<i>[updated]</i>
Vancouver Whitecaps look set to continue to work their roster with three young Canadians heading to the state of Carolina on loan.
The club was initially thought to be set to announce that they will be loaning midfielders Bryce Alderson, Ben Fisk and striker Caleb Clarke to the RailHawks of the NASL, but it now looks like they will be heading to Charleston Battery in USL Pro instead.
All three players are products of their Residency program who are in desperate need of minutes with a professional side to continue their development at such a crucial stage of their fledgling footballing careers. With no easy answer to this continuing plight for the Caps young talent, that Club have proactively sought out what they feel to be the best environment to continue to develop these players for the future.
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Unfortunately, last season Clarke saw very limited action while Alderson didn’t make an appearance with the first team. The story with Ben Fisk is another matter as it has long appeared that they are interested in him but they have yet to come to an agreement that sees him joining the MLS squad.
With Clarke and Alderson being loaned out, it will open up two more spots on the 30 man roster, and with Carlyle Mitchell already in Edmonton, the Caps have room to add three more players if they choose to do so and the salary cap allows. These loan moves will have no difference on the salary numbers as both contracted players were Homegrown and didn’t count against the cap.
The continuing argument these past two years is that many rate the Whitecaps' homegrown players higher than some of the current players on the roster, but the Caps can somewhat afford to leave those other players on the bench or in the reserves. A player like Caleb Clarke has a lot invested in him by the organization and can’t be wasted on the bench, getting minimal minutes like ‘hired guns’ Tom Heinemann and Corey Hertzog will be this season. That is not development and that will not help the players of the Caps in the long term.
However, there are no guarantees that the three young players will be handed playing time in Carolina.
If they headed to the RailHawks the club have veteran players that have experience. They currently have two former Caps on the roster with Nicholas Addlery and Floyd Franks, as well as former MLSers <a href="http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?id=115&playerID=411" target="_blank">Zack Schilawski</a>, <a href="http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?id=115&playerID=297" target="_blank">Nick Zimmerman</a> and <a href="http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?id=115&playerID=375" target="_blank">Austin Da Luz</a>.
The RailHawks face a 26 game season in NASL action, split between the new look Spring and Fall schedules. Factor in US Open Cup games and friendlies and there will be a lot of opportunities for Alderson, Clarke and Fisk to gain valuable experience and developmental minutes over the coming months.
Charleston Battery will also play a 26 game season in USL Pro, and Fisk has already made an appearance for them in a friendly yesterday.
Some will snipe about the Whitecaps loaning out and not playing Canadian talent, whilst keeping American draft picks in Vancouver, but those that do are missing the bigger picture.
Full details of the loans are not yet known, and while there are no guarantees for the three loanees, the deal would not have been finalized if there weren’t some assurances from the clubs.
One thing is for certain, the players will get more minutes and development in the NASL/USL Pro set up than they would be getting with the way the Whitecaps are currently structured. All three will come back better players and that can only be good for Bryce, Caleb and Ben and the Caps themselves.
We wish them all well and will be providing regular updates on them throughout the season.
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