Academy Task 5: Season 19 Draft Results: Round 1

[By-Tor]

Season 19 Draft Results: Round 1

Dozens of players hoping to hear their name called for the Season 19 SSL Prospect Draft were seated in the green room waiting for their shot at being in the spotlight. Who would go #1 to Catalunya? Who would tumble down the ranks? We finally have the answers to those questions and are able to look back on how draft day shook out. 

With the first overall pick of the SSL Season 19 Prospect Draft, CF Catalunya select...

Aart de Trella, CD, user: trella

Catalunya needed help on defense and the best available player also happened to be a defender. Accumulating a lot of TPE, de Trella is a Dutch stalwart who shoots with power and marks opponents tightly. A great pick at #1 for a club in need of some help.

The second overall pick goes to A.C. Romana and they selected:

Coin Flip, CD, user: midknight

Flip is another central defender with skill that comes off the board early. Adept at bringing the ball out of the defensive zone and transitioning with long passes, Coin Flip could be considered a two way transition option. Again, not a surprise as this defender is #2 in class TPE and the best available on the board.

The third overall pick goes to Uniao Sao Paulo and they select:

Slab Head, CD, user: ACynicalGamer

A third defender! But again not a surprise as the team needed a defender up the middle and Head is the third highest TPE player off the board. The English defender is known for winding up opponents, so we'll se how that works out for them in the Major league. 

The fourth overall selection to Hollywood F.C. is:

Howie Dewitt, CDM, user: Icebear32

Catching pundits a little by surprise, they figured Hollywood may have gone with some offense after an underwhelming 19 goals in 14 caps, but the feisty American must have been too much for the Hollywood front office to let go. They mark opponents tightly and don't dive into tackles, but their defensive mind for the game is superb. Shoring up their goals against is an admirable track for Hollywood FC. 

With the fifth pick of the S19 Prospect Draft, Tokyo S.C. picks:

Dalton Canders II, GK , user: DalC21

Tokyo had the second worst goals against last season with 28 in 14 games. That is unacceptable as their current GK had the worst save percentage of any player this season. Canders II is a security ticket for the future. But security tickets can also sour if they don't keep up their training. Canders II is now 23rd out of 32 in the class in TPE. While it's not the end of the world, their high pick GK needs to pick it up if he wants to avoid bust territory. 

With the sixth pick of the draft, CA Buenos Aires selects:

Valentin Morgenstern, CD, user: Pythonic

The fourth CD taken in 6 picks, Morgenstern is an aggressive Austrian defender who dives into tackles and has a penchant for killer balls. Morgenstern is bound to help shore up their defense and create an exceptionally reliable anchor in the back end. 

The seventh pick goes to Reykjavik United and they select:

Bimitar Derbatov, ST, user: RussDrivesTheBus

A Zambian striker, Derbatov is a no-nonsense forward with a knack for finishing and driving the play. Reykjavik's strategy must be goals, goals, goals, because they have more goals than anyone by far, but still want to load up on another offensive player. We'll see how it works out in the end. 

With the final pick in the first round of the S19 draft, Schwarzwalder FV selects:

Cameron Millwal, CDM, user: stevo

Another defensive player, Millwal marks opponents tightly and brings the ball out of defensive play well. The German defender is fifth in class TPE, so this could end up being a steal for Schwarzwalder in the end. They are going the opposite route as Reykjavik, opting for defense, defense, defense as they already are league best in preventing opponent goals. 

These eight players make up a great first round of the S19 Prospect Draft. A lot of defenders going high, but that seems to be the trend right now in the SSL. I'm excited to see what these players will do with their careers and if they can keep up the great pace that they have begun their careers with! Congrats to all!