The SuperDraft, the first one in NYCFC's history happens this week in Philadelphia. As pre-arranged, NYC will have the 2nd overall pick in the this college/college-age draft. The SuperDraft, for those new to MLS and how drafts work, is the once a year event that gives MLS clubs the chance to sign prospective players from the ranks of college and college-age players who are not already signed to a pro contract. Until very recently almost all the best talent MLS saw entered the league in this fashion. However the new MLS Academies, systems within each club to foster in-house youth player development, seem to have overtaken much of the youth talent in the USA. the ability of MLS clubs to "call-up" youth players from their academies and sign pro contracts is called "Homegrown".
Still there is talent to be found and NYC has a great opportunity to get at least one very good player.
Some of the best in any SuperDraft sign with MLS prior to the draft. This money is made available by Adidas and as such they are called Generation Adidas. These players are considered among the best and since their salaries are paid by Adidas, they are also free to Clubs with no hit to the salary cap. This makes them very enticing to MLS clubs and therefore are usually taken first in the Draft.
This year here are the 5 Generation Adidas players.
2015
Player-- Age--Pos--Home Town--College/prior--
Alex Bono-- 20--G--Syracuse, NY--Syracuse--
Conor Donovan-- 19--D--Fuquay-Varina, NC--North Carolina State--
Cyle Larin-- 19--F--Brampton, ON--Connecticut--
Cristian Roldan-- 19--M--Pico Rivera, CA--Washington--
Romario Williams-- 20--F--Portmore, Jamaica--UCF--
Cyle Larin is considered a consensus #1 pick and therefore must pundits feel Orlando City will take him. However there is a chance that another MLS club may desire him enough to trade money and/or player(s) to get him from Orlando. We will see.
In any case, it would be expected that Larin will not be available for the #2, which again is NYCFC's pick.
There are several strategies possible for NYC. One easy one to determine is, sign the best player available. Thats not a stretch by any means. Head coach Jason Kreis has commonly refereed to this method when he drafted while at Real Salt Lake. If this is the case, a few players seem very likely. First off if Larin is unavailable, most believe Cristian Roldan is the #2 for NYC. He's a versatile midfielder and could contribute at least off the bench almost immediately in his first year.
Another idea would be to go for a position. Here I think NYCFC wants to look at central defense and wide midfielders.
Although not a Generation Adidas, there 2 very good central defenders who might be a excellent pick here. Ramon Martín del Campo out of UC Davis and Boyd Okwuonu of UNC are very good. Both were leaders on their respective college teams. del Campo is a US U21 and Okwuonu was in the Dallas academy, both could add depth and play multiple defensive positions. Conor Donovan, a GenAd player, might not have any immediate impact but is also a good pick, provided Kreis can wait. Also since he is GenAd, remember, he is free.
Wide midfielders are a harder find. To be honest, I don't think there is enough depth here to pick a good player. One standout, and I think this might be personal for Kreis, is New Mexico's James Rogers. He is very fast and can play out wide and centrally. He is also a proven goal-scorer. I say this is personal for Kreis because this player started out in the RSL Academy before, in a bit of controversy, moving to Colorado and joining their academy. For whatever reason, he went to New Mexico University and apparently neither MLS club are signing him to a homegrown (academy call-up). This may be a chance for Kreis to make his usually unexpected draft pick and get some personal satisfaction for a position he needs.
There are at least 20 good players, probably more. Expect NYCFC to take all they can for at least preseason camp players. Also, as I said, don't be surprised if Kreis picks the unexpected. He is fairly famous for this. A few years his unexpected pick was for a unknown, skunk hair-rat-tail Colombian-American player. His name was Sebastian Velasquez.
Here are some video of the MLS SuperDraft combine going this week in Florida.
Also here is primer for the SuperDraft.
Enjoy!
Still there is talent to be found and NYC has a great opportunity to get at least one very good player.
Some of the best in any SuperDraft sign with MLS prior to the draft. This money is made available by Adidas and as such they are called Generation Adidas. These players are considered among the best and since their salaries are paid by Adidas, they are also free to Clubs with no hit to the salary cap. This makes them very enticing to MLS clubs and therefore are usually taken first in the Draft.
This year here are the 5 Generation Adidas players.
2015
Player-- Age--Pos--Home Town--College/prior--
Alex Bono-- 20--G--Syracuse, NY--Syracuse--
Conor Donovan-- 19--D--Fuquay-Varina, NC--North Carolina State--
Cyle Larin-- 19--F--Brampton, ON--Connecticut--
Cristian Roldan-- 19--M--Pico Rivera, CA--Washington--
Romario Williams-- 20--F--Portmore, Jamaica--UCF--
Cyle Larin is considered a consensus #1 pick and therefore must pundits feel Orlando City will take him. However there is a chance that another MLS club may desire him enough to trade money and/or player(s) to get him from Orlando. We will see.
In any case, it would be expected that Larin will not be available for the #2, which again is NYCFC's pick.
There are several strategies possible for NYC. One easy one to determine is, sign the best player available. Thats not a stretch by any means. Head coach Jason Kreis has commonly refereed to this method when he drafted while at Real Salt Lake. If this is the case, a few players seem very likely. First off if Larin is unavailable, most believe Cristian Roldan is the #2 for NYC. He's a versatile midfielder and could contribute at least off the bench almost immediately in his first year.
Another idea would be to go for a position. Here I think NYCFC wants to look at central defense and wide midfielders.
Although not a Generation Adidas, there 2 very good central defenders who might be a excellent pick here. Ramon Martín del Campo out of UC Davis and Boyd Okwuonu of UNC are very good. Both were leaders on their respective college teams. del Campo is a US U21 and Okwuonu was in the Dallas academy, both could add depth and play multiple defensive positions. Conor Donovan, a GenAd player, might not have any immediate impact but is also a good pick, provided Kreis can wait. Also since he is GenAd, remember, he is free.
Wide midfielders are a harder find. To be honest, I don't think there is enough depth here to pick a good player. One standout, and I think this might be personal for Kreis, is New Mexico's James Rogers. He is very fast and can play out wide and centrally. He is also a proven goal-scorer. I say this is personal for Kreis because this player started out in the RSL Academy before, in a bit of controversy, moving to Colorado and joining their academy. For whatever reason, he went to New Mexico University and apparently neither MLS club are signing him to a homegrown (academy call-up). This may be a chance for Kreis to make his usually unexpected draft pick and get some personal satisfaction for a position he needs.
There are at least 20 good players, probably more. Expect NYCFC to take all they can for at least preseason camp players. Also, as I said, don't be surprised if Kreis picks the unexpected. He is fairly famous for this. A few years his unexpected pick was for a unknown, skunk hair-rat-tail Colombian-American player. His name was Sebastian Velasquez.
Here are some video of the MLS SuperDraft combine going this week in Florida.
Also here is primer for the SuperDraft.
Enjoy!
