January 18, 2008
2008 MLS SuperDraft – Colorado Rapids Style
By Class VI's Ben Woolf
Howdy Folks, I’m going to be a new contributor around here. I did design the Class VI logo as my first contribution to the club, so now we can add blogging to the list.
The MLS draft was today. Going in the Rapids didn’t have a lot to work with in terms of total number of picks, but they did have a highly coveted fifth pick. After that the Rapids didn’t get to pick until the third round. So a lot of weight was on that first pick. I thought they may trade it away after Coach Murphy told me he wasn’t too impressed with the 2008 class.
Additionally, I heard through the grapevine that if Tony Beltran was available the Rapids would take him…he wasn’t and they didn’t. Rapids coaching staff thinks he’s a special player so we’ll have to see how he does with Salt Lake.
The draft unfolded contrary to popular beliefs and the consensus #1 pick, Patrick Nyarko, was available when the Rapids handed in their pick. However, they went for midfield help by selecting UCSB standout, Ciaran O'Brien. O’Brien had a solid college career, however he wasn’t on the NCAA Championship team. He started his college career at the University of San Diego and as a freshman scored 6 goals and made 4 assists. At UCSB in his sophomore year he was the team’s leading point getter with 11 assists and 7 goals. I hope O’Brien’s 44% shots on goal percentage will translate to a scorers touch in MLS. O’Brien will probably start out wide with the Rapids as it is very hard for a college player to come in and immediately pick up the center midfield reigns. You never know, if the Rapids coaches are right O’Brien could turn into a new Kyle Beckerman.
Rapids fans will wonder why their team didn’t pick another UCSB midfielder, Eric Avila, but I think the fact Avila slipped to #19 overall says volumes about how other coaches value the player. The same could have happened with O’Brien, but let’s hope the Rapids made the right pick. The Rapids coaching staff will certainly be second guessed if Nyarko or Avila have great rookie years and O’Brien doesn’t. While that is not totally fair, it will happen.
The next Rapids selection was Adrian Chevannes at #36 out of SMU. Chevannes was part of the US U-17 residency program in Bradenton Florida. Some of his classmates? Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley, new Rapids teammates John DiRaimondo and Jacob Peterson, Eddie Gaven, Michael Harrington, Robbie Rogers, Jonathan Spector, Daniel Szetela and Julian Valentin. Having that on your resume certainly helps and I hope it can translate into some ability on the field. Chevannes is very fast and loves to run at players down the flank. He could end up being the Rapids’ version of Jonathan Bornstein. I hope to see him flying down the sidelines this spring. He should bring some versatility to the Rapids roster. Heck, he even played striker for a time at SMU when the team needed him. In 2005 he spent a year training with Real Salt Lake perhaps hoping to sign a long term deal in MLS then. He didn’t and returned to school in 2006.
The Rapids had two picks in the final round and I think they did well. With the 47th pick they chose another Bradenton grad, Brian Grazier. He was also a classmate with new teammates John DiRaimondo, Jacob Peterson and Adrian Chevannes. Hopefully these four will build some team chemistry. Grazier is a midfielder/forward who didn’t have the most productive college career in terms of points. Hopefully the coaches can get him on the scoring track.
With their last pick the Rapids took midfielder From College To Pros, for more draft information including more detailed reviews of all teams over the weekend.