This year's A-League draft left a lot to be desired whether it was from a patent inability to access the "live" coverage on the USL's website or the general malaise suffered by all involved as Calgary passed it's way through the entire non-event. Typically, the draft has been more a bit of a talking point for the fans around the league as opposed to anything concrete especially when considering the actual circumstances surrounding it. A lot of the draft excitement was diminished because there are a lot of players that would not need to have been drafted to be picked up by A-League clubs this year. This begs the question, is the draft still necessary?
Obviously, the management in Calgary did not think too much of the available pool of players as they declined to make any picks. Meanwhile, Toronto, Montreal, El Paso, Richmond, and Charlotte also passed on the "territorial round" that has become another interesting piece of USL work. It is particularly interesting since Portland was allowed to pick a former member (Bryn Ritchie) of Seattle's Sounders Select PDL club that just so happened to pull off an upset against the Dallas Burn in last year's U.S. Open Cup. Continuing that trend the Cincinnati Riverhawks picked up former Tarheel, Chris Leitch, despite Chapel Hill being a stone's throw away from the city on the Ohio/Kentucky border. In all seriousness, though, all of these players in the territorial rounds are supposed to have some sort of tie to the region of the team that takes them in the draft even if they happened to have gone to high school in the area. It still seems fairly farcical and one wonders why they can't just have a normal draft if they must have one at all?
Now, to address the players taken and obviously the territorial round caused the biggest stir with some of the players taken and not taken. There was definitely a rich class of defenders available in this year's model of the draft with players like Leitch, Ritchie, Billy Sleeth, Shalrie Joseph, Brantley Spillman, Josh Rife, Tyler Hughes, and Ilkka Jantti among others picked. Cincinnati did very well in picking up Leitch and Jantti but it may take some doing to actually convince them to wear the blue, white, and yellow of the 'Hawks. Pittsburgh also did well in taking Derek Potteiger and Joey Worthen, two players who have a lot of potential if they can live with spending some time on the bench before getting in some games. Charleston will have done fairly well also if picks such as Matt Goldsmith and young Jamaican Nicholas McCreath show up to learn a few things from the veteran lineup at Blackbaud.
Some other teams that did well for themselves in the draft include Rochester (anyone surprised?) and the pair of teams that benefited from the Sounders Select squad, Seattle and Portland. Questions arise, though, as to how many players will actually make it onto the rosters of these clubs? After all, it has been well documented that there will be a growing number of quality athletes vying for fewer spots around the league due to MLS contraction. Of course, there's also always the question of whether or not some of these young players actually think too much of their own skills to play in the American second division. Either way, some of the better players from this draft will find a place to play while some others will struggle along to find their place and could do well to wind up on D3 squads for the upcoming season.
If things shake out like some think they might, with teams snapping up former MLS players through invite only tryouts then the whole point of the draft could well become moot. So do we still need it? I mean, really, who thinks that the guys who will wind up playing A-League ball out of this draft could not have been picked up and signed through these same invite only tryouts that have gone on across the A-League of late? I like the draft because it provides a bit of pomp and circumstance while forcing teams to consider some players from their semi-local area. At the same time, I would hate to see some of these athletes get their hopes up only to watch as the club that picked them signed up "name" talent from that other league. It really would not be fair to them or to the fans that get excited about the draft if the whole process were rendered completely meaningless.
In the end, though, the draft is yet another mile-marker for the fans. It lets us know that it is nearly time to seriously think about cleaning up the grill and dusting off the folding lawn chairs. Spring is right around the corner and do you know how soccer fans come by that knowledge? It isn't Punxsutawney Phil, folks, it's when the draft happens. So does that answer why this non-event continues to take place annually?
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