2006 Addidas Major League Soccer Player Combine – Forwards

The last group from the 2006 that we haven't looked at are the forwards. The easiest way of summing them up is that, well, there's nothing too special from this group. 18 forwards were invited to the 2006 combine. Jason Garey and Calen Carr showed a lot of promise last year. But most of those invited a good number were not drafted or didn't make the roster of their respective teams. A couple have made at the pro level as midfielders. Of those that did make it in 2006, it's likely a few of them won't be around come opening day this spring.

Mike Ambersley (Indiana University)
SuperDraft 4^th round (43^rd overall) by FC Dallas
While listed by the MLS as a forward, Ambersley spent most of his career as a midfielder. He didn't make it FCD but did join Rochester (USL-1) in June 2006. He got in 924 minutes with the USL-1 2006 finalists.

Jason Garey (University of Maryland)
Superdraft 1^st round (3^rd overall) by Columbus Crew
Garey had a solid rookie season with the injury plagued Crew logging 1,712 minutes and notching 5 goals and 2 assists to the lead the team in goal scoring. He showed enough for it to be fair to expect more out of him in 2007 as head coach Sigi Schmid tries to turn around a franchise that went from bad to worse in 2006.

Kyle Brown (University of Tulsa)
SuperDraft 3^rd round (35^th pick overall) by New England Revolution
While in college Brown played for 3 teams in the PDL, the Texas Spurs, Boulder Rapids Reservs and the Chicage Fire Premier. He scored 16 goals in 25 games for the latter 2 teams. He didn't get to show his skills often with a New England team that had plenty of attacking options. But his 291 minutes for the Revolution, he did at least manage an assist. With Cancela gone, Dempsey likely to be on the move and possibly even Taylor Twellman Kyle Brown could see a lot more time for Steve Nicol in 2007.

Calen Carr (University of California)
SuperDraft 1^st round (10^th overall) by Chicago Fire
Like New England Chicago had plenty of attacking options with Chris Rolfe, Andy Herron, Chad Barrett, Nate Jaqua and mid-season aquisition Ryan Johnson all able to play up top. Carr's pace made him a good substitute as he logged 500 minutes and notched a goal and an assist for the Fire in 06. He showed promise and a lot of pundits were surprised to see Toronto FC pass him over for Nate Jaqua (yet to be re-signed by the MLS and since traded to Los Angeles for a partial allocation). With Rolfe, Herron, Barrett and Johnson returning, Carr is likely again to find himself coming off the bench in 2007.

Matt Groenwald (St. John's University)
SuperDraft 3^rd round (28^th overall) by Kansas City Wizards
Listed as a forward for the combine, KC successfully deployed Groenwald as a midfielder. Matt racked up 1,221 minutes in 19 appearances, 16 of those starts, for the Wizards. It's hard to know at this point how new coach Curt Onalfo view Groenwald but if he impresses his new coach he's a dark horse candidate for the 2007 sophmore player of the year.

Duke Hashimoto (Southern Methodist University)
SuperDraft 4^th round pick (38^th overall) by Columbus Crew
Note : Pick aquired by Crew from FC Dallas who had aquired it from RSL.
Duke Hasimoto joins Brian Ching as the other Hawain in the MLS. Other than the irony of ending up being traded during the season to the team that originally held the pick used by the Crew to select him, there isn't anything note-worthy about Hashimoto's first season in the league. While he wasn't waived by RSL, it's not clear that the SMU standout will still be in the league for the 2007 season.

Brian Cvilikas (Old Dominion University)
Supplemental Draft 3^rd round (29^th overall) by then NY / NJ Metrostars
Cvilikas, from Highlands Ranch, is one of the 4 Colorado natives drafted in 2006. He did log some playing time with the NY reserves. After being cut he did play with the Columbus Crew reserves as a guest player. It's unknown if he'll continue to play professional soccer in 2007.

Tony Donatelli (Temple University)
Supplemental Draft 3^rd round (32^nd overall)
Another PDL grad (Ocean City Barons) Donatelli did not make the squad for the Houston Dynamo. He then had a tryout with the Rochester Rhinos before joining the Vancouver Whitecaps. He got in a fair amount of playing time for the Whitecaps including getting a start along with a goal against Rochester in the final. After winning the championship with Vancouver the Philadelphia native Donatelli joined his hometown team the Philadelphia KiXX (MISL). It's common for USL players to play in both the outdoor and indoor seasons. There is no word yet on if he'll be rejoining the Whitecaps for the 2007 season.

Ross McKenzie (University of Akron)
Not Drafted
Scottish born McKenzie grew up in New Zealand before coming to the US to play at the University of Akron. He had a try out with the Detroit Ignition (MISL) but returned to his native New Zealand to play in the amatuer New Zealand Football Championship league. He scored 2 goals for Aukland City as they won their 2^nd Grand Final in the 05/06 season.

Omar Jarun (University of Dayton)
Not Drafted
Both the Philadelphia Kixx (MISL) and Atlanta Silverbacks (USL-1) drafted Omar Jarun. He joined the Silverbacks where he had a good rookie season loggin 1,528 minutes after being converted to a defender. While not likely it's possible that he could resurface in the MLS as a fullback given the lack of good fullbacks in the league.

Jimmy Klatter (Eastern Illinois University)
Not Drafted
Klatter is the first player from Eastern Illinois University to be invited to a combine. While no MLS teams drafted him, the St. Louis Steamers (MISL) did draft him. They didn't offer him a contract and he later tried out with the Chicago Storm (MISL). Like the Steamers, the Storm didn't offer Klatter a contract. He didn't play with any other pro teams in 2006.

Aaron King (North Carolina State University)
SuperDraft 4^th round (48^th overall) by Los Angeles Galaxy
King didn't stick around Los Angeles very long before the Denver native got himself traded to his hometown Colorado Rapids. He didn't see any time with the first team and was waived by the Rapids after the 2006 season ended.

Karim Dietz (Birmingham-Southern College)
Not Drafted
No notes on Karim Dietz as he didn't seem to try out or play with any other pro teams after the MLS combine.

Jeff Rowland (University of New Mexico)
Supplemental Draft 1^st round (2^nd overall) by Real Salt Lake
The 6' 1" Rowland showed some promise while making the roster for RSL. Unfortunately for him he blew out a knee and was later waived by the team. After surgery he was workign on rehabilitating his knee. It wouldn't be surprising to see him in RSL's camp this spring although with Cunningham, Tejada, Soto, Harris, Watson and Kreis it seems unlikely he would make the team.

David Leung (Oral Roberts University)
Not Drafted
Like his college teammate Jorge Flor, David Leung was not drafted after the combine. He did play with the Chicago Fire Premeir team in the PDL in 2005. It's unknown if he played at all in 2006 after the combine.

Ryan Johnson (Oregon State University)
SuperDraft 3^rd round (26^th overall) by Real Salt Lake
Before joining the MLS, Ryan Johnson played for the Cape Cod and Boulder in the PDL. Johnson showed some promise on the left side of the midfield before John Ellinger traded him to the Chicago Fire for some badly needed defensive cover in the form of Jack Stewart. He even was called into the Jamaica national teams camp and earned a cap. However Johnson found his time limited at Toyota Park only logging 54 of his 208 minutes with the Fire in 2006. While still on the roster for Chicago it's not clear how Johnson fits into Sarachan's plans for 2007. It's possible that looking for some attacking pace in their lineup like the Rapids or DC United will make a move for him before spring training starts.

Kelechi Igwe (Santa Clara University)
Not Drafted
Kelechi Igwe was not drafted by any teams in Major League Soccer. It's not known if he played at all in 2006 after the combine.

Dominic Oduro (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Supplemental Draft 2^nd round (22^nd overall) by FC Dallas
Despite the depth of attacking talent available at Pizza Hut Park, Oduro was able to make the team. During 2006 he was frequently used as a sub, logging 413 minutes and a goal in his rookie year under now ex-Dallas coach Colin Clarke. The native Ghanian offers the kind of pace even experience MLS defenders have a hard time coping with. He'll still only be 21 going into 2007 and is likely to be at FCD for a 2^nd year, this time under new coach Steve Morrow.