Khiry Shelton was taken with the 2nd overall pick by NYCFC. Photo: AP
Compiled by Giordan Bonanno
The first part of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft has come to an end and even though the draft class was considered to be one of the worst in recent years, many teams were still looking to the draft to fill some of the holes in their roster. To celebrate the draft our writers answered a very important question:
How did your team do in the MLS SuperDraft?
D.C. United
The team had pretty low expectations because they did not really have many needs. The club picked up a backup forward in Jairo Arrieta earlier in the week and signed Markus Halsti to shore up their defense. They mostly needed to replace their losses in the Expansion Draft, which they did with their selections of forward Miguel Aguilar and midfielder Dan Metzger.
Assuming both players make the roster, it is likely that both players will be spending time on loan next season and not with the senior team. Aguilar may have scored 20 goals last season with San Francisco, but he is behind Eddie Johnson, Fabian Espindola, David Estrada, and Michael Seaton at the forward position. Metzger, if he makes the squad, will be a long-term project.
-Sean Maslin
NYCFC
NYCFC grabbed young talent from either side of the spectrum during the beginning of the MLS Superdraft, adding a striker and a defender to their growing roster. Utilising their No 2 overall pick in the draft, they selected Oregon State striker Khiry Shelton. The club had been scouting Shelton for a long time and turned down an offer to trade the pick for allocation money. NYCFC’s second pick went to University of San Diego left winger Connor Brandt, who will likely play left back for the club.
The selections of Shelton and Brandt don’t come as a shock, prior to the draft the club lacked young attacking talent and a cohesive set of defensive players. Although it is unlikely that either player will be in NYCFC’s starting lineup in the beginning of the MLS season, their selections prove that the club is looking towards the future.
-Anna Ferkingstad
New York Red Bulls
In the last few weeks, the New York Red Bulls have withstood media and fan scrutiny in the face of coaching and management changes. Despite the magnifying glass, chaos and an No. 18 selection spot, they left Thursday’s Superdraft with a clever selection and crucial talent. The young player with loads potential is UCLA midfielder Leo Stolz, who Red Bull’s sporting director Ali Curtis has been quoted saying, “is the most pro-ready player in the draft.” After losing Thierry Henry, Stolz signing signals a step towards filling gaps in midfield personnel.
-Anna Ferkingstad
Portland Timbers
Courtesy of the Colorado Rapids, the Timbers came into Thursday with
the No. 5 overall pick–that’s the highest pick the Timbers had since
they took Darlington Nagbe with the 2nd overall pick when they entered
the league as an expansion outfit in 2011.
With Nick Besler, the Timbers drafted a player who not only
potentially fills a need, but he’s the sort of smart, gifted two-way
midfielder who Caleb Porter covets.
It’s a pick that surprised me. Being a senior, Besler is a
non-Generation adidas player. The Generation adidas players don’t
count against team’s salary caps and the Timbers have a pretty full
roster.
Besler is a player who many pundits feel can play a valuable role on
the team as soon as March. Those are definitely traits you want in a
No. 5 overall draft pick.
While Besler will surely get some reps in T2-land, it’s worth
wondering how much time (Timbers 2 coach) Jay Vidovich will have with
Besler. Barring injury (or a unexpectedly quick recovery by Will
Johnson) it’s safe to say Vidovich will become better acquainted with
Thoma, Volesky and Belmar who only recently played for Timbers U-23s.
–Matthew Hoffman
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose went into this draft needing to improve in midfield after struggling with possession last season and should get some help after taking midfielder Fatai Alashe with the 4th pick in the draft. The Michigan State product has the potential to make an instant impact on this squad which is something the Quakes were surely looking for with their only pick in the first two rounds. Alashe had 14 goals and 15 assists in his collegiate career and was an NSCAA All-American his senior year. He seems to tick all the boxes for San Jose with his speed, strength and intelligence as a holding midfielder. While it would have been nice to see the Earthquakes making moves to secure more draft picks on the first day, they managed to get one of the more promising players in the draft and one that should make the team better.
-John Marshall
Seattle Sounders FC
The Sounders entered the draft with low expectations. In a weak draft class, Seattle wasn’t going to have a draft pick until the beginning of the 2nd round. At best they would be able to find a good player for S2 who may have a chance with the first team down the road. But that was before NYCFC passed on Cristian Roldan, in favor of Khiry Shelton. Seattle saw their moment to strike and was able to draft into the first round to take the GA midfielder. The Sounders weren’t done in the slightest. Knowing they would need to find one more goalkeeper, they moved up in the second round to draft Tyler Miller from Northwestern. In exchange they sent over the rights to Sean Okoli. With their final pick in the second round, they picked up RB Oniel Fisher, a Jamaican international.
I loved the Roldan pick up. It may have cost them a decent amount of allocation money (reports say it was slightly under $100k) but Roldan is a talent that is worth the cost, especially since he is under a GA contract. Roldan may not be a starter or even in the 18 next year but if he is able to reach his potential, when the time comes, could be the replacement for Ozzie that the team has been needing for years. Drafting Miller was a risky move, as Miller skipped the combine to look for a shot in Europe. If his trial in Germany doesn’t work out and he decides to return to the US, this pick could be the steal of the draft, as some rated him higher than Alex Bono. Fisher was considered to be the top right back in the draft and if he is able to make the first team, expect him to share time with Mears.
-Giordan Bonanno
Vancouver Whitecaps
The Whitecaps drafted Tim Parker (St. John’s) and Kay Banjo (UMBC) with the 13th and 38th overall picks respectively. The day prior Head Coach Carl Robinson made a few changes to his defense and stated he was still on the lookout for one or two centre backs to supplement Kendall Waston, Diego Rodriguez and Christian Dean. Parker has already mentioned that it is his intention to be pushing for a starting spot from the get go. He’ll very likely at least get minutes in the ‘Caps CONCACAF Champions League campaign as well as USL-PRO and a long MLS season.
Robbo has also beefed up his front line with the addition of Kay Banjo. However, the striker may have to make the most of USL-PRO before he gets his chance with the ‘Caps first team. The kid has plenty of upside but is he any better than last year’s SuperDraft pick Mamadou Diouf and current forwards Rivero, Mattocks, Hurtado, Mezquida and Manneh? But that’s what preseason is for. He’s a kid with neat ball control and incredible retention but has a tendency to hold on to the ball too long. A trait he will have to get that out of his system if he’s to fit into Robbo’s swift counter attacking style.
All in all, it was a fine days work for Carl and the Whitecaps with the addition of a ready starter and potentially exciting forward in the making without any surprise trades. He even has another five picks to make in the 3rd and 4th rounds.
-Graham Tooke
What do you guys think? Comment below and look out for the next installment of The Prost Panel.
