Good Monday morning Caps fans, hope you all had a lovely weekend and are gearing up for a good week ahead.

It was a satisfying business trip down to Portland for the Vancouver Whitecaps, who basically began the 2025 season where 2024 left off: pasting the Timbers at Providence Park.

You would always favor the Caps to win against Portland when they were up a man for 80 minutes but Vancouver made no mistake in this one and that was in large part due to an absolutely scintillating performance from Jayden Nelson.

First, we have to talk about the red card. Timbers fans will whine about it but it is pretty clearly the correct call, with Miller making contact with White (who admittedly sold it to the hilt). It was a foul and, thus, DOGSO. I would probably also be frustrated if the roles were reversed but it is a call you are begging the referee to make and, well, he did.

OK, onto the good stuff. Many thought Nelson would be a nice depth piece but one that might struggle to make an outsized attacking impact. In his final MLS season, Nelson managed three goal contributions — a mark he eclipsed in just 60 minutes of play for the Whitecaps.

He could have had many more if the finishing from the Whitecaps was a bit sharper. His third assist, a spectacular solo run and pass to Sam Adekugbe, and his goal, where he similarly tortured the Portland backline 1v1, were exactly the type of play the Whitecaps have been searching for.

I’m under no illusion that Nelson is going to have this sort of impact every week. You can make an argument that he might still not wind up being a starter, depending on what Emmanuel Sabbi winds up doing and if Ali Ahmed continues as a winger.

But if the Caps’ lack of depth doomed their 2024, having this type of blazing pace to drop into matches or rotate in during the dog days of summer is a massive game changer. Nelson also could be a Canadian Championship cheat code. And a massive season would be the ultimate clap back at Toronto FC.

Aside from one calamitous bit of defending that allowed Portland to claw back a goal, that was a comprehensive team performance and a number of other guys stood out. Sam Adekugbe, whose return to fitness was lost in the shuffle when we were thinking about attacking options this season, looked great and his counterpart on the right, Mathias Laborda, is showing signs of developing into a solid enough right back.

The lone downside to the Portland match (plus the heartbreak against Saprissa) is that I don’t think we have a good read yet on Jesper Sorenson’s team or style of play. And there will be far stiffer challenges ahead before we can see where the Caps fall in the Western Conference hierarchy. But, much like the 2024 wild card game, man did it feel good to drub the Timbers.

Shameless Self Promotion

Caleb Wilkins recaps the deja vu of battering Portland away. Meanwhile, the TTS gang offers up our predictions for how the Whitecaps will fare, who the best new signing will be (Ian is feeling good about buying Jayden Nelson stock) and much more.

Best of the Rest

More from the man of the hour on Sunday about where he goes from his four goal contribution performance.

Elsewhere in the league, San Diego FC stunned the defending champion LA Galaxy with a 2-0 win in their first ever MLS match. And Matt Doyle has a nice breakdown of week one action if you missed anything.

The Canadian National Team is earning some commitments from promising European prospects.

A look at the first round of the Voyageurs Cup and what to expect.