The 2017 MLS SuperDraft wrapped up on Tuesday afternoon. In total the Reds made five selections across the two day event. In case you missed any of the action, here is a full recap of the 2017 SuperDraft.
Pick 21 in the first round
The Reds selected defender Brandon Aubrey with the 21st pick. The 21-year-old spent the last four seasons at the University of Notre Dame. He appeared in 76 matches for the Fighting Irish, registering 15 goals and four assists. Aubrey was named to the NSCAA Third Team All-America and was a First Team All-ACC selection in 2016. Other collegiate honours for Aubrey included being named to the NSCAA First Team All-South Region (2016), NSCAA Academic All-America (2016) and Academic All-ACC (2015).
"He was a player that was highly touted," said General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko, "He is good with his head, he is a good passer and he obviously has some height to him as well." Aubrey's passing ability may come from the time he spent as a forward, prior to making the switch to the backline midway through his freshmen year.
"I'm really happy to be with Toronto," said Aubrey, "they are an outstanding club, I've heard nothing but good things about them." Aubrey will now head home to prepare ahead of his first ever MLS training camp.
Pick 4 and 5 in the second round
The Reds then traded away both of their 2nd round selections for $75K worth of target allocation money (TAM). "We felt like we have a number of players in our USL setup and in our Academy that we now have the luxury to use some of our picks as assets." added Bezbatchenko, "We felt like this was the best thing for our club."
The Reds can now utilise this additional TAM as a way to help upgrade the first team roster. Allocation Money may be used to sign new or re-sign existing players. Unlike general Allocation Money (GAM), however, Targeted Allocation Money can only be used for players earning more than the maximum salary budget charge. In other words, TAM can be used to pay down a player's salary to below the Designated Player threshold. The amount of TAM or GAM that the Red's currently have is not public information, however, it was announced that each club would receive $100K of TAM each season for the next 5 years, so at minimum, they have $175K worth of TAM.
"Yes we do," said team President Bill Manning when asked if his team knows where they want to spend the additional TAM, "We are looking at an attacking midfielder or adding to our centre back depth...we are going to use our TAM."
You can see what all of the Toronto FC brass had to say following the day one of the SuperDraft at the links below:
Bill Manning
Tim Bezbatchenko
Greg Vanney
Pick 8 in the third round
With their first pick of day two, Toronto FC addressed one of their biggest needs by selecting goalkeeper Robert Moewes from Duke University. The Reds went into the draft with just two keepers under contract.
Moewes made 17 starts in his only year at Duke. Moewes was named the 2016 Duke Soccer MVP. Before his Duke career, Moewes spent two seasons at Binghamton University where he made 35 appearances and was named America East Goalkeeper of the Year in both seasons.
The Reds originally acquired this pick in a trade with Orlando in 2015.
Pick 21 in the third round
The Reds selected midfielder/defender Øyvind Alseth from Syracuse University with their second pick in the third round. The six-foot Norwegian captained the Orange in his senior year where he started all 20 matches and recorded four assists.
Alseth was a starter for all four seasons with the Orange and was an all ACC-Third Team selection in his junior year.
Pick 17 in the fourth round
The Reds selected defender Lars Eckenrode from the University of Michigan with their first selection in the fourth round. Eckenrode made 67 appearances for the Wolverines over his four years at the school. The defender scored one goal and added two assists over his collegiate career.
The native of Springfield, Virginia was named to the Big Ten All-Rookie Team in his freshman year and continued on to serve as the captain in his senior year.
The Reds originally acquired this pick in a trade with the Red Bulls in 2014.
Pick 21 in the fourth round
The Reds’ final selection of the day was defender Juan Pablo Saavedra from Virginia Tech. The defender started all 22 games for Virginia Tech, recording four assists in his final season. He also led the team in minutes played.
