 11 appearances, starting just nine of those games.
Given that one of Chelsea’s usual starting centre backs, Millie Bright, has dealt with some injuries of her own, too, that’s been even more surprising, as it could be argued that Buchanan and Bright are the team’s best pairing when everyone is healthy.
Yet, despite those lack of minutes, Buchanan didn’t let that affect her, as she had a strong Gold Cup with Canada, giving her confidence as she returned to Chelsea’s fold.
And clearly, that’s given her a boost, as she marked her return by putting up two of her best performances in a Chelsea shirt, helping defeat Arsenal 3-1 in a crucial top-of-the-table WSL clash on the weekend, before helping down Ajax 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League QF tie in midweek.
Starting at the back in both, Buchanan was excellent on both sides of the ball, putting up the sort of performances that she regularly put up for Lyon.
Just look at the numbers, as she won 16 out of 21 of her duels, made 13 recoveries, had five interceptions, seven clearances, three tackles and three blocks, doing well to help Chelsea concede just one goal despite facing strong Arsenal and Ajax attacks.
Then, offensively, she completed 84.5% of her passes, made six out of her nine long balls and won four fouls, doing well to help control the tempo of the play with some of her passing out of the back and her ability to slow down the game by winning fouls.
Kadeisha Buchanan was dominant for Chelsea in their 3-0 leg 1 #UCL QF win vs Ajax
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 19, 2024
In 90', she had:
42/50 passes (84%)
6 passes into final 3rd
2/2 long balls
2 blocks
4 clearances
4 interceptions
9 recoveries
10/12 duels
2 fouls won
A rock for a 2nd straight game #CanWNT/#CanXNT pic.twitter.com/ldjauOltGS
Plus, the eye test backed up those numbers, as it felt like she was winning every ball that came her way defensively, making some heroic defensive interventions, before calmly taking care of it every time she got the chance to make a play at the other end.
Yet, it was a typical Buchanan performance, serving as a reminder of what she can do at her best. With her unique mix of strong aerial ability, speed, tenacity and ability on the ball, she has a perfect profile for a modern centre back, one that can help teams at both ends of the pitch.
As a result, she earned due praise from her manager, Emma Hayes, who noted that Buchanan “showed her best level in a Chelsea shirt” across these two games.
But that’s why she’s a five-time Champions League winner, and why Chelsea brought her in, knowing that she could add immense value to the team with both her play and experience.
So while the adjustment to her new club hasn’t always been seamless, especially this year, this could be the start of a massive run for Buchanan, as Chelsea gets set to chase a historic quadruple, sitting tied atop the WSL, in the finals of the League Cup, the semi-finals of the FA Cup and in a good position to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
There’s no doubt that Buchanan could play a massive role in that, and Chelsea will need her to, especially after some of the injuries they’ve suffered to their attack this year.
From there, that bodes well for Canada, too, as the more confident that Buchanan is heading into this summer, the better, as she remains an indisputable starter on this Canadian team, and will need to be on her A-game if Canada is to defend their gold medal at the Olympics, having played a massive role in that triumph in the first place.
Because of that, keep an eye on her over the next few weeks for Chelsea, as she should play a big role in some of the massive games that await them, with their dreams of a historic quadruple raging on. 
Janine Beckie is BACK:
It was hard to set expectations for Janine Beckie as she returned from an ACL injury that she sustained in the Portland Thorns preseason last year.
Given that her last competitive appearance had come for Canada at the She Believes Cup in February of 2023, and that her last competitive club appearance had come in the 2022 NWSL final in October of 2022, it was hard to tell how the 29-year-old would look as she made a return from a serious injury like this one.
Because of that, expectations were low as she stepped onto the field for the Thorns at half time of their NWSL opener this past weekend, with her team trailing 3-1 to the KC Current after a slow start.
Will she look rusty on the ball? Has she lost a step? How will she handle the speed of play?
But as Beckie can do, she quickly put all of those doubts to rest within just 45 minutes, as she marked her return with a well-taken brace, helping pace a Thorns comeback that came just short as they fell 5-4 in the end.
Janine Beckie, welcome back🫡
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 16, 2024
What a return for Beckie, who has looked great in her 1st NWSL game since Oct.29, 2022, and she's marked it with a goal, her 1st for the Portland Thorns
Great to see her back, and huge to see for the #CanWNT/#CanXNT pic.twitter.com/6ynfvHGUqm
Her first two goals for the Thorns after not scoring in 19 appearances in the 2022 campaign, her first with the club, what was most impressive about them was how she took them, too.
These weren’t two tap-in goals, or a penalty designed to bring her confidence up. No, these were two top-class goals, one coming off a left-footed strike from a tight angle, and then the other being a long-distance screamer that might be one of Beckie’s best in her career.
Janine Beckie had quite the return from injury today for the Portland Thorns
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 16, 2024
In 46', she had:
2 goals (including this GOLAZO)
12/16 passes (75%)
1 chance created
4 shots (1 big chance missed)
1/1 dribbles
1/1 crosses
Olympic push is on #CanWNT/#CanXNTpic.twitter.com/Vz6xQsxHWx
As a result, it marked the perfect return for Beckie, who showed that despite her injury, she’s been not just pushing to return to the same level as before, but better.
And that’s huge for Canada, as she was one of their most important pieces before her injury, with her leadership, chance creation and versatility being three things they missed massively with her out last year.
Because of that, it was hoped that she could return at least as good as she was before her injury, which would allow her to play a big role for Canada heading into the Olympics.
Therefore, that shows why it’s so exciting to see that she could be coming back even stronger, as that will only help Canada, who will want to lean upon her heavily.
Now, however, Beckie’s big challenge will be to find a similar role for Portland. After being more of a bit-part piece on their 2022 title-winning team, she’ll look to become a regular starter now, something that this debut will hopefully help her do.
If she can do that, it would be huge, as an in-form Beckie at the club level will only help Canada. That’s why Bev Priestman likely left Beckie out of the Gold Cup to stay with the Thorns in preseason, giving her the chance to win a spot, and between that and her opening-day performance, that looks to have paid off.
Because of that, look for Beckie to carry this momentum into the next few games, as she looks to further mark her arrival with some more big performances, with the goal of being able to carry that into the Olympics.
Proulx’s performance a sign of Canada’s strong goalkeeper depth:
For those who have followed the CanWNT since the 2000s, one thing has always been clear, other than Christine Sinclair’s greatness - this team’s goalkeeper depth is unmatched.
From past names such as Karina LeBlanc, Erin McLeod and Stephanie Labbe, to today’s names such as Kailen Sheridan and Sabrina D’Angelo, Canada never seems to be short of top-quality options who can play in goal. In fact, it usually seems to be the opposite - players like Sheridan, Labbe and McLeod all could’ve stood to be even bigger names for Canada had they not been competing with the quality names that held them back from more appearances.
Because of that, it shouldn’t be that surprising to see that Canada now has a third top-quality option to push Sheridan and D’Angelo, as Lysianne Proulx had a breakout performance to remember this past weekend.
A regular #3 option behind Sheridan and D’Angelo for Canada over the past two years, the 24-year-old Proulx has meanwhile been quietly climbing the ranks at the club level, starting her pro career with Portuguese side Torreense in 2022-2023 after spending her college career at Syracuse.
From there, after 18 appearances in Portugal, she went for a stint in Australia with Melbourne City, where she made 14 appearances. Meanwhile, with Canada, she remained the team’s main #3, cracking their 2023 World Cup squad in that role, even if she never made an appearance for Canada before doing so.
Then, she made a big move this past winter, signing for the new NWSL expansion side, Bay FC, becoming one of their inaugural players.
And there, she had a massive break this past week, as Melissa Lowder, who seemed to be one of the favourites to start the season in goal between her, Proulx and Katelyn Rowland, unfortunately suffered a knee injury that’ll keep her out of the 2024 campaign.
As a result, it left the coaching staff to choose between Rowland, who has over 40 games of NWSL experience, or Proulx, to start the year, and they decided to go with Proulx, giving her the start in the club’s first-ever game against Angel City this past weekend.
There, Proulx had a performance to remember, making eight stops in a 1-0 win, pacing Bay to a perfect start.
Exceptional NWSL debut from Lysianne Proulx, who stood on her HEAD for Bay FC in their 1st ever game, a 1-0 win over Angel City
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 18, 2024
She made 8 saves in the clean sheet, several of which were big, such as this 1st half stop
Great start👏🧱🧤#CanWNT/#CanXNTpic.twitter.com/ILwFkKyPDc
Despite facing 2.36 xGOT, with several of Angel City’s chances being of the high-danger variety, Proulx stood tall to all of them, making some commanding stops to help her team keep the clean sheet.
According to American Soccer Analysis's xG model, Lysianne Proulx faced 2.36 xGOT in her 8-save debut for Bay FC yesterday, showing that she was indeed able to salvage all 3 points for her team😳
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 18, 2024
Another GK to watch on the #CanWNT/#CanXNT GK production line🔥 https://t.co/0OyYRSsCuD
Through that, Proulx was able to send a message to the rest of the NWSL - she’s arrived, and looks ready to be a key piece for this Bay FC team this year, as they look to get off to a competitive start to their first-ever season, having certainly made the signings to do so.
And that’s huge for Canada, as that only gives them more depth in goal, especially long-term given Proulx’s age.
That’s key, because while she might be in-tough to crack the Olympic squad ahead of Sheridan and D’Angelo, she can still make it as an alternate, and certainly has to be looked at as an option to potentially start by the 2027 World Cup. 
Plus, should something happen to Sheridan and D’Angelo, Proulx will be ready to step up, too, as she hunts for her first Canadian cap.
As a result, look for Proulx to build off this strong start, because it will only help her in her push for 2027, while pushing her into the mix to play a role for Canada as soon as this year, if she keeps this up.
