2008 MLS SuperDraft...

Folks, I wasn't even thinking about the above event until the all knowing author of Climbing The Ladder, scaryice, put together this recent tome. That is right folks, the seasons isn't even over and he's taking a guess at the SuperDraft order! Sure, a lot is subject to change but we do know San Jose will be #1 until they trade it away for Landon Donovan.

Here is scaryice's first round:
Round One

1 San Jose Earthquakes
2 Los Angeles Galaxy
3 Real Salt Lake
4 FC Dallas
5 Columbus Crew
6 Colorado Rapids
7 Chicago Fire
8 Kansas City Wizards
9 Red Bull New York
10 FC Dallas
11 Toronto FC
12 New England Revolution
13 Real Salt Lake
14 Toronto FC

He's taken into account all of the trades made involving draft picks and any of the picks not traded are based on current standings and the better team advancing in potential playoff matchups. So, until the dust settles on the playoff race this is a good stab in the dark.

I figured I'd take this the next step. Let's put some names and faces with potential selections. At this point getting the right players in their respective spots will be tough, so I'll start with 20 players who I think will go first round, in no particular order:

Seniors:
Pat Phelan - D - Wake Forest
Kevin Forrest - F - Washington
Michael Videira - M - Duke
Stephen King - M - Maryland
Joseph Lapira - F - Notre Dame
Ryan Maduro - M - Providence
Rob Valentino - D - San Francisco
Peter Lowry - M - Santa Clara
Michael Zaher - D - UCLA
Julius James - D - UConn
Andy Iro - D - UCSB
Andre Sherard - D - UNC

Remember, underclassmen will be enticed with Generation Adidas contracts. Here I'm picking those who have performed well and should get a look.

Juniors:
Mike Grella - F - Duke
Eliseo Giusfredi - F - Seton Hall (Ives reports he's going pro whether MLS wants him or not.)
Bruno Guarda - M - SMU (Brazilian and may not be offered a GA contract)
O’Brian White - F - UConn (Again, not sure if MLS will offer GA contracts to non-American born players but he is Canadian so Toronto may be able to get something done.)
Jordan Graye - F - UNC
Marcus Tracy - F - Wake Forest

Sophomores/Freshman:
Christopher Schuler - D - Creighton (Great size at 6-4, 200 lbs. Raw and talented. In a physical league he could grow up quickly.)
Corben Bone - M - Wake Forest (The kid is tearing it up as a freshman, leading the #1 team in the country in scoring. Maybe he won't want to wait three more years.)

Like I said above, picking the GA players at this point in the college season is tough business. But what fun is it if I don't go out on a limb a little.

In the 2007 draft we saw more seniors going in the first round which means to me coaches are not just gambling on GA to save the roster room. The Colorado coaching staff has told me before they need players who can help the team in their first two years. The young guys need to be ready to grow up quickly because if they don't contribute to the team within the first two years of their GA contract they could be looking for USL-1 work by their third professional season.

So, who will take which player??? Great question. Let's take a shot at it.

1 San Jose Earthquakes - If the Earthquakes draft, and I do think that is a big if as LA needs to deal Landycakes or trade for a second DP slot, I think they'll take Mike Grella out of Duke. Right now he continues to show a good understanding of the game and how to attack out of the deep forward spot.

2 Los Angeles Galaxy - Can you imagine if LA really gets the first two draft picks? They need help all over the field and I think they'll go for a solid defender like Andy Iro out of UCSB. His size (6-5, 220) will translate well to MLS and he grew up playing in England. I believe he'll be a youth international.

3 Real Salt Lake - A fourth season picking early draft picks. The difference, John Ellinger won't be there to mess things up. Kreis is a forward and will be able to spot attacking talent. I'll suggest Marcus Tracy here.

4 FC Dallas - Dallas doesn't need instant impact and their attack continues to be stacked. Why not take a young project from Texas like Corben Bone? Done.

5 Columbus Crew - What do the Crew need to put the pieces together? A healthy Chad Marshall would certainly help the back line, but lets add Pat Phelan to back him up.

6 Colorado Rapids - Ahh, my boys in the 6th position for a second year in a row. While my team is silly enough to think Kyle Beckerman is expendable, I think Stephen King will be able to learn from Pablo and help give the Rapids some depth in their thinest position after the loss of Wasson and Becks.

7 Chicago Fire - Chicago got some attacking punch with Blanco and Wanchope. Christopher Schuler should be able to learn something from a good coach and will be able to live with mom and dad. Who doesn't want a 6-4 center back?

8 Kansas City Wizards - Joseph Lapira will be looked to as someone to replace EJ who finally leaves for Europe in the winter break.

9 Red Bull New York - Attacking is solid for RBNY with Altidore and Angel. Let's go for an athletic back in Julius James. Hopefully Arena likes him more then Wynne.

10 FC Dallas - Another first rounder in Dallas. Good for them. Morrow can continue to build for the future with Jordan Graye.

11 Toronto FC - Needs help scoring goals and O’Brian White is from Canada. Looks good to me.

12 New England Revolution - NE knows how to pick and they'll look for some local talent in Ryan Maduro.

13 Real Salt Lake - Again, Kreis needs goals. Kevin Forrest.

14 Toronto FC - TFC could use some help in back. Andre Sherard.

So there you go. I'm sure someone out there will have a different opinion. So let's go!