Caps ‘back to the madhouse,’ seeking a gem at MLS combine
While the rest of Wales was busy with mulled wine and Plygain, Vancouver Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson had a busy holiday “break.”
Six new players have recently been added to the team — with more to come — and Robinson jetted off to Orlando Wednesday afternoon to begin scouting for more at the Major League Soccer player combine, which starts today and runs until Jan. 17, just ahead of the Jan. 19 MLS SuperDraft.
“I had a good three days’ vacation,” he quipped. “We’re back to work, back to the madhouse.”
Sixty of the top NCAA players will be put through their paces at Orlando City Stadium before the circus pulls up stakes and moves to Philadelphia for the four-round draft. The Whitecaps have a pick in each round — 17th, 26th, 62nd and 86th overall.
To call the draft a crapshoot would be a disservice to shooting craps. Finding talent in the draft, particularly in the later rounds, is an exceedingly tough assignment.
In Robinson’s four previous drafts as head coach, only two players — Tim Parker (13th overall 2015) and Jake Nerwinski (seventh overall 2017) — are still with the first team.
Christian Dean, the third overall pick in 2014, was dealt to the Chicago Fire in August. Cole Seiler, the Caps’ first pick in 2016 (16th overall), spent two seasons in the USL and only made two appearances with the top team. His option was declined for this season.
Only Spencer Richey, drafted 61st overall in 2015, remains in the organization out of 19 of Robinson’s picks, and the goalkeeper has been loaned to USL side FC Cincinnati.
Most teams rely on residency teams, trades and free-agent signings to build the majority of their rosters, with the SuperDraft seen as an augment to their talent pools. That means that draftees like Mamadou Diouf, Nikola Paunic and Craig Nitti have been relegated to history as footnotes on wiki pages.
“I think if you speak to managers … before the draft they’ll say they’ve got their targets in mind,” said Robinson. “I can name you five players that I would like. But unfortunately, we pick 17th, so I think those first five players will be gone in the first five picks.”
The Caps rolled an 11 with Parker, who was recently invited to the U.S. National team camp, and Nerwinski, who unseated incumbent Sheanon Williams and became a starter in his rookie season.
Parker and Nerwinski have had success in Vancouver because they both fit the mould of what Robinson looks for in a player: intelligence, humility and a willingness to work hard. The transfer sheet of players who have departed is littered with names of those lacking the characteristics the Caps’ coach treasures.
“What do I want? I want someone like Jake, like Tim Parker. We’ve been pretty successful with our defenders,” said Robinson. “What you have to do as a manager is find the players that can help your team, not just in the shortterm but in the long-term.
“I look at whether a player looks me in the eye,” he added of the pre-draft interviews, “because if someone doesn’t, and talks about themselves or things like that, it’s a flaw in their character. We’re a club that prides ourselves on good character guys. Tim Parker is certainly that. So is Jake. So is Cole Seiller.” Impact right off the hop: The Whitecaps will face the Montreal Impact to open the 2018 MLS season on March 4 at B.C. Place Stadium, and they’ll also see them in the semifinals of the Canadian Championship in July.
It’s the second consecutive season the Canadian rivals will square off in the battle of the north. The first leg is July 18 at Stade Saputo in Montreal, with the return leg on July 25 in Vancouver.
This year’s tournament will also take a page from the FA Cup in England in having lower-tier teams compete for the first time. An additional qualifying round, with entrants from the Quebec and Ontario premier leagues will play a two-leg series in June to determine who will face the Ottawa Fury.
The winner of that series will take on the defending MLS and Canadian champion Toronto FC.