2025-02-03, 09:07 AM - Word count:
The time has come! The S20 draft class is here, and they are chomping at the bit to get started on earning that TPE and come out of the gates blazing! (Shout-out Lemonoppy for everything pre-typed and ready to go. Genuinely excited to be in the same draft class as you for once!). What better way to kick off the academy year by taking a look at our draft counterparts, and hopefully doing every justice in propping them up for the season ahead.
Taking a look at how this class compares to some of the other recent SSL classes, this one looks to be on smaller side of things, but could end up around the same size at S17’s class, which produced some vaunted users that will look to dominate the league for seasons to come.
Positionally, there’s a good spread of different positions in this class:
-5 Midfielders
-3 Defenders
-2 Goalkeepres
-4 Wingbacks
-2 Strikers
To me, this seems like a fairly strong split between positional choices and what is needed at both the major and minor levels. Obviously, there’s already a death of Strikers within the league, at both levels of play (as also pointed out in Lemon’s wonderful intro article). But as has been pointed out, there are a handful of teams that run a 2 striker setup, so the need is always there. I think these 2 goal scoring fiends will easily find a home come draft time, so long as they keep their pace throughout the academy season.
Looking to midfielders, this is all over the place. Clearly the largest positional choice for this class (which admittedly is not large or a huge difference than the 4 WBs), but it stands to reason that this is a popular choice for several reasons: 1) the positional tracker shows a clear need for all types of midfielders, and 2) midfielders are fun. I’ll speak for myself, but I’d much rather get sick setup for a goal than be the one that finishers it in the back of the net. Teams, both at the major and minor level, should be able to find an up and coming start from this group without much hassle.
Surprisingly, the league seems pretty full on defenders! But that didn’t stop the likes of Michael Schuhmacher, Rokuv Gibraltar, or Bobby Green from creating here. To me, these guys are the unsung heroes and will always be needed by teams. They’ll find a good home, have a strong academy season, and should end up going high when draft seasons starts.
We have 4 WBs in this draft class, and I’ll admit, I had to look up what a WB was before writing this section (see, we learn things). These guys are going to expected to do a lot of heavy lifting, and I fully expect the players and users behind those players to be up to the task. I see a lot of names at this position that I recognize from other places, and I know they are going to put their all into these players, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go high in the draft at the end of the academy season.
Lastly, we have 2 goalkeepers. Based on the tracker, it looks like the league is full up on goalies, but I’m still a little fuzzy on how that all plays out, so maybe these guys will find spots without much issue. Regardless, these two are going to head to against each other for top dawg this academy season, and I for one, am very excited to see how it plays out.
I’ll do a more in-depth breakdown as we continue through the academy season, but for now, I think just getting a feel for the class size and positional breakdown is a good start for a draft primer. We’ll see everyone on the field!
Taking a look at how this class compares to some of the other recent SSL classes, this one looks to be on smaller side of things, but could end up around the same size at S17’s class, which produced some vaunted users that will look to dominate the league for seasons to come.
Positionally, there’s a good spread of different positions in this class:
-5 Midfielders
-3 Defenders
-2 Goalkeepres
-4 Wingbacks
-2 Strikers
To me, this seems like a fairly strong split between positional choices and what is needed at both the major and minor levels. Obviously, there’s already a death of Strikers within the league, at both levels of play (as also pointed out in Lemon’s wonderful intro article). But as has been pointed out, there are a handful of teams that run a 2 striker setup, so the need is always there. I think these 2 goal scoring fiends will easily find a home come draft time, so long as they keep their pace throughout the academy season.
Looking to midfielders, this is all over the place. Clearly the largest positional choice for this class (which admittedly is not large or a huge difference than the 4 WBs), but it stands to reason that this is a popular choice for several reasons: 1) the positional tracker shows a clear need for all types of midfielders, and 2) midfielders are fun. I’ll speak for myself, but I’d much rather get sick setup for a goal than be the one that finishers it in the back of the net. Teams, both at the major and minor level, should be able to find an up and coming start from this group without much hassle.
Surprisingly, the league seems pretty full on defenders! But that didn’t stop the likes of Michael Schuhmacher, Rokuv Gibraltar, or Bobby Green from creating here. To me, these guys are the unsung heroes and will always be needed by teams. They’ll find a good home, have a strong academy season, and should end up going high when draft seasons starts.
We have 4 WBs in this draft class, and I’ll admit, I had to look up what a WB was before writing this section (see, we learn things). These guys are going to expected to do a lot of heavy lifting, and I fully expect the players and users behind those players to be up to the task. I see a lot of names at this position that I recognize from other places, and I know they are going to put their all into these players, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go high in the draft at the end of the academy season.
Lastly, we have 2 goalkeepers. Based on the tracker, it looks like the league is full up on goalies, but I’m still a little fuzzy on how that all plays out, so maybe these guys will find spots without much issue. Regardless, these two are going to head to against each other for top dawg this academy season, and I for one, am very excited to see how it plays out.
I’ll do a more in-depth breakdown as we continue through the academy season, but for now, I think just getting a feel for the class size and positional breakdown is a good start for a draft primer. We’ll see everyone on the field!
