Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – With former FC Edmonton player Allan Zebie joining the Griffins as an assistant coach this season, he'll be in a unique position to continue to further the development of one of his star players at BTB Academy.
Philip Masri was an obvious choice for Griffins head coach Adam Loga to recruit after seeing the dominant 6-foot-4 striker play throughout the off-season.
"I saw Big Phil in January or February and I said to our assistant coach Zebs, who was coaching him, 'man, how do we get him to MacEwan?' He said he was going on trial in Germany, so I was patient with it. When we were playing League 1 (in the spring), I was coaching against him and it was 'man, Big Phil's still here. What happened?' So, I reached out to Allan again. Obviously, he's a great talent. Many were after him.
"We were able to, as a staff, recruit him and bring him in here, which we're just ecstatic to have that nine that we haven't really had since Alvin (Mazaheri). Hopefully, he can find success with us and take us to that next level."
That's a lofty comparison of Masri's talents, considering Mazaheri was a revelation as a rookie in 2021, coming over from his home in Denmark to lead the Griffins in scoring with five goals in 10 games en route to winning MacEwan's Male Rookie of the Year award.
"He has similar size," said Loga of Masri, who is actually an inch taller than Mazaheri. "He's a bit of a hybrid who can play back to goal, but he can also get in on things in behind. He's decent in the air. We'll have to maybe fine-tune some things in his movement patterns, but I think with the talent around him, he should have no problem burying goals."
Masri finished tied for third in scoring in Alberta's League 1 this past spring, burying four goals in eight games.
With his size, he has all kinds of potential to be a weapon on corner kicks for the Griffins.
"100 per cent," agreed Loga. "Scoring them for sure, but definitely defending them as well. He's a great kid with a great spirit to him.
"We're just very lucky to get him."
