Breaking down the MLS SuperDraft

By Ridge Mahoney, Special to SI.com, Soccer America

Seattle took Arsenal youth product and Akron stud Steve Zakuani (left) with the No. 1 pick. Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon SMI Related Links LALAS: Why Houston took Denmark-bound Tracy

The MLS SuperDraft annually reveals games within the game, moves that may interlock or interfere with others, perhaps logically, perhaps not.

Chivas USA coach Preki, to cite just one example, perplexed many of the "experts" attending the 2009 SuperDraft at the St. Louis Convention Center last week by passing on University of California goalkeeper Stefan Frei, whose Generation Adidas status and exceptional college career triggered comparisons to '05 Chivas USA rookie keeper Brad Guzan, now a U.S. national team player employed by English Premier League club Aston Villa.

Preki, though, realizes midfield is the heart of any team, and took Michael Lahoud with the No. 8 pick. Lahoud, one of six Wake Forest players selected, can play on either side of midfield, both of which could be rather bare quite soon.

Left mid Francisco Mendoza has returned to the parent club, Guadalajara, after playing all four of Chivas USA's seasons on loan. Sacha Kljestan, mostly a right mid during his three pro seasons, has gone on trial with Scottish club Glasgow Celtic and though a transfer isn't ordained, it's by no means out of the question.

Several other teams seemingly in need of a keeper passed on Frei, who finally went to Toronto -- with TFC's third first-round pick -- at No. 13. Guzan being one of the very few exceptions, rookie goalies need time to shine in MLS. Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, in dire need of solid goalkeeping, acquired Jamaican keeper Donovan Ricketts prior to the SuperDraft.

Ricketts isn't a world-beater, and Caribbean keepers -- like Americans and their counterparts in many parts of the world -- can be notoriously erratic, but he's got a lot of professional and national-team experience. Arena also shoved left back/midfielder Ante Jazic down the Home Depot Center corridors to Chivas USA, and obtained tigerish midfielder Dema Kovalenko from Real Salt Lake.

Ergo, draft picks can't be evaluated in isolation. They are usually intertwined in some scheme, be it grand or groundless. Still, that's what we do here.

Here's a quick rundown of SuperDraft '09, by team, divided into categories, none of them absolute, with emphasis on the higher picks.

Did well

Come the opening of training camp at the end of the month, all eyes will be on the first-round picks: tenacious defender Kevin Alston and a typical Revs' mystery pick, Tampa midfielder Ryan Maxwell, who'd been projected to go lower, yet was by no means an unknown.

New England led all teams with seven picks and Alston, a product of Indiana University, will get at least a crack at replacing Michael Parkhurst, whom he resembles somewhat in stature. Andrei Gotsmanov (Creighton) at No. 24 was followed immediately by Dado Hamzagic (Saint Louis); both are midfielders with a few questions but much quality.

To speed the rebuilding of Los Angeles, Arena took a pair of Terrapins in the first and second rounds to strengthen his flimsy defensive core: 6-foot-4 Omar Gonzalez, another Gen Adidas jewel, and defender/midfielder A.J. DeLaGarza, respectively. It ain't saying much, but L.A. looks better already.

Dallas used its No. 5 and No. 14 picks shrewdly, nicking tricky forward Peri Marosevic (Michigan) and rugged yet refined defender George John (Washington), respectively. Both are capable of considerable contributions under the tutelage of Schellas Hyndman. Forward Brian Shriver (North Carolina) helped the Tar Heels reach the final four in '08 and is a real steal at No. 27.

New York Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio is renowned for his international-market savvy, yet midfielder Jeremy Hall (Maryland) at No. 11 comes highly acclaimed. Defender Babajide Ogunbiyi (Santa Clara), at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, can be as tough to escape as his name is to pronounce. Defender Jack Traynor (Notre Dame) is yet another good player from an excellent program.