2011 Expansion Draft List: Vancouver Whitecaps

Vancouver didn't have too much to celebrate this season. (Getty Images)

Oh yes, it is that time of the year again when teams are going to have to start paying attention to who they want to keep and not keep for the 2012 season. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll have every team covered for this year’s expansion draft. The Montreal Impact will be selecting 10 players this year, just like we’ve seen in every expansion draft over the last few years.

Unless the rules have changed, teams must protect 11 players. Generation adidas and Home Grown players are exempt from the draft and do not have to be protected. Most DPs have to be protected if the player has a no trade clause in their contracts, otherwise they can be left unprotected (last year several were open for the taking).

I will begin this year’s protection lists with the Vancouver Whitecaps, a team that is already eliminated from playoff contention. The Caps were the worst team in MLS this season and for the most part I would imagine their roster will be blown up a bit with a new coach coming into the fold here soon. Given the amount of fairly cheap players on their roster, picking the protected 10 wasn’t too hard actually. There were only a couple players to question at the end but I think Vancouver is fairly simple to figure out.

Protection List:

1. Davide Chiumiento – Possibly their most important player right now. I can’t see the Swiss midfielder leaving Vancouver anytime soon unless his contract was only to be with them for 2011. Even if he were to leave the Caps would still protect him.

2. Jay DeMerit – injuries hurt his season but I can’t see the Caps leaving him unprotected at the moment. His salary his very high, which should keep Montreal from picking him if he were left unprotected but given how most clubs handle this draft, he’ll be on this list.

3. Eric Hassli – He’s a DP and one of their top scorers.

4. Mustapha Jarju – Another DP. I do wonder if he will be back for next season though but even if he isn’t he’ll likely still be protected for this draft.

5. Alan Rochat – One of their few Canadians on the roster, he’s also one of their best players. Simple protection here.

6. Camilo – One of their top scorers, he’ll get plenty of attention from overseas this winter though. Very curious to see if they’ll be able to hold on to him.

7. Jordan Harvey – They traded for him earlier in the year. He’s being used in the back and in the midfield now which leads me to believe he’ll still be there in 2011.

8. Jonathan Leathers – One of their defenders who played in a lot of games this season, plus he’s super cheap at $42k a year.

9. Gershon Koffee – Another young guy for this club that they’ll probably want to keep. He’s played in nearly every match for the Caps this season too.

10. Michael Boxell – For me it was down to him or one of their keepers (Nolly or Cannon). At the end of it I thought a young defender was more appealing to keep than an expensive keeper or a so-so backup.

11. Shea Salines – Tough final pick, it was between him and one of the keepers really.

GA/Home Grown List

• Omar Salagdo
• Nizar Khalfan
• Michael Nanchoff
• Phillippe Davies
• Brian Sylvestre
• Russell Teibert

Unprotected list

• Jed Brovsky
• Joe Cannon
• Bilal Duckett
• Atiba Harris
• Greg Janicki
• Carlyle Micthell
• Alexandre Marfow
• Jay Nolly
• Long Tan
• John Thorrington
• Peter Vagenas

There was really only a couple players that I thought could go to the protection list over say someone like DeMerit. Possibly one of the keepers.

For the most part I don’t see anyone getting picked off from this squad by Montreal. They don’t have any Canadians worth exposing and even if some of their exempt players were to graduate into the senior roster (not really expecting any to), I still can’t see too many of them getting snatched up if they were left unprotected. There are a lot of cheaper players on the unprotected list but not any you’d want to begin building a new club with.