FIRST ON SBI
Photo by ISIphotos.com
Former Houston Dynamo striker Nate Jaqua was one of 10 players chosen in Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft for Seattle Sounders FC, sources with knowledge of the list told SBI on Wednesday afternoon.
Here is the list of players chosen by Seattle:
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Nate Jaqua (Houston)
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Brad Evans (Columbus)
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Stephen King (Chicago)
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Jeff Parke (New York
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James Riley (San Jose)
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Khano Smith (New England)
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Jarrod Smith (Toronto FC)
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Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake)
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Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles)
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Tyson Wahl (Kansas City)
Those of you wondering if the list would have a Sigi Schmid imprint on it need look no further than to the inclusion of Vagenas, who played for Schmid with the Galaxy (and UCLA) so many years ago.
Red Bulls fans will be disappointed to see Parke taken, but sources tell me Parke has his sights set on Europe and is asking for a big contract to stay in MLS, something the Red Bulls weren't ready to offer. Parke just might wind up being this year's Clarence Goodson. You may recall it was Goodson who San Jose grabbed in last year's expansion draft only to see him move to Europe and never return.
So what is the new Seattle team looking like after this expansion draft: Here is a projected lineup as of today:
——————Jaqua—————————————–
——————————–LeToux————————–
K. Smith—————-Ljungberg———————–Evans
————————-King (or Vagenas)———————-
Sturgis———–Wahl———Parke———————Riley
—————————-Keller——————————–
BENCH– Jarrod Smith, Sanna Nyassi, Stephen King or Peter Vagenas
The abundance of central midfielder makes you wonder if a trade isn't in the works. Might we see King shipped elsewhere? Also, the selections of Khano Smith and James Riley make you wonder if there's still a chance that New England assistant Paul Mariner might wind up as Seattle head coach.
Sturgis gives Seattle a versatile player who is capable of playing in midfield or in the back. I know he's not really a left back (played their for the U.S. Under-23 team) but for the purposes of the above lineup I have placed him there.
With Parke unlikely to sign with MLS, look for Seattle to sign current Sounders defender Taylor Graham from the USL side. Graham has been one of the best defenders in the USL the past two seasons after an unsuccessful tenure with the New York Red Bulls.
What do you think of the draft picks? Which pick surprised you? Which pick disappointed you? What player do you hate to see your team lose? Which player are you happy to see go?
Share your thoughts below.