After creating something of a stir with some of my grades last week I'm back with the second installment in this three-part series. These grades are based mainly on the moves that teams have made thus far this season and not necessarily on how good or bad they are overall… that's for later. Anyway, enough talk. Here's the scoop on the Northern Conference where, surprisingly, most of the best moves made in the pre-season have been off the field maneuvers.
Connecticut: There's not a lot of news flowing out of the New Britain area right now so we're really left to judge on who they will probably have back and who they drafted. Boniventure Maruti and Paul Oyuga look to be the real deal for the Wolves while Narciso Fernandes has shown a good deal of promise while on travels with the Kansas City Wizards. If Fernandes lands in Connecticut the Wolves will have done extremely well with their draft. They have three guys who can potentially help this team along, with some of their veterans' help, to make the Wolves a tough out in the Northern Conference this season. Aside from these three guys Connecticut has a good coach who will likely get as
much out of his returning players as possible. We're still largely waiting for news to come out of New Britain on any off the field developments for this team and until that time I reserve the right to change their grade even though it did slip some because of the fact that they haven't milked their status as one of the few pro sports options in New Britain during this off-season. As of right now their grade: B-
Hershey: The Wildcats play in an excellent facility with a fair amount of success in the stands so where in the immediate off the field area could they improve? Well, for starters they could get themselves more into the media spotlight this season and they will. Thanks in large part to the work of others in the Northern Conference the Wildcats will get extra coverage from webcasts, radio broadcasts, and a television appearance or two. On the field they had a decent draft and from rumors floating around they'll return many players from last season's squad. Giuliano Celenza is one of those unknown quantities that could make a go of it with the 'Cats or wind up in the PDL or D3. So we'll wait on him. Jim Curtin and Ben Stafford however could be immediate impact players if they fall to Hershey. Curtin could and likely will fall from Chicago while Stafford is on the verge of making the Wizards squad. Somehow, though, I see Stafford playing in Pennsylvania this season and grabbing at least 5-10 goals. With the right mix this team has as good a chance as anyone to win this Conference and will be interesting to watch. Their grade: B+/A-
Long Island: A lot has to be said about this club's recent moves to become more fan friendly. They've waited long enough to let us behind the curtain so now that they have it will figure in on their grade on a one time basis. From their draft Steve Pedicini added more depth in midfield depending on whether or not he is able to grab a spot on their roster. Paul Snape, the former Mid-Michigan sniper, will look to further his career with the Riders this season while trying to replace Edson Buddle. His hands will be full with this task, as will the returning veterans as they try to absorb his loss while making a push for the playoffs. Brent Rahim is almost entirely unlikely to wind up playing for the Riders this season or any other and this definitely brought their grade down. The loss of Buddle was bad enough but wrapped up with the loss of Paul Grafer (again) to MLS with no heir apparent this could be extremely costly considering that it's almost certain that goals will be tough to come by for Long Island. With scoring at a premium and a tight defense absolutely essential in the outlook for this team not splashing some cash or trading for a top-notch 'keeper could be playing with fire. The last thing on their agenda has been the rumor of a stadium building deal between themselves and New York Tech for a facility in the 6,000 range. If this happens and they can get out of the Mitch their grade will go up immensely until then they get: C
Montreal: The Impact can't really get that bad of a grade since they haven't really been up to that much. They were okay last year and look to be mediocre again this season if the "action" off the field is any indicator. Rumban Munthali should develop into a solid defender and Danny Risch will be a quality player for the Impact if he comes down from the Fire. With some deals going on off the field to assist development within the community it appears they've helped themselves in that aspect as well. Gaspar Bovsellino is much like many of the Territorial draft picks in that they're largely unknown quantities. Bovsellino will probably earn a spot on the bench for the Impact unless they do some serious shopping before the beginning of the season. The rumors surrounding the search for European talent and the possibility of signing Toto Schillaci may have gotten hopes up too high. Besides, a move for Schillaci means some of the younger guys will have to move out to make room. He'll put some butts in the seats at the outset but the long term looks ugly if they do try and pull this move. I doubt they'll actually get him anyway which means that they may have started this rumor for some cheap publicity. Either way it doesn't show a whole lot of improvement for this squad. No real movement, on the surface, to get this club out of mediocrity gets them a: C-
Pittsburgh: Let's get right down to it. Waiting through most of the off-season to finally ditch Kowalski could wind up being a costly move especially in view of how their draft went. It appears that Kai Haaskivi will be trying to get most of his replacements for the MLS draftees from free agency because they did almost zero in the draft. Ben Garry will fill one of the holes if need be this season but picking Mark Lisi and Ali Curtis was a waste of time. Big strides in the other direction off the field include the new expanded radio and television coverage for the 'Hounds. Their local UPN affiliate will show several games this season while they'll also appear as a fixture on the radio dial as well. This is probably the best thing that's happened to this club during the off-season. They have several holes to fill in the coming weeks before the start of another season so we'll be looking for them to do that the closer we get to April. As of now there are two things weighing their grade down like cement water wings: rumors upon rumors about a stadium with no ground being broken and huge losses from the MLS draft. Little has been done so far to correct either of these problems but that could change quickly. The possibilities for quick change and the media advances in Pittsburgh are what keep this club's grade from being too terrible. Their grade: D+/C-
Rochester: It is really difficult to knock the Rhinos after all the success that they've had but they're a team that's in the same boat as Pittsburgh. They lost a couple of extremely important players to MLS and have yet to replace them. Not every team has to lose a couple of players like Craig Demmin and Yari Allnut this season so, suffice it to say, the Rhinos will be at long odds to repeat as champs this year. In taking Mario Cristofori in the draft they took a chance on getting a guy who could play more than one position for them in the future. He shouldn't be called on to make any huge difference this season but with the cupboard looking kind of bare with their losses Cristofori could be called on earlier than Ercoli would like. They haven't done a whole lot quite yet to replace the guys they've lost but they did sign up the core of last year's championship team. With their returning starters they'll likely reach the playoffs again but somehow I don't see them making another run at the championship unless they make some big acquisitions soon. That's really the only thing keeping their grade down at the moment but then again it's also the only thing, besides re-signing players, that they needed to get done in this off-season so for that they get: D
Toronto: The Lynx have been a busy bunch since the draft in shoring up their position within the Toronto soccer community. Aside from working out a deal for a handful of TV appearances and gaining new sponsorship dollars from the likes of Sunoco and Kraft they had a decent draft that helps them in several areas. David Clemente will be a good backup while Nick Budalich should provide some cover if anyone goes down with injuries. Replacing some of their departed stars will be difficult but it appears that they did solve one of their holes by picking up Robbie Aristodemo a former Canadian U-20 midfielder who should be able to create some danger for opponents this season. When you add up a solid draft, a few quality signings, new deals off the field, and extended media coverage you get a grade that looks like this: A/B+
These are the grades for the clubs in the Northern Conference and while some clubs have a lot of room for improvement some clubs up there have got it right so far. Next week I'll have a look at the fearsome Western Conference and how those clubs are shaping up ahead of the season. Just remember I'm watching so all you guys in non-Eastern time zones had better get something going or run the risk of feeling the wrath of my red pen.
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