Wednesday, January 7, 2009

MLS SUPERDRAFT 2009

As we start to awake from the brief, frozen downtime of the MLS we are now only days away from the MLS Superdraft which will be held on January 15th. After that, I expect alot of transfer news and would assume that the team will first get together in late January.

So what are your thoughts on the Superdraft? RSL holds a single pick - #12 in the first round (scratch that - the team also has TWO 4th round picks). Who will the team select? What position does the team need to fill? At that spot can RSL find a talented player that will help immediately?

I am by no means a college soccer guy or a draft guy, but here are some players that I plan on keeping an eye on:

Sam Cronin (M-Wake Forest): this one would be a perfect fit for the team. A talented d-mid from a top-notch program. To me this fills a need for the team with the departure of Nate Sturgis and the rumored pending departure of Dema Kovalenko. The problem? Cronin is not likely to be available at the #12 spot.

Mike Grella (F-Duke): this is almost a default pick. From the outside, most believe that forward is the team's biggest need. Clearly finishing was a void for RSL in 2008, however I believe that a combination of the newly emerged Yura Movsisyan and a healthy Fabian Espindola could be a potent one in 2009. Having said that, it's always good to have striker options. Grella's Duke pedigree and quality play make this an obvious potential selection.

Rodney Wallace (D/M-Maryland): with Ian Joy's status for 2009 in question, a left back with versatility and good pace would be good to have. On a personal note, I like this guy and think he'd be good in the RSL system. Some are projecting him to go high in the first round, so he may not be in the available pool when Garth gets around to handing a name over to the commissioner.

Jeremy Hall (M-Maryland): speedy left wingers with attacking creativity are hard to find. Another player that likely will be taken ahead of RSL, but someone to keep an eye on.

There are numerous other interesting players, but these are a few that I thought would be a good fit for the teams needs, and would mesh well with the RSL system. What are your thoughts? Which draft eligible player would you like to see in an RSL kit in 2009?