With the return of the reserve league, so too has the Supplemental Draft returned to a relative level of prominence. Rosters have been expanded to 30 and will include 10 spots for players that are younger than 25 and make no more than the league minimum. In other words, there is now ample room to carry the kind of players that will be available in today’s draft, that will be conducted via conference call, last up to three rounds and will start at 1 p.m. Eastern.
MLS Supplemental Draft 2011: Potentially Useful Players Still Available
Dizzo, a contributor at Sounder at Heart, recently compiled a list of some of the more notable players still available. Among those players are several who were pegged as first-rounders is various mock drafts. (MLSsoccer.com also compiled a list of “best players available.) Headlining that group, at least to Dizzo, is Daniel Keat.
DANIEL KEAT (CM) – For my money, Daniel Keat is the best all-around player remaining. He had a good, if not great, MLS combine performance. Keat was the New Zealand National Youth League Player of the Year before coming to the U.S. to attend school at Dartmouth. He has good ball skills, great vision of the game and the work-rate needed to play as a box-to-box midfield in Sigi’s system. He has a good cross from both sides of the field and would make a good substitute as a traditional winger. His biggest knocks are his lack of athleticism and that he’s missed large chunks of playing time while at Dartmouth due to injuries. Pro Player Pipeline rates him as a C+.
Some teams are already essentially full and may not use all of their picks. Once a team skips a turn, they will no longer be allowed to pick. There are reasons for teams to draft players even if they don’t think they’ll earn a roster spot right out of camp. If a drafted player is cut, he’ll be exposed to waivers. If that player is not offered a roster spot by any other team, the original drafting team will control his rights for up to two years. The player can practice with the team as a trialist and can even play in a limited number of reserve league games.
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