2010 Expansion Draft List: D.C. United

Look for Chris Pontius to be safe in this year's Expansion Draft. (Getty Images)

Keeping with the Expansion theme of the day it’s time to begin looking at each current MLS roster for the upcoming MLS Expansion Draft next month. Both Portland and Vancouver will be selecting 10 players each from the current rosters. Each MLS club will protect 11 players and will be able to protect an additional player once one player has been taken from their unprotected list. (For more on the expansion draft rules go here)

I’m going to work my way from the bottom up here as I go through each club. D.C. United is going to come in last place this year and will likely be the 3rd team to select a player in the MLS SuperDraft (provided that they don’t trade that pick away before hand). This could be the first year that D.C. United doesn’t get hammered in the expansion draft. In years past they’ve lost considerable depth due to this draft but I have a feeling this will be a different year for them.

Now I may go back through some of these lists before the expansion draft and revisit any selection made. How MLS handles the graduation of Generation adidas players and how long they are willing to exempt certain homegrown players will go a long way for some clubs this year. Until then here is how I see D.C. United protecting their roster by keeping the following 11 guys:

1. Branko Boskovic – This pick is provided he has a no-trade clause in his DP contract. Either way I think they’ll still protect him.

2. Troy Perkins – Yes they have a younger and possible better keeper behind him in Bill Hamid (but he’ll be protected via homegrown talent rule). Keeping Perkins makes sense considering the amount of money and allocation they were willing to spend on him last year.

3. Marc Burch – He’s been a favorite of mine for a couple years. I doubt they’ll let one of their leaders go so easily.

4. Dejan Jakovic – He’ll be protected for two reasons; 1) He’s Canadian and 2) He’s Canadian. D.C. will have to protect a certain number of internationals and he’ll fall in that category. Plus Vancouver would love to have a quality Canadian on their roster.

5. Julian James – He found his place in D.C. over this past season, look for him to begin being more of a central role in the defense next year. Plus he’s an international that they have to protect.

6. Rodney Wallace – Simple selection here for anyone who’s seen him play these last two years.

7. Chris Pontius – Same as Wallace.

8. Santino Quaranta – Probably their leader moving forward, have to protect him.

9. Clyde Simms – When healthy he’s a vital role player for this club.

10. Jed Zayner – He’s looked good since coming over from Columbus, I see him as a building block for 2011.

11. Devon McTavish – Another WVH fave (mostly because we went to WVU together). He’s last on the block for me and a lot comes down to how the league handles Andy Najar and Bill Hamid’s status.

Players that Portland and Vancouver could select from D.C. include:

• Danny Allsopp
• Brandon Barklage
• Adam Cristman
• Stephen King
• Kurt Morsink
• Jamie Moreno
• Juan Manuel Pena
• Barry Rice
• Pablo Hernandez

Again a lot goes into how the homegrown talent will be handled here. If they review those players in a similar fashion to the way they do the Generation adidas players then we could easily see both Hamid and Najar in the mix to be protected. If that is the case you’ll just need to remove McTavish and Zayner. Another thing if Boskovic doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract we could see him left unprotect in place of someone like Jordan Graye.

D.C. isn’t an easy club to predict here due to Najar and Hamid but if things go the way I think they will both will be protected this year which is great news for D.C. moving forward.