PHILADELPHIA – New York City FC made a splash at their inaugural MLS SuperDraft by selecting a player not many thought they would, but their biggest takeaway from the day’s proceedings was way more meta.
Namely: They now have a 20-man squad and an impending date when those players will finally hit the field.
“I think all of us involved in the club are really pleased to be moving forward and to have a date on our mind, starting next Friday when we’re going to be able to start working with this team,” NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis told reporters on Thursday. “For myself and the coaching staff, we’re all extremely thrilled with the group that we have right now and extremely thrilled to get back out on the field.”
NYCFC drafted Oregon State striker Khiry Shelton with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft after mulling and ultimately rejecting an offer to trade the pick in exchange for allocation money. It was widely believed that they would spring for Generation adidas midfielder Cristian Roldan out of the University of Washington, but Kreis said that they had been scouting Shelton all fall.
Shelton shook off the injury bug that had plagued him in his first three years at Oregon State to score 10 goals and record 12 assists to take the Beavers to the NCAA tournament, earning Pac-12 Player of the Year honors along the way. Combined with a solid performance at the 2015 adidas Player Combine in Lauderhill, Florida, Kreis said that Shelton was the team’s “clear No. 1” choice.
“I love that he’s an attacking prospect,” Kreis said. “Start with his physicality. I mean, look at the size of him. He’s the fastest kid available in the draft. Think about what he can be. I think he’s a kid that’s going to need some development and need some time and some patience and some love, but I see a top, top-class striker possibility in the years to come.”
NYCFC used their second pick to select University of San Diego left winger Connor Brandt, who played most of the Combine at left back and who Kreis says will play left back for the club. Brandt scored seven goals and added six assists for the Toreros in 2014.
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With another two picks left in Rounds 3 and 4 of the SuperDraft, scheduled for Tuesday, and a promise from technical director Claudio Reyna that “another few announcements” are coming soon, the team that has been purely conceptual for so long is finally taking concrete form.
“I think it’s always a judgment call for people that are building a team,” Kreis said. “We can go into it, I think, one of two ways: You can go into it and say, ‘This is going to be our system, and we’re going to find players that fit our exact system.’ Or you can say, ‘This is going to be our philosophy and the way we see the game, and we’re going to find players to fit that philosophy and that methodology.’
“The system in the end, for us, will be defined and chosen at a later time.”
