MLS expansion draft

[Bobo_Snowman]

torontofc.ca

With apologies to Jim Brennan, it's time for Toronto FC to add some players. Brennan, a Canadian international, has been the only man on the expansion side's roster for more than two months, but on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, Toronto head coach Mo Johnston will announce 10 players who will join Brennan via the 2006 MLS Expansion Draft.

We here at MLSnet.com have poured over the lists of players available to Johnston and his staff, and we've come up with our own mock draft, a rundown of what we think Johnston's list might look like. Check MLSnet.com Friday afternoon to see if we eat crow. Before we get to the mock draft, though, we've got to remember the ground rules.
First, Toronto can take no more than one player from each team, and there will be two teams who won't have anybody selected.
Second, Johnston might bear in mind Toronto FC's roster limits. The club has four senior international slots and an additional three slots for senior internationals who would count as domestic players on a team in the United States. The club also has five youth international slots at its disposal. Of course, roster limits really mean nothing in terms of the expansion draft, as clubs don't actually have to be within the league's limits until March 2007.
For the purposes of our mock draft, we've made a few assumptions. We think the Canadians available are shoo-ins, and we think Johnston will lean toward picking younger non-Canadians (as opposed to older non-Canadians), thereby leaving roster spots open for any senior internationals he might want to sign in January.
We also have a feeling that in the same way U.S. MLS teams rarely go outside the country for goalkeepers, Toronto will stay close to home in finding a netminder. Therefore, we think the odds Johnston will select a goalkeeper in the expansion draft are pretty slim.
We've set up our mock draft by team, listing the one player we think will be selected from each. The first 10 teams are the ones we think will actually lose a player. The last two are safe, according to us, but we've listed their most likely player to be picked, too, just to hedge our bets a little bit. We've listed each player's name, position and Toronto FC roster status. Without further ado ...
CHICAGO FIRE: Calen Carr, F, SI (U.S.). This one sparked a bit of discussion here at MLSnet.com HQ. Carr turns 25 in 2007, meaning he'd occupy a senior international spot with Toronto FC, but we decided a goalscorer is a goalscorer. With Nate Jaqua status uncertain, Carr is the next best option on Chicago's unprotected list.
CHIVAS USA: Tim Regan, D, SI (U.S.). Chivas has a bunch of young kids on their unprotected list, including U.S. youth international Rodrigo Lopez, but they're very much unproven commodities. Regan has shown he can hack it in MLS and could be reunited with his former MetroStars boss Johnston in the Queen City.
COLORADO RAPIDS: Mike Petke, D, SI (U.S.). Petke is a veteran defender who still has a few years left, making this a pretty easy pick for us to make. The rest of the Rapids' unprotected list just doesn't seem to make sense considering cost in some cases and inexperience in others.
D.C. UNITED: Matias Donnet, M, SI. Another tough choice. We debated amongst ourselves whether the better choice would be Clyde Simms, a midfielder and U.S. senior international who has proven himself in MLS, or Donnet, a player who didn't see a whole lot of playing time for United after joining the club late in the season but who showed a lot of skill. We went with Donnet's skill.
FC DALLAS: Roberto Mina, F, YI. A unanimous selection, Mina adds attacking punch at either the forward position or wide in the midfield, and is a youth international (Ecuador).
HOUSTON DYNAMO: Adrian Serioux, D/M, domestic. Serioux is one of two Canadians available in the expansion draft. Case closed.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY: Paulo Nagamura, M, YI. Sort of like Mina, Nagamura has proven over the last couple of years that he can do very well in defensive midfield in MLS, and he'll count as a youth international for Toronto. Looks like Johnston's rearguard is shaping up to be pretty good.
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION: Jeff Larentowicz, D/M, YI (U.S.). Another defensive-type player, Larentowicz gets the nod because he's young (he turns 24 next season). If Johnston decides to throw roster limits out the window, Trinidad & Tobago defender Avery John is a possibility.
NEW YORK RED BULLS: Edson Buddle, F, SI (U.S.). There were four unanimous selections in our mock draft: Mina, Serioux and Buddle were three of them (we'll get to the fourth in a moment). Johnston seemed to like Buddle a lot in New York, and the player's time was limited once Mo left. Look for Johnston to give him another shot north of the border.
REAL SALT LAKE: Andy Williams, M/F, domestic. Our fourth unanimous choice, Jamaican international Williams was born in Toronto and counts as a domestic player. For those of you counting at home, this would be Williams' seventh MLS team.
If you haven't put two and two together by now, we think Johnston will pass on the Columbus Crew and Kansas City Wizards. But just in case ...
COLUMBUS CREW: Bill Gaudette, GK, SI (U.S.). We think Gaudette's the best option on the Black-and-Gold's unprotected list, but remember that we said it's unlikely Toronto will take a 'keeper. KANSAS CITY WIZARDS: Will Hesmer, GK, SI (U.S.). Read our Gaudette sentence again, but replace "Gaudette" with "Hesmer" and "Black-and-Gold" with "Wizards".

[Max Power]

Here are the ten players selected on Friday:

1. Paulo Nagamura (Los Angeles Galaxy)
2. Danny O'Rourke (New York Red Bulls)
3. Jose Cancela (New England Revolution)
4. Adrian Serioux (Houston Dynamo)
5. Nate Jaqua (Chicago Fire)
6. Rod Dyachenko (D.C. United)
7. Jason Kreis (Real Salt Lake)
8. Tim Regan (Chivas USA)
9. Ritchie Kotschau (Columbus Crew)
10. Will Hesmer (Kansas City Wizards)

[Max Power]

As of now, they have a decent attack and a decent defense.

[Berean Todd]

I'm surprised that Chicago left Jaqua out there to be taken, and I'm officially PISSED, PISSED, PISSED, and PISSED that Serioux is gone. I can't believe we left him unprotected, he was a huge part of our success this season and quite possibly was my favorite player.

[Bobo_Snowman]

Originally Posted by Berean Todd

I'm surprised that Chicago left Jaqua out there to be taken, and I'm officially PISSED, PISSED, PISSED, and PISSED that Serioux is gone. I can't believe we left him unprotected, he was a huge part of our success this season and quite possibly was my favorite player.

And now hes gone to Dallas lol. Him + a second rounder for O' Brien, supposedly the best right-sided player in the league...?

[Max Power]

Originally Posted by Bobo_Snowman

And now hes gone to Dallas lol. Him + a second rounder for O' Brien, supposedly the best right-sided player in the league...?

Fecking Mo Johnston!

[Berean Todd]

Originally Posted by Bobo_Snowman

And now hes gone to Dallas lol. Him + a second rounder for O' Brien, supposedly the best right-sided player in the league...?

Now I'm even more p*ssed if that's possible. Him wearing the colors of our rivals?? Great f-ing move Dynamo!!

As for O'Brien, he's good, but I don't know that I would call him "the best right-sided player" in the league, at least not definately. Hell we down here have two of the better outside mids in the league in Brian Mullan and Brad Davis also.

[Bobo_Snowman]

torontofc.ca

Toronto FC made 10 selections in the 2006 MLS Expansion Draft on Friday, plucking one player from each team in the league except for the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas.

The club then announced several additional transactions, including sending Canadian international Adrian Serioux and a second-round draft pick to FC Dallas in exchange for wide midfielder Ronnie O'Brien.

Additionally, discussions with Real Salt Lake resulted in that club reacquiring the rights to forward Jason Kreis, whom Johnston had selected in the draft. Toronto FC will receive a partial allocation in return.

In a third deal, Toronto dealt midfielder Danny O'Rourke and goalkeeper Will Hesmer to the Columbus Crew in exchange for a partial allocation.

Chicago Fire target forward Nate Jaqua, whose status for next season is also questionable, now headlines Toronto's front line. He has openly expressed his desire to try his luck in Europe and rumors of a move to either of the Los Angeles clubs have surfaced, but Johnston said he hopes to convince the 25-year-old to stay in the Queen City.

"I spoke to him yesterday. He's a commodity at the moment," Johnston said. "I want to invite him up here and let him see the organization, see the stadium, sit him down and give him the plans for the upcoming year."

Rod Dyachenko, who just completed his rookie season as a member of D.C. United., was also snatched up by Johnston. Though he failed to find the back of the net in any of his nine appearances for the Black-and-Red, Johnston was still impressed with the UNLV product.

"He's one of the guys I don't really want to trade," Johnston said. "He's an up-and-coming young player; he's a youth international. I believe there's a huge upside to him and I'm very excited at having him on board."

Johnston's top defensive selections were Tim Regan and Ritchie Kotschau, though Regan could be shipped elsewhere before all is said and done. He spent the 2006 season as a member of Chivas USA, putting together his finest campaign since entering the league in 2003 as a member of the MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls). Regan and Johnston could be reunited after spending time together in New York.

"Timmy Regan knows what I think of him. Timmy Regan's a wonderful person," Johnston said. "He's had a wonderful season under Bob Bradley but right now I'm looking at different options in terms of trades so it's to be determined in the next 24 hours to 48 hours."

Kotschau will move to his third team in as many years after spending 2006 as a member of the Crew. He played 26 games under Crew coach Sigi Schmid in Ohio.

Johnston picked up a solid defensive midfielder in Paulo Nagamura, who also just completed his second season in the league. He played in 54 career games for the Los Angeles Galaxy, totaling six assists from his defensive midfield role.

Uruguayan Jose Cancela appears set to play the No. 10 role in Toronto, as Johnston took him away from the New England Revolution. Cancela spent four seasons with the Revs, during which he scored six goals and provided 27 assists. However, he settled into a reserve role for New England head coach Steve Nicol and played no part in the Revs' penalty-kick shootout loss to Houston Dynamo in MLS Cup 2006.

"I think he's a wonderful talent," Johnston said of the playmaker. "Obviously the minutes that he received weren't up to his standards. When someone possesses that sort of ability you have to pick him. He's not up for (trade) talks."

Ive seen a bit of Pepe Cancela and he looks like hes a good player.

[Max Power]

Originally Posted by ESPN

Expansion draftees likely to be used as trade bait
Jeff Carlisle

As Friday's MLS Expansion Draft approached, pundits and fans alike eagerly picked apart the list of unprotected players, attempting to read the mind of Toronto's resident mad scientist, head coach Mo Johnston. Never mind that the list of available performers was fraught with contradictions. For every talented player on the list, there was a compelling reason to pass him over. And given Johnston's post-draft announcement that he expected to trade five or six of the picks, it's clear that the pre-draft hype produced enough wasted brain cycles to fill a five-hour office meeting.

For that reason, one might as well use tea leaves to determine just how Toronto made out. Given the number of deals that Johnston indicated were imminent, it will be at least another 48 hours before most conclusions can be reached. One thing is certain, however. Johnston's first trade, in which he acquired Dallas midfielder Ronnie O'Brien for erstwhile Houston defender Adrian Serioux and a second-round draft pick, looks like a fleecing.

That Dallas would part with the Irishman seems to indicate just how irreparable the relationship between the two parties had become. O'Brien had often butted heads with former head coach Colin Clarke. But when Clarke was axed following Dallas' latest playoff disappointment, that seemed to give O'Brien a reason to stay in Texas. With Dallas making the trade, even though Clarke's replacement has yet to be named, it's evident that for the team it was a case of addition by subtraction.

Whether that proves to be the case is unclear, because in Serioux, FCD have acquired the most miserable man in America right now. On Tuesday, the Canadian assumed he would be heading back to his hometown, and that the chances for playing time would be abundant. Now he finds himself heading to a club that is just as far from home as previous employers Houston. Not only that but FC Dallas has plenty of competent players, both at defensive midfield, as well as in the center of defense. Is Serioux really a better option than the likes of Simo Valakari, Greg Vanney, or Drew Moor? Given his penchant for getting caught in possession of the ball, it would appear not.

Johnston's task in integrating O'Brien should be somewhat easier, although there are obstacles there as well. O'Brien and Clarke repeatedly clashed over the player's desired position, with O'Brien wanting a central midfield role and Clarke preferring that he line up out wide. Given Johnston's description of O'Brien as "the best right-sided midfield player in America," it would appear that the Scot has a bit of a selling job to do.

The same could be said with regard to former Chicago forward Nate Jaqua, who was selected by TFC despite being out of contract on Dec. 31, and is known to be looking overseas. Johnston said he will bring Jaqua up to Toronto on what essentially is a recruiting trip, the better to convince him to stay in MLS. But the fact remains that Jaqua's selection represents a major gamble in that Toronto could lose him for nothing.

As far as Toronto's other selections are concerned, it's apparent that most of them were acquired as mere bargaining chips in order to acquire allocations, which themselves might be used in future trades. Danny O'Rourke, who was rumored to be headed to Columbus back in preseason, was shipped to the Crew along with goalkeeper Will Hesmer for a partial allocation. The price was the same for Jason Kreis, who was sent back to Real Salt Lake, proving perhaps that you can go home again.

The favorite game now will be guessing which of the remaining picks Toronto actually keeps. If Johnston's statements on Friday are to be believed, the leading candidates are ex-New England midfielder Jose Cancela, as well as former D.C. United attacker Rod Dyachenko, which I find mystifying on both counts. It's clear that Cancela has bags of skill, but his defensive shortcomings would seem to limit Johnston's tactical options, making it mandatory that he play a 3-5-2. The Toronto coach was also full of praise for Dyachenko, who in the relatively few times I've seen him, hasn't done much to impress.

Given Johnston's desire to hang on to Jaqua, that leaves one other player for Toronto to keep, which would appear to be midfielder Paulo Nagamura. While with Los Angeles, the Brazilian proved adept in a holding role and also showed some ability in attack. His status as a youth international doesn't hurt either.

This leaves ex-Chivas defender Tim Regan and one-time Columbus defender Ritchie Kotschau as the only remaining bargaining chips. This duo wouldn't seem to have that much value, even though both delivered solid seasons. But if all Johnston wants is a partial allocation, that might be doable, especially given the number of ways an allocation can be split up.

So did Johnston miss the boat on any of the other players who were available? Dallas forward Roberto Mina was one player who caught the eye, but not only is he coming off major knee surgery, he is on loan to MLS, and it's not clear if he will return. These factors made Mina less desirable than he initially appeared. Furthermore, the word is that TFC and Dallas apparently had a handshake agreement as part of the O'Brien trade that Johnston would not take any FCD players in the expansion draft.

For my money, two players I think Johnston would have done well to take were New England's James Riley and Chicago's Calen Carr. Riley in particular seemed a sure bet to get chosen, given that he is young, cheap, versatile, and good. Aside from the versatile part, you could say the same for Carr, who excelled in his role as super sub/Open Cup specialist. If Johnston isn't able to convince Jaqua to return to MLS, either in Toronto or elsewhere, then the omission of Carr could come back to bite him.

That said, Johnston is looking to spend most of the capital acquired on allocation money, and it will be the players obtained with those funds who will ultimately determine the success or failure of Friday's efforts.

Understandable, only four Americans and three senior internationals can play for TFC.

[Celticrugby]

****, they traded "The Roy Keane of Indiana Soccer" to Columbus. There goes my reason to watch Toronto.

Oh well, at least O'Rourke is out of that traitorous organization in NY.