Expansion Draft: Look Who Seattle Got for Thanksgiving

By: Laurie | November 26th, 2008

Here are the new players that Seattle Sounders FC, the new-in-2009 MLS team, just acquired in the expansion draft. Since Seattle’s early signings were a bit top-heavy, as expected they’ve gone for some defensive cover:

1. Nate Jaqua, forward (Houston Dynamo)
No surprise here. The rumor since Jaqua came back from Austria was that it was part of the deal that he would be allowed to come back to the Pacific Northwest. He should slot in nicely up front with earlier Sounders signing Sebastien LeToux. (I’m glad to see him selected by Seattle — I always thought he got hosed by the Galaxy in the pre-Beckham run-up.)

2. Nathan Sturgis, defensive midfielder/defender (Real Salt Lake)
Very, very solid player. If only he can stay healthy.

3. Jeff Parke, defender (New York Red Bulls)
This one surprises me. Not only does Parke still have four games of his banned substance suspension to serve, but rumor is that he’s trying to head to Europe. What are the chances that we’ll see Parke in a Seattle jersey?

4. Jarrod Smith, forward (Toronto FC)
I didn’t follow Toronto much this year, so I don’t have an opinion on this one. But he’s a New Zealand international. That counts for something, right?

5. Khano Smith, striker, left winger (New England Revolution)
Wikipedia has this to say about Khano today.

He has come to be known in New England for his maddeningly inconsistent play, showing occasional flashes of brilliance, but also making fundamental mistakes.

Quick, Khano! Go in and make some fast deletions so it reads “He has come to be known in New England for his flashes of brilliance”!! Because things will be better in Seattle, right?

6. Peter Vagenas, defensive midfielder (Los Angeles)
All I can say is Wow. Pete was one of the last men standing after the Lalas/Yallop/Gullit carnage. He’s been at LA forever. And now he’s gone. Seattle could do worse, though. Pete’s a solid, non-flashy player who’s always calm and professional. There have been rumors that Seattle is going to name Columbus coach Sigi Schmid as their new head coach. As SoccerbyIves says, since Sigi is a former Galaxy coach, this would explain the Vagenas pick.

Welcome to Seattle, Pete. (And any jokes I may or may not have made about your groin injuries while I was blogging about LA? All in good fun, right? If I run into you at the 7-11, please don’t beat me up.)

7. Tyson Wahl, defender (Kansas City Wizards)
Another player I’m not all that familiar with, aside from the fact that he’s a former US youth international. Anybody from KC want to fill us in?

8. James Riley, defender/midfielder (San Jose Earthquakes)
This is getting to be a habit for Riley. He was picked up from the Revolution in the expansion draft by San Jose last year, and now he’s been picked up by Seattle. Hope this one’s for keeps.

9. Stephen King, midfielder (Chicago Fire)
King was a third-round draft pick for the Fire last year. He had a pretty solid rookie year and even picked up a couple of goals.

10. Brad Evans, midfielder (Columbus Crew)
I expected Eddie Gaven, but this works too. Plus I think he’s cheaper. It’s amazing that Columbus is so deep that they had to leave both of these guys unprotected.

So, a couple of forwards, some midfielders, and a good start at a defense. Interestingly, no goalkeepers, despite that fact that some very good ones like Hartman and Onstad were left unprotected. This gives some credence to the rumors the Sounders USL goalkeeper Chris Eylander will probably be signed.

(An excellent decision, in my opinion. I’m also hoping to see Kenji Treschuk and Taylor Graham, and maybe a few others as well.)