Here are the picks for both teams:
 |  | |
Dax McCarty (DAL; Daniel Hernandez protected) | Round 1 | Sanna Nyassi (SEA; Patrick Ianni protected) |
Eric Brunner (CLB; Kevin Burns protected) | Round 2 | Atiba Harris (DAL; Dallas removed from draft) |
Adam Moffat (CLB; Columbus removed from draft) | Round 3 | Nathan Sturgis (SEA; Seattle removed from draft) |
Anthony Wallace (COL; Wells Thompson protected) | Round 4 | Shea Salinas (PHI; Chris Seitz protected) |
| Round 5 | Alan Gordon (CHV; Mariano Trujillo protected) | |
Robbie Findley (RSL; Salt Lake removed from draft) | Round 6 | O'Brian White (TOR; Julian de Guzman protected) |
Peter Lowry (CHI; Dasan Robinson protected) | Round 7 | Alejandro Moreno (PHI; Philadelphia removed from draft) |
Jonathan Bornstein (CHV; Chivas removed from draft) | Round 8 | Joe Cannon (SJ; Tim Ward protected) |
Jordan Graye (DC; Kurt Morsink protected) | Round 9 | Jonathan Leathers (KC; Eric Kronberg protected) |
Arturo Alvarez (SJ; San Jose removed from draft) | Round 10 | John Thorrington (CHI) |
Both teams came out with some excellent picks and both teams leave me asking questions but I think the winner has to be Vancouver. With Jay Demerit already signed and ready to lead the Whitecap defense the focus was on offense in today's expansion draft. Sanna Nyassi will be an excellent addition to the midfield. A creative offensive spark that can find Alejandro Moreno or O'brian White in the middle of the field. They also picked up Joe Cannon who will provide great veteran leadership in goal. Finally, the pickup of John Thorrington may seem risky to some because of his injury problems this past season but as the 10th pick I think he was a steal. If he can stay healthy he will be able to help control the center of the field for the Whitecaps. The Fire will certainly miss his vision and possession in the midfield. The one question I have for the Whitecaps is why pick O'brian White, Alejandro Moreno, and Alan Gordon? They are all virtually the same player. They all hold up the ball well and can score goals with their heads but provide very little pace in the attack. It seems to me they could have picked up a more impactful player with one of those picks.
Portland certainly isn't far behind Vancouver, especially if they can convince Findley to stay in MLS. They made an excellent pick to begin the draft with Dax McCarty. Alvarez, McCarty, Lowry and Moffat will provide an excellent midfield core to build around. Portland also took the risk of drafting the Portland native, Robbie Findley, who if they can sign will be an excellent offensive pickup for them. With that midfield providing Findley with service he should have a productive year in 2011. The rest of Portland's picks went towards building their defense. They did pick up promising young defenders, Anthony Wallace, David Horst, and Jordan Graye. At 24, Eric Brunner is the oldest of their defensive picks and will look to provide leadership for a young back line. The major question mark in Portland's picks lies in their acquisition of Tigres bound Jonathan Bornstein. Certainly they know something I don't but why would they pick a player that has already signed on with another team. Perhaps they feel they can convince him to stay along with Robbie Findley. We will have to wait and see the rationale of picking Bornstein for the Timbers but both teams came out winners today. The 2011 season is looking to be an exciting for MLS. We won't know who the real winners and losers were until the season begins in the spring but here are my grades.
Final Grades: Portland B Vancouver A-
UPDATE: Portland trades top pick Dax McCarty to DC United for Rodney Wallace and DC's second fourth round pick in the MLS Superdraft. Allocation money was also included. Portland's grade was highly dependent on Dax and the addition of another average defender seems useless. Perhaps Portland is looking to save money in preperation of a huge DP signing. Regardless Portland's new draft grade is a C+.
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