With less than a week until the 2011 MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore, many MLS fans are busy preparing mock drafts and dreaming of seeing their favourite teams grab the next big thing.
Most MLS scouts are just hoping to grab something -- anything. No, really, anything...
The consensus among most observers is that this is the weakest draft class in a few years. With more and more kids opting to go through MLS academies the top end talent is just not there. Instead you have a select few players that are expected to fill out depth positions, rather than star.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Travis Clark covers the NCAA and DC United for MLSsoccer. He told CSN that the draft “isn’t anything special.” He estimates that the draft is maybe 13 players deep.
“Generation adidas players have a history of being hit or miss, but the candidates for true superstars is few and far between,” Clark said. “Talking with folks on both sides of the issue, whether that is coaches or fellow scribes is that there will be a lot of decent players who can cut it and contribute in MLS, but I have a hard time imaging a large group of impact players.”
As stated above, a big reason for this is the shift in academy rules. As we will likely see with Matt Stinson and Toronto, even players that go to university are now able to opt out of the draft and sign home-grown contracts with the MLS clubs that trained them. TFC fans should take heart, then, with Tom Anselmi’s comments at yesterday’s press conference that MLSE has committed $17 million to upgrades to the Reds’ academy.
Currently 23 players have signed with MLS clubs via the home-grown rule. Only five sides – Seattle, Columbus, Salt Lake, Portland and San Jose have yet to add a home-grown.
The players signed are: Victor Pineda (Chicago), Bill Hamid (DC), Andy Najar (DC), Conor Shanosky (DC), Ethan White (DC), Jonathan Kempin (Kansas City), Diego Fagundez (New England), Doneil Henry (Toronto), Nicholas Lindsay (Toronto), Juan Agudelo (New York), Giorgi Chirgadze (New York), Davy Armstrong (Colorado), Moises Hernandez (Dallas), Victor Ulloa (Dallas), Bryan Leyva (Dallas), Ruben Luna (Dallas), Tyler Deric (Houston), Francisco Navas Cobo (Houston), Bryan de la Fuente (Chivas USA), Cesar Zamora (Chivas USA), Tristan Bowen (Los Angeles), Philippe Davies (Vancouver) and Zach Pfeffer (Philadelphia). For those interested in following home-grown news, there is a good thread on BigSoccer.
However, there is still some value in the draft. According to Clark the wildcard for this year is the return of the reserve division and expansion of rosters.
"What makes things interesting is the return of the reserve division -- because of that, players will stick around for longer, have more time to adjust, and we could see players like Omar Cummings emerge in a couple of years,” he said.
Having to hold onto more players that would have ventured to the USL or NASL in years past puts puts even more pressure on a club’s ability to develop young talent. Bit by bit the league continues to move away from a reliance on the NCAA to develop its players.
Edit: Someone who disagrees