He played less than 90 minutes of football last season and remains somewhat of an unknown quantity.
There is, however, a growing sense that Theo Bair may soon be about to get his big St Johnstone break.
The Canadian forward arrived in January from Vancouver Whitecaps and made just five appearances – against St Mirren, Hearts, Ross County, Rangers and Celtic – last season. All of them were from the bench.
With striker Callum Hendry signing for Salford City and Chris Kane still on the injury comeback, the door in an upcoming friendly and Premier Sports Cup fixtures is wedged open for Bair to impress.
The 22-year-old already has pre-season goals to his name after netting in a 1-1 draw against Aberdeen during the club’s warm weather training camp in the Murcia region of Spain.
He then found the back of the net on Tuesday afternoon in a high-scoring 6-3 defeat up in Inverness.
Ahead of Saints welcoming Cove Rangers to McDiarmid Park on Saturday for a friendly and then the beginning of the cup group stage on Tuesday at home to Annan, The PA went in search of finding out more about Bair.
Alexandre Gangue-Ruzic, Web Editor for One Soccer and who also covers Vancouver Whitecaps extensively, has kept a close eye on the 6ft 4ins frontman’s career so far.
“He was one of the guys to watch in the academy,” Alexandre recalled. “He was a big, physically imposing striker and was scoring goals at a good rate at all levels.
“When he got promoted at the end of 2018, beginning of 2019, it was exciting to see a Canadian youngster get an opportunity. There was certainly a fair bit of buzz around him when he joined the Vancouver first team permanently.
“He was in the team
pre-season and you could see flashes. But it kind of hit a wall and he ended up joining the second team, which was a bit of a surprise.”
Bair would later return to the Vancouver first team and saw his name flash up in lights when netting a stunning volley on the swivel against Portland Timbers in August 2019. “It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Bair noted after the match.
Alexandre said: “He got his chance and it then just clicked. He looked fantastic and was not looking out of place. Physically it was never going to be an issue but he looked up to the pace technically too.
“And when you score a goal like that, everybody notices it and the buzz starts to build. He scored another goal by the end of the season and really looked like someone ready to play in the MLS.”
The Covid pandemic then played its part in stalling momentum and eventually Bair was sent out on loan to Norwegian second division side Hamarkameratene (HamKam).
It was productive – he netted a few goals and helped the team earn promotion to the top-flight.
“I think people wanted to see him get an opportunity with Vancouver,” Alexandre said.
“But in 2021 there just weren’t minutes for him. They brought in some new faces and he didn’t end up playing.
“It made sense to give him an opportunity elsewhere. He went to HamKam and that was a great spot for him.
“He was playing week in, week out at a solid level with a team pushing for promotion. He was bagging some goals and playing well. It was exactly what he needed at the time.
“He had got the minutes he needed and you wondered if he was going to come back to Vancouver and do well.
“All the flashes were there but it just didn’t work out. It was a bittersweet one.
“The fans would have loved to have had a homegrown striker to cheer on.”
The next chapter of Bair’s footballing career would continue in Europe when Saints, lingering down the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table and in threat of relegation, came calling in January.
Alexandre told the PA: “People were excited about him going to the top division.
“And it was pretty cool to see him join David Wotherspoon. It was unfortunate Bair wasn’t able to see the field much.
“It was a tough time for St Johnstone but it was great to see them avoid the drop.
“Hopefully Bair can hit the ground running this year and Wotherspoon comes back from his injury better than ever.
“Then they can link-up and give Canadian fans something to get excited about.”
It is not just Bair’s athletic size that can cause defences across the league problems, Alexandre believes.
“His size is what gets talked about the most,” he said. “He has a big frame and is getting better and better at using it.
“But I think he also has a pretty deft touch for a big man - and he is quick.
“That makes him a tough-to-defend forward because he can wear you down physically and is also comfortable running in behind. He can hurt you in different ways.”
With international experience at youth level, it is not completely out of the question for Bair to work his way back into the Canada set-up if he fires in the goals with great regularity in the top-flight of Scottish football.
“John Herdman (Canada head coach) really likes the Scottish league and he is always giving players from there a shot,” Alexandre explained.
“There are almost half a dozen Canadians with potential to play for the national team in the league.
“If Theo Bair is scoring, he definitely has a chance. He brings something that a lot of strikers don’t have.
“He is obviously not going to be breaking in ahead of Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Ike Ugbo.
“But in terms of the fourth striker spot, it is down to who is in form and who can grab their chance.”
Canada fans are also keeping close tabs on the progress of Wotherspoon, the crafty Saints creative spark who is continuing his recovery from a serious knee injury.
Wotherspoon, from Bridge of Earn but who qualified to play for the Canadian national team through his mum, will be determined to get back up to full speed in the coming months to be in with a World Cup selection shout.
“David has been a welcome addition,” Alexandre said.
“Nobody really knew too much about him and he only made his debut for Canada in 2018.
“But he has quickly grown on a lot of people and has been a key leader in the team.
“He can play, has earned starts and I always remember how much John Herdman loves what he brings to training.
“No matter who they have in the camp, he is consistently one of the top trainers.
“Wotherspoon has impressed with how he has fitted into the group.
“And because of that, I think it gives him a potential edge of going to the World Cup.
“The team is young and needs all the leaders it can get.
“With the squads expanded to 26, if he finds his legs again then I think Herdman would have him on the team.
“Canadian fans would be okay with that because they have seen what he can bring off the field and on.”
