Well, the drafts are over and now I get the unenviable task of sifting through all of the information in an attempt to tell you, my loyal readers, who the winners and losers were in this year's draft. Some clubs strengthened their prospects greatly while some did things to make many people wonder why they wasted their time in coming down to Florida. Either way several young men are going to get an opportunity to earn their shot at a boyhood dream: making a living playing a game. So let's get down to the nuts & bolts of who can, who did, and who didn't.
Portland Timbers
One club that came up roses in the draft didn't make their draft day success on picks. Rather it was their trading of picks for Seattle's rookie of the year forward Greg Howes that made the Timbers trip to Florida a success before they even made a pick. While it may be hard to deem a draft where a team has only one pick a success the player that the Timbers got for a pair of draft picks could be seen as far better than what may have been out there for their picks.
Charlotte Eagles
The Charlotte Eagles also had a good draft that could be outstanding if D.C. lets Caleb Norkus slide to the Eagles. Otherwise it looks like Charlotte got a pair of forwards who will serve as solid reinforcements ahead of their first A-League campaign.
Minnesota Thunder
Minnesota did a good job of filling some holes but they still have some work to do ahead of the season if they plan on shoring up their backline. Former Stanford defender Chris Gores should help them out in that department but I'm not sure if I would bet on him stepping right into the starting line-up.
Connecticut Wolves
Connecticut also did a good job of drafting players who will be upgrades of their current talent. The only chance that they took was in drafting Narcisco Fernandes who will more than likely slip through the K.C. Wizards' fingers. Boniventure Maruti and Paul Oyuga should be able to step in right away for the Wolves.
Atlanta Silverbacks
Atlanta did well in drafting Taly Goode as backup if Henry Ring falls through. The Chicago Fire will have the first shot at signing the former South Carolina All-American goalkeeper but if he doesn't make it with them the Silverbacks have put themselves into a very good situation with two outstanding keepers. Their first pick, Pablo Nassar, should provide some depth to their backline.
El Paso Patriots
El Paso also did very well in getting their hands on former Uconn defender Max Zieky and former UTEP standout Carlos Martinez, Jr. at forward. Zieky looks ready now and Martinez could contest for a spot as well. Their only slip up was in picking Ryan Suarez which was more a hopeful shot in the dark than anything because it appears very likely that Suarez may be stepping in to shore up the Dallas Burn's defense much like Nick Garcia did in Kansas City last year.
Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver also did well in the draft by picking up some local talent, which will go over well in the PR department, and added depth at key positions.
Hershey Wildcats
Hershey also did very well in drafting Jim Curtin, Giuliano Celenza, and Ben Stafford. Stafford is the best of these guys and could wind up being the steal of this draft. Curtin and Celenza should do well to push for some playing time before the season's over.
San Diego Flash
San Diego followed the same path set out by Seattle in this draft via their mid-season deal with Rochester. The Flash came away with five picks. Two guys who could make an immediate impact are Miguel Suazo and Ryan Lee, that is of course if Lee makes it by the Colorado Rapids first. Trevor Persson and Thiago Martins may merit a second look but I don't see them making the immediate impact that Suazo and Lee could have. The only mistake by the Flash came in virtually tossing their last pick out the window for Shaun Tsakiris. The former UCLA standout will not likely make it into the hands of any USL club this season.
Milwaukee Rampage
Milwaukee also had a nice draft in selecting a solid player in each position. They took Igor Stosic, Peter Henning, and Roberto Najaro who should all do well to provide some capable backup for Milwaukee's first team. These clubs are probably the best off after their selections in Thursday's draft.
There were other clubs who had a solid draft but did little that would be classified as masterstrokes in the drafting department.
Cincinnati Riverhawks
Cincinnati didn't do anything too dramatic with their selections even though they clearly went after gaining some offensive punch for a squad that was largely punchless last season.
Nashville Metros
Nashville is largely in the same category as the Riverhawks while they added three good to middling players in Martin Mckeever, Nick Glaser, and Brandon Wright. All three should stick with the Metros and will likely improve their squad.
Seattle Sounders
Seattle had one of the better drafts of these clubs because of the sheer amount of players that they were able to take. The only player they may lose to MLS is Brian Ching to L.A. but that seems a long shot. Otherwise they didn't shock anyone and merely loaded up on solid players in several areas.
Montreal Impact
Montreal had a solid yet unastounding draft as well in picking up Gaspar Bovsellino and Rumban Munthali. The only slip up they may have had in the draft was picking Danny Risch who had also been taken by the Chicago Fire who may, and this is just conjecture, try and make Risch a low rent replacement for Tom Soehn.
Toronto Lynx
Toronto also had a rather unspectacular draft in taking Robbie Aristodemo, David Clemente, and Nick Budalich. Budalich may be the pick of the three in the long run while Clemente could provide extra stability in the nets for the Lynx.
Rochester Raging Rhinos
Rochester had only one pick so out of the goodness of my heart I'll say that they had a decent draft. They took a guy in Mario Cristofori who can play both midfield or forward which comes in handy with Yari Allnut lost to MLS.
Long Island Rough Riders
Long Island had a decent draft as well in picking up a solid player in Steve Pedicini and taking Paul Snape to provide cover for the loss of Edson Buddle. Their biggest mistake may have been in trying to get Brent Rahim from under the noses of the L.A. Galaxy.
All of these clubs could go either way with their draft picks. They could come up looking like geniuses in six months or like people who wasted a bunch of time in Florida. These clubs make up what I would call my own little draft purgatory where they'll have to wait and see just exactly what it was that they came away with last Thursday.
Now for the bad new… those of you not mentioned in the last two paragraphs may not want to read this because, well, you didn't do such a hot job of making your selections. So without any further salt in the wound here's who I think will have to make the best of a rough situation after their drafts.
Indiana Blast
Indiana didn't do themselves any particular favors in taking two guys who were also drafted by MLS clubs. They may get their hands on Mckinley Tennyson but I'm not sure if he's going to be able to do a whole lot for that club next season and by the time he does show a spark I expect an MLS or European club to make a swoop for him. Defender Stephen Herdsman will likely be kept by the Colorado Rapids because if there's anything they lack right now the biggest thing is depth on the backline. This leaves defender Kevin Knott who may just be able to make an attempt to replace the departed Jon Pickup but even this pick can't save the Blast's draft.
Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Pittsburgh started their draft well in taking midfielder Ben Garry but quickly went downhill from there. They used their next two picks to take one of both Tampa Bay and D.C. United's first round picks. Ali Curtis has contemplated Europe let alone MLS so taking him looked kind of silly on draft day. Mark Lisi was United's first pick of the draft so it's safe to say that they wanted this guy so somehow I don't see him falling to the Hounds. The bottom line in Pittsburgh is that they're lucky they'll be returning most of last season's team and will hopefully be able to keep improving.
Richmond Kickers
Richmond made the same mistakes that Pittsburgh made in picking two players that had already been taken by D.C. United. Craig Ziadie and Bryan Namoff will likely both be contributors to some extent with D.C. United this season so this again looks to be a case of two wasted picks. They took a further gamble in taking Darin Lewis out of Uconn but this selection almost single handedly saved their draft.
Charleston Battery
Last but not least comes the Charleston Battery who started off well enough in selecting Pablo Webster a good defender out of Clemson but they potentially wasted one of their other picks while completely wasting the other. Robert Russell was taken by the L.A. Galaxy and he may become a poor man's Zak Ibsen for them if he has the chance to develop. Cory Gibbs on the other hand closely parallels Ali Curtis in the manner in which he is trying out Europe before even making any approach towards MLS. The Miami Fusion drafted the youngster out of Brown but there have been several rumors that he would wind up with St. Paulii in the 2Bundesliga in Germany. Those rumors went so far as to suggest that a contract had been tendered and signed by the defender yet his agent refuses to confirm this rumor. Either way the final pick by the Battery was nothing short of a complete waste unless a miracle happens.
That's the way things look for the clubs that didn't do such a wonderful job of drafting but with signings yet to be made and camps yet to open some of the picks that were and weren't made may be of less consequence the closer we get to the season.
One thing's clear after all of this speculation about the draft and that is the season will be here before we know it. By that time we'll all get to see if I know what I'm talking about, as I'm sure several people think I'm off it as it is, and whether or not I should be under some sort of consideration for some job as a scout or something next year. If nothing else the draft provides much cannon fodder for the fans to gnash their teeth on before the real fun begins. The new season is nearly upon us and everyone on all sides of the draft have a lot to prove from the newly drafted players to the men who made the decisions to pick them up. The real truth will come out in the coming weeks and I have a hunch I might just be proven right on some counts. That's the view from here and I'll be back next week with more news, opinion, and conjecture from the world of the best sport in the world.
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