I looked back over my reports from 2004 and 2005. This is, by far, the weakest combine I’ve seen. That doesn’t mean there are no good players here, but this group doesn’t seem as deep or as interesting as previous years. I also trust there’ll be both a few diamonds in the rough that nobody but Steve Sampson caught (who knew about Ugo?), and that some of those diamonds weren’t invited to the combine and will have to take the Bobby Boswell road to MLS and national team success.
That’s the long way of saying my summary lists the last two years were longer than the one I’ve got this year. As usual, I’m not trying to put together anything as comprehensive and objective as a “best of the combine” list. Rather, these are the guys that made an impression on me, the guys that for one reason or another I thought were interesting prospects. Often that’s because I thought they were really good. Sometimes it’s just that they seemed to be my “kind” of player. Or, as with the “wildcards,” there’s just some intrique about them.
(Sacha Kljesten and Jason Garey did not play in the combine so I’m not including them in the lists below.)
Goalkeeper
I think it’s particularly unfair to evaluate goalkeepers at the combine. Still, it seemed that only one goalkeeper survived the weekend without embarrassing himself. That was Ray Burse. If I had nothing but the combine to go on, and I had to take choose a goalkeeper from this year’s crop, then I’d take Burse ahead of the rest. He was more certain and more commanding than the rest. But that’s really not saying much.
Defense
Kyle Veris is the first name here. He’s a big, hard tackling player with the physical tools for Major League Soccer. It’s just a question of whether he can make the mental jump. Nathan Sturgis is in some sense the opposite of Veris. He’s got the mental tools, but can he make the physical jump? There were better central defenders than Anthony Noreiga (like, perhaps, Trevor McEachron) but I liked Noreiga’s game. He’s the kind of player who probably needs the combine, and I think he took full advantage of it. With a little time and patience I suspect he could make the jump to MLS. (But at 23 he doesn’t have much time to waste.) And then there’s Marvell Wynne. He really is just that good.
Defense/Midfield/Defensive-Midfield
A bunch of guys in the combine rotated all around defense, midfield and defensive midfield. I’m putting them in their own category because I’m not sure where they’ll end up playing in MLS. Of this bunch Jeff Carroll was far and away the most interesting to my eye. He won’t go first round, and in a certain objective sense that’s undeserved, but he’s gonna be an absolute steal in the later rounds. Patrick Ianni is in this group too. Something about his quiet and sure play appeals to me. He reads the game well, but he needs to work on communication and he’d do well to develop a bit more of an aggressive physical edge if he hopes to do well in MLS. I liked Justin Moore in this group too.
Midfield
I’ve said it before, but there’s something in the water down there at Wake Forest. I expect good things from Justin Moose. Dax McCarty is another quality player in this group. He’s got the skills and the smarts, and on the wings I don’t think his small stature will be as big a hindrance as it might be in the middle of the field. Still, it remains a question whether he can keep up with the level of physical play in MLS. Drew Helm, on the other hand, has the size and speed to hang in MLS. I think he’s got the soccer smarts too; others may disagree.
Forward
I have to admit the forwards were pretty bad this year and that Josmer Altidore was the most interesting prospect out there. Others would take him in the first round. Depending on the circumstance I might not. He remains a very young player and if my team had any real immediate needs I’d look to fill those needs before looking to pick him. On the other hand, I’ve seen the suggestion that several teams feel pretty good about their existing squads. If that’s the case then, by all means, draft Altidore and build for the future. In a couple years we’ll probably all be jealous you.
Wildcards
I might be right about these guys or I might be wrong. The story of the combine was probably Yura Movsisyan. He’s an 18 year old forward that nobody had heard of before last weekend. From what I saw there’s a decent chance he’ll do well in MLS. I’d take a flier on him in the later rounds. There’s nothing to lose and maybe a heck of a lot to gain. Then there’s Mehdi Ballouchy. Maybe I’m wrong, but no matter how highly regarded he is I just can’t see him doing well in MLS. To my eye he’s too soft and too slow for MLS, particularly if he hopes to play attacking midfield. Play him at #10 and I think he gets slaughtered.
The Kevin Ara Award
2004: Kevin Ara (Drafted by DC United, taken by RSL in the expansion draft and then cut in pre-season.)
2005: Simone Salinno (Undrafted. Current whereabouts unknown.)
2006: Justin Moose
Either you know what that last one’s about or you don’t.