WVHooligan - Soccer Blog

Time for another club in our growing list of players for this year’s Expansion Draft with Seattle Sounders FC. Time today for us to move a bit eastern from the last two clubs that we focued on and also head a bit north to Toronto to see what they should be protecting this year.

Just a recap, each club has to protect 11 players, Designated Players (DP) have to be included in the protected list, Generation adidas players that aren set to graduate out of the program are also automatically protected from the draft and do not have to be placed on a protected list.

The Protected:

1. Chad Barrett – A bright spot in the line-up after the McBride deal got finished. I believe he has signed an extention with the club as well so no reason to not protect him.
2. Julius James – Another young bright spot. They’d be absolutely mad to leave him unprotected.
3. Amado Guevara – I wonder if they will keep Guevara after this year but more than likely they will protect him regardless of what they will end up doing with him.
4. Rohan Ricketts – A favorite of mine that I don’t see going anywhere.
5. Carl Robinson – There’s talk that be may be leaving TFC after this year and heading back to England, but we won’t know that for sure for a little while. If he is unprotected it is due to him leaving the club.
6. Kevin Harmse – Defensive midfielder that will probably come off the bench next year once TFC signs someone better. They still need to protect him in case that doesn’t happen.
7. Marvell Wynne – Don’t be shocked if there are some rumors surrounding Wynne and clubs in Europe this winter. Either way he won’t be left open.
8. Marco Velez – I went back and forth on this one but figured he wouldn’t be left open.
9. Greg Sutton – Their best bet between the pipes, plus Seattle does not need a keeper anyways.
10. Johann Smith – Another guy they look to have as a big part of their offense going forward.
11. Jim Brennan – Maybe the biggest duh on this list.

Not Protected, Could Be Taken:

1. Tyrone Marshall – Marshall will be protected if and only if a guy like Ruiz or Guevara are left unprotected due to high contracts.
2. Jarrod Smith – I know Smith and I think he would be a wonderful fit in Seattle, just like he is in Toronto. Thing is I doubt they will pick many offensive players.
3. Todd Dunivant – Another guy that could be protected over a high contract. If not he looks like a solid player to be picked here.

Not Protected, Probably Won’t Be Taken:

1. Danny Dichio – If he doesn’t retire he will be protected. And if that is the case replace his name with Ruiz’s name.
2. Hunter Freeman – He should be heading abroad this winter, don’t expect him to be protected.
3. Carlos Ruiz – High contract, plus would Seattle really want to take on this winner? If his contract goes into DP mode before the draft then they will have to protect him, but if it doesn’t then expect him to be left off the list.

Final thoughts:

Toronto has an interesting roster here. A few high contracts, a lot of money in the bank in terms of allocation and draft picks. They will be making some big changes this off season so don’t be shocked if a decent name or even a big name is left unprotected. I figured they would protect some young guys like James and Barrett. There are just a lot of “if’s” surrounding this club with like Dichio and Robinson here. If those guys leave or retire then this list could change a decent bit here.

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