Nate Jaqua was the easiest of picks for Seattle (Seattle Sounders FC)

I know this post comes a few days late but due to me travels over the holiday season I really didn’t get to dive deep into Seattle’s expansion draft last week since I was somewhere in the air over Memphis when the whole thing went down. So forgive me for the lateness on this, I had several people asking me to post this when I could.

The new club had the chance to really make a dent into the league with their 10 draft picks but after seeing the 10 come down when I sat foot in my layover stop in Philly last Wednesday I thought nothing more than just utter shock at a few of the picks.

A few were simple:

• Nate Jaqua – We saw that coming from the second he returned to Houston.
• Nathan Sturgis – Its a risk but one that I thought they’d take because its one worth taking.
• Brad Evans – Whoever was picking really could go no wrong with Evans from Columbus (same would have been said for Eddie Gavin).
• Khano Smith – Some really questioned this pick but I thought it was a smart one from the start (not because I predicted it). Smith has plenty of talent is if he isn’t going to be used he will be valuable trade bait.

A few were a bit of a shock but not a real stretch:

• Peter Vagenas – Most felt it was a Sigi Schmid pick but I see it more as getting a strong veteran in the club house that knows the lay of the MLS land.
• Tyson Wahl – Cheap, young, and not a bad talent for a defense that will have to protect Kasey Keller. Really not a bad pick at all.
• Stephen King – I thought Brandon Prideaux was the easy pick from the Fire but King was my next bet from them. He’s young, talented and showed plenty of potential.
• James Riley – A surprise pick really for me but a smart one when you really think about it. San Jose will miss this kid.

And the one’s that left us wondering why:

• Jeff Parke – One he still has a few games left on a suspension and secondly he is expected to leave MLS and try his game in Europe. Its the Clarence Goodson pick of 2008.
• Jarrod Smith – The wrong Smith from Toronto was selected. They should have taken Johann Smith and not Jarrod. Word has it they were going to cut Jarrod after the draft anyways.

In all it wasn’t a terrible draft but not a great one by most people. I still believe some trades are coming down very soon once they get their coaching staff lined up. Seattle got some players that are still expendable here but for the most part they filled out their majority of their roster in a decent way to compliment the players they will add from their USL team and the couple moves that they had already made before the draft.

WVH Draft Grade: B-

A list I’ve been meaning to get around to is finally updated. I was mainly waiting for the expansion draft to conclude last week and for my vacation to be over as well before I got into this long list of player moves. As some of you already know I try to track these moves to the best of my abilities here during the offseason.

From week-to-week (and soon to be a day-to-day thing) I will post this list with the updated moves that each club has made.

So far a lot of the moves center around the expansion draft, retirements and players that got cut recently. If any move is missing or incorrect please just comment below and I will update it as soon as possible. Big thanks to a couple readers for emailing in a few of these lists over the last couple weeks. I really appreciate the help you guys!! Continue Reading…

As expected the Seattle Sounders FC selected 10 players from a large pool of unprotected players today.

(EDIT: Sorry for the delay in this, traveling yestery kept me from being able to post this as these results came down while I was in the air. Plus I wasn’t done with my flying until late, but never late than never)

Here is the list of players chosen by Seattle:

• Nate Jaqua (Houston)

• Brad Evans (Columbus)

• Stephen King (Chicago)
• Jeff Parke (New York
• James Riley (San Jose)
• Khano Smith (New England)
• Jarrod Smith (Toronto FC)
• Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake)
• Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles)
• Tyson Wahl (Kansas City)\

The first couple shockers are Vagenas and Jarrod Smith. Neither really seemed like likely picks before this draft by anyone. Not knocking Smith as I am a fan of him (he was a WVU guy). The rest of the picks were pretty expected though. Wahl from KC wasn’t a shocker, same with King from Chicago. The rest I pretty much had in my predictions.

Word is that New York will replace Jeff Parke with Mike Pekte. I’m still pretty sure they will make a deal or two here as Seattle picked a hand full of central midfielders.

So what did you all make of this draft? Any shockers from it?

The unprotected lists are out from every MLS club and now it is time to play that wonder speculation game about who Seattle Sounders FC will pick in tomorrow’s draft.

Of course there will be a couple trades tomorrow in the draft. A lot of early speculation surrounding a couple picks are already filling the rumor mill. A lot of talk that Seattle has already squared a trade or two with LA for a couple defenders. But until we see those trades come down we can predict who Seattle will take in their 10 selections.

1. Brandon Prideaux (Chicago)
2. Lawson Vaughn (Chivas)
3. Brad Evans (Columbus)
4. Tim Ward (Colorado)
5. Francis Doe (DC)
6. Aaron Pitchkolen (Dallas)
7. Nate Jaqua (Houston)
8. Khano Smith (New England)
9. Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake)
10. Kelly Gray (Toronto)

No picks from LA, New York, Toronto, and Kansas City.

We’ve said all along Seattle would go fairly defensive in this draft but looking out there I kind of think they will still pick a couple offensive players. Jaqua is an obvious choice even with his higher salary ($156,000). Should they not pick Smith from New England, they may go with a younger guy like Pat Phelan or even a Wells Thompson from the Revs.

For the most part though I see them taking a lot of fairly cheap guys here. Most on this list make less than $50,000 with only Jaqua, Sturgis ($75,000) and Prideaux ($72,000) making more than that mark. Getting solid talent at a decent price is always the way to go in any event.

They have a shot at getting some real deals in this draft but some of the bigger names out there won’t be selected due to their current price-tag (ie a Ante Razov or a Carlos Ruiz).

Who do you see Seattle taking tomorrow? Place your predictions below.

The 2008 Expansion Draft is a day and change away. Teams had to submit protected/unprotected lists to the league office earlier this afternoon. Results of those lists are as below in terms of who Seattle can select if they decide to.

A few good names out there, some they will select and others they won’t like Ante Razov or Ronnie O’Brien. But as far as guys they could select there is Nate Jaqua, Khano Smith, Pat Phelan, Wells Thompson, Ryan Pore, Aaron Pitchkolen, Eddie Gaven, Pat Noonan, and Terry Cooke to name a few. I know some are from the same team but the Sounders FC will only get one from each club.

Continue Reading…

Today is a deadline day in Major League Soccer. By 3 pm ET (2pm CT) all 14 clubs will have submitted their protected/unprotected lists to the league office for Wednesday’s Expansion Draft for new club Seattle Sounders FC. Before submitting their list, teams had a three hour window to make trades. The window closed at noon ET, and will open again after the Expansion Draft, which is set for the afternoon of Wed., Nov. 26. (To recap about the rules for the draft, click here.)

Even with the window closed don’t be shocked to hear of some trades in the next couple of days. Expansion drafts usually bring out a slew of trades that were made on or before that trade window by the league.

Seattle will pick their 10 players but don’t be shocked to see one or two of them traded away for picks or allocation.

Speaking of Seattle, they still have yet to name a coach. Columbus Crew head coach Sigi Schmid is still considered a front-runner for that job but I’ve heard word from a source in Columbus that the Crew have indeed offered Schmid a new deal that promises to keep him there. No word yet on if he has actually taken it. It will definitely have to be a good offer to keep him. I still think a Paul Mariner or a John Spenser finally get their due this winter. I feel one of those two will get this job if it doesn’t go to Brian Schmetzer (USL Sounder coach).

Continue Reading…

Who Columbus protects is a big question, protect the expensive or the cheaper young guns? (Getty Images)

The final installment of our Expansion Draft lists today. I had been waiting for each club to finish out their season before I would do this but I figured since both New York and Columbus finish on Sunday and their protected lists have to go to the league office the very next day I would go ahead and knock these lists out today (and yesterday).

The Crew are still the heavy favorite in this weekend’s MLS Cup. But they like the other 13 clubs will have a lot to figure out right after this weekend’s game. As mentioned before you should expect to see an expansion club pick apart the best teams in the league for talent that is available. I see Seattle picking someone off the Crew’s roster that is left unprotected because of their success this year.

Here is a look back on each of the other clubs: Chicago, Chivas USA, Colorado, DC, Dallas, Houston, LA, Kansas City, New England, New York, Real Salt Lake, San Jose and Toronto.

And of course, to recap about the rules, go here.

The Protected:

1. Guillermo Barros Schelotto – There is really no need to explain this one.
2. Brian Carroll – A big part of their midfield and their defense, no way on earth they let him go.
3. Robbie Rogers – Some say he will go back to Europe after this year but I kind of think that won’t happen until next summer. Continue Reading…