TFC drafted Kyle Bekker (22) and Emery Welshman (21) at today’s Superdraft. Both are Canadian, and although Bekker was named MVP at the MLS Combine,  their nationality may have been one reason why TFC was also able to gamble just a little bit to gather some allocation dollars as well.

TFC went into the draft holding both the (natural) #1 pick and the #3 pick acquired from Portland as part of the Kocic/Johnson trade. The night before the draft, TFC traded that #1 pick to New England for #4 and an undisclosed amount of allocation $$$, and therefore held #3 and #4 going into draft day. It seems pretty astute as New England wanted Andrew Farrell, and Chivas had already made it known they would pick Carlos Alvarez at #2 so the #3 pick was as good as #1 assuming TFC didn’t want Farrell or Alvarez.

TFC used the #3 pick to select Bekker (ensuring they got him ahead of Vancouver or Montreal), then traded the #4 pick to Vancouver in exchange for the #10 pick and some more allocation $$$. They flipped that #10 pick to Seattle for #16 and yet more allocation $$$. TFC then used the #16 pick to select Welshman.

Overall, TFC’s draft performance, along with the addition of three sets of allocation dollars from other teams was viewed by MLS commentators as being a very successful draft for the club. Not only did we get two highly rated Canadians. but according to Kevin Payne later, we gained about 20% on our salary cap … something which has always hamstrung the Reds.

Time will tell whether trading down for the allocation dollars was a good idea, or whether we should just have taken Farrell and Bekker at #1 and #3. Who TFC bring in using those allocation dollars may decide whether this was a good move or not, but for now, most pundits are giving it a thumbs up.