2009 WPS Draft

nice, im there

 

safe to say A-Rod to Boston?

Wonder how they'll accept that nickname

 

who are the picks in the first two rounds?

 

I'd recommend a change.

RIF

 

Sorry,I meant the first two round of players from the combines

 

Are there any guesses on who will be the the top 21 players to be drafted? That would be three rounds.

 

I don't expect any surprises in the first 3 rounds. National team experience, foreign team experience and All-America status will guide the conservative selections in the first rounds. Probably won't see any surprises or "relative unknowns" until 4th or 5th rounds. Just a guess.

 

recent article from WPS website, regarding east coast combine. http://www.womensprosoccer.com/newsitem_ektid7140.aspx

 

I think that early on, we will see mostly the new college grads taken. I read in an article somewhere (I forgot where, sorry) that scorers were going to be at a premium. One coach thought that if the combine was thin in any area, it was forwards/scorers. I would certainly look at the NCAA powers-Notre Dame (Hanks, Bock, Dew) and North Carolina (Averbuch) early on, along with Rodriguez. You could probably look at US U-23 team (and U-21 if elligible) and figure there will be a lot of your top picks. In later rounds, I think you will start to see more picks for needs and probably see W-League veterans that fit a particular slot on the roster. Plus, at some point, most teams need to pick up at least a backup goalkeeper.

 

Tony DiCicco has the first pick and here's what he says:
http://womensprosoccer.com/newsitem_ektid7236.aspx

 

Yesterday a few players from the East Coast Combine received e-mails from the league inviting them to attend the draft next Friday. It's not yet clear if these invitations were selective or just a blanket invitation to everybody at both combines to have a larger crowd at the event. I suspect it's the latter because (with the exception of Amy Rodriguez) the coaches have been pretty guarded about which players they're likely to select.

 

You know, I really wish they would have had the draft on a Saturday. I know they had to fit it in around the convention schedule, but I also know a lot of people from St. Louis who would go if they didn't have classes or work.

I've got to believe that Amy Rodriguez and Kerri Hanks have got to go 1-2 or 2-1. I would love to see one of those two available when St. Louis drafts, but it's not going to happen.

Since the teams had a chance to draft anyone who had previously graduated in the general draft back in October, I think the 1st round and maybe the 2nd round will be college seniors.

 

The college player that were picked as All Americans may attend for the award banquet, many of those ladies have already been mentioned on the WPS website.

 

Sorry if this has already been asked or discussed, but can teams trade their draft picks? Can teams also trade their allocated players and also those from the other draft?

The reason I ask is that I think teams may be hankering for some trading action, but are unsure of how to value their picks.

I've developed a draft trade value to answer the question of how much to quantify, in numeric terms, a particular draft pick, and what it would take to trade/compensate for it/them. I patterned it after the Draft Trade Calculator that NFL teams use to value the trades they make to each other. This is a rough guide because individuals might rate a player more than the "value" of the draft pick, so take it with a grain of salt.

Code:

[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Pick     Point Value[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]1          1000[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]2          900[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]3          800[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]4          700[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]5          600[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]6          550[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]7          500[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]8          450[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]9          400[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]10        375[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]11        350[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]12        300[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]13        275[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]14        250[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]15        225[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]16        200[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]17        185[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]18        170[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]19        155[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]20        140[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]21        130[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]22        120[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]23        110[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]24        100[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]25        90[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]26        80[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]27        70[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]28        65[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]29        60[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]30        55[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]31        50[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]32        46[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]33        42[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]34        38[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]35        34[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]36        31[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]37        28[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]38        25[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]39        23[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]40        21[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]41        19[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]42        17[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]43        15[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]44        14[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]45        13[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]46        12[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]47        11[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]48        10[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]49        9[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]50        8[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]51        8[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]52        7[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]53        6[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]54        5[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]55        5[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]56        4[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]57        4[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]58        3[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]59        3[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]60        3[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]61        3[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]62        2[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]63        2[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]64        2[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]65        2[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]66        1[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]67        1[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]68        1[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]69        1[/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Times New Roman]70        1[/FONT]

 

Saint Louis Athletica actually made two trades during the international draft, trading up for international picks and down in the general draft in October. I still can figure out why they did, but apparently the answer to your question is yes, trades can be made.

I could maybe see a trade in the first round, somebody trading up to get one of the top players, maybe for a pick in next year's draft. But I doubt that may trades will be made.

 

Please see my link above to the interview with Tony DiCicco of Boston. He says the phones are already very busy with trade discussions. He implies that the trades being discussed incude both players and draft positions. He says there's a lot going on behind the scenes with the teams in frequent discussions. I'm not sure if they'll announce any trades (in players or draft positions) before next Friday. If they wait until the draft is in progress, we'll have a fun time keeping up with the results of all the maneuvering going on now. We'll need a spread sheet to keep up. Should be fun.

 

If players are going to be traded, somebody better be signing players in the next week. Right now, only a few players have signed.

Fun yes, but I hope this doesn't turn into a "let's let LA have the players they want" situation. Personally, I think trades before you even have a team together are pretty pointless. St. Louis made two trades in the international draft. They traded up to get Lotta Schelin and we all know how that worked out.

 

You are absolutely correct. Things are so fluid now that any trades made at this point should be made at the craps tables in Las Vegas. That's what made Tony's comments about all the phone calls among the teams even more interesting. I think technically (since there are so few players signed at this point) all they can trade are the rights to try to sign a certain player and a position in the draft order.

That's why I said we might need a spreadsheet to keep up with the maneuvering. No matter how the draft goes, the actual rosters for each team won't likely be finalized until after the individual team tryouts to follow. Some of the players at the East Coast Combine report they were told that there would be no contracts finalized for their group until after the individual team training camps are underway. The teams and the league are keeping all their options open.

If that's true, then the results of the draft (added to the prior allocations and drafts) will only provide a general indication of the team rosters. That could change significantly before the first games. I don't think any team is knowingly going to let all the great players drift to LA, but until the dust settles it'll be anybody's guess as to which team did the best.

Stay tuned. This is going to be a wild couple of months.

 

I was glad to hear that. First of all it proves that they aren't just trying to "place" players. But more importantly, Rodriguez deserves to be the number one pick. I'm very happy for her and I hope she has a great career in Boston, except when she faces Athletica of course.