Winners and Losers of 2008 MLS Super Draft

The Major League Soccer Super Draft has now come and gone. It seems like every year there are a couple of teams that really help themselves in the draft and others that just don't have successful drafts at all. Here are the winners and losers of the 2008 MLS Superdraft.

Winners-

Toronto FC- Toronto had a wonderful draft. They were in desperate need of defensive help and they definitely got it with the selections of Julius James and Pat Phelan. James (selected with their 9^th pick) was regarded as one of the best seniors in the draft and will probably be ready to play the first day of training camp for them. Phelan will need a little more time but the two will give Toronto a wonderful central pairing for years to come. The selection of Joe Lapira with the 35^th pick was a gamble, but a well-selected pick. Lapira is a goal scoring machine that has said that he wants to try his luck in Europe. If that doesn't work for him, Toronto will hold his rights for the next two years.

Chicago Fire- Chicago had the most hyped player in the draft fall into their laps with their 7^th pick. Going into the draft, Patrick Nyarko was ranked on most peoples mock drafts going with the number 1 pick. For some reason, his stock fell on draft day and the Fire grabbed him with their pick. He should be able to start at forward for them for a long time to come. The selections of Peter Lowry (#26) and Stephen King (#40) were great values for the spots they were taken. Lowry in particular had a wonderful pre-draft combine and many thought he would go much higher. Both of these players will really help in Chicago's midfield.

FC Dallas- The selection of Brek Shea with the number 2 pick might have been a bit of a reach, but Dallas still had a wonderful draft. Shea is a great talent and Josh Lambo (#8) will be the goalie of the future for Dallas. The great pick was that of Eric Avila with the 18^th pick. Avila is a very creative midfielder that many people had in their top five. Even though he had a strong combine, word came out that he was not in the best of shape which made his stock fall. Even if that is true, to get a talent of Avila's that low in the draft is a steal. To make things even better for Dallas, all three of these players are Generation Adidas so they will not count against FCD's salary cap.

Losers-

Colorado Rapids- Colorado's biggest problem last year was probably their lack of scoring. So with the best forward (Nyarko) in the draft falling to them, with their 5^th pick they take a midfielder in Ciaran O'Brian. Now O'Brian might end up being a decent player, but he will not provide the scoring help that Nyarko could have.

Los Angles Galaxy- Going into the draft, the Galaxy needed to reduce their payroll. In order to do this, they sent their talented defender Chris Albright to New England for an allocation. The allocation will help them reduce their payroll, but most people felt that Albright was worth more. Then the Galaxy proceeds through the draft and did not take any Generation Adidas players. These players do not count against the salary cap. It would have been extremely beneficial for the Galaxy if they would have taken one of these players with their #4 pick. Sean Franklin, the player they took at #4, will probably be a good player in the league, but they probably could have traded down to the lower portion of the first round and still would have been able to pick him.

San Jose Earthquakes- San Jose came into the draft with the #1 overall pick and traded it to Kansas City for Nick Garcia. Garcia is a good player, but to trade the #1 overall pick for him seems to be a bit much. San Jose actually traded three of their four picks away. Their only selection was #15 Shea Salinas. For a team that is just starting out, they probably should have traded for more picks, so they could work on building the youth of their team.

Only time will tell who will be the final winners and losers of the 2008 Super Draft.