With the 2015 NWSL College Draft just a few days away, much of the motivation for the offseason wheeling and dealing will come to light as gaps will be filled and rosters will begin to take shape.
One of the biggest overall roster shakeups in the last few months has come from the Western New York Flash, whose roster is nearly unrecognizable from the 2014 season. The current roster carries only six names from last season, though that number could drop to five if goalkeeper Adrianna Franch does not return to the team. Even then, Franch missed the 2014 season due to an ACL injury sustained during preseason. The total number of players on the current pre-draft Flash roster? Twelve
The Flash will have plenty of opportunity to fill some of those roster spots as they have a total of six picks throughout the draft, four in the first round alone. After failing to make the playoffs and finishing seventh in the league, the club’s worst showing in franchise history, the Flash hired former LA Blues coach Charlie Naimo as Technical Director and started moving personnel and acquiring draft picks.
In addition to their own first round pick, the Flash received Portland’s 2015 first round pick last season along with Kat Williamson and Courtney Wentzel in exchange for Sarah Huffman and the rights to Vero Boquete. The team received Washington’s first round pick and Jordan Angeli in exchange for Angela Salem and Katherine Reynolds and was given Sky Blue’s first round pick and rights to Elizabeth Eddy in exchange for the rights to Australia forward Samantha Kerr. The Flash also picked up a second round pick in a trade that sent Amy Barczuk to Boston.
Considering the fact that the 2014 draft ended up being mostly disappointing for the Flash, there has been some concerns amongst the team’s fans at the prospect of putting so much faith in this year’s collegiate crop, but Head Coach/General Manager Aaran Lines is confident in this year’s group.
“We consider this to be, if not the best draft class in professional soccer. If it’s not the best draft class, it’s very close to the year that Lauren Cheney came out and Tobin Heath, I think in 2010. We consider it to be right up there with the caliber of that draft class,” he explained. “Obviously having four first round picks, we are looking to secure some future for the club as well with young and talented players.”
What makes this draft class different from those in the past (minus the aforementioned 2010 class)? According to Lines, there is a greater number of quality players available. In comparison to last year’s draft which he felt was “four players deep,” he believes this year’s class to be” at least eight to ten good players deep”. With that mentality and four first round picks, the Flash should land some top quality talent to help build up their roster.
Lines acknowledged Charlie Naimo and his contributions in preparing for the draft with the mindset that this is going to be a rebuilding year. The right players are needed not only for this season, but in order to build toward the success of the club in future years as well.
“We obviously bought Charlie on board; I’ve known Charlie for a number of years and through his W-League team, the LA Blues, over the last few years has had a lot of the best talent in the U.S. He’s been able to draw them to his W-League franchise and work with them personally, so we feel that we have a lot of good information on these players and a lot of that has been through Charlie’s knowledge of this draft class”.
The many moves in the offseason have left quite a few holes in the Flash roster. Though the acquisition of Whitney Engen, Amber Brooks, Becky Edwards, Jordan Angeli and India Trotter has helped, the multitude of departures from the team left many areas to be filled prior to the start of the 2015 season, especially in anticipation of Engen and Abby Wambach missing time for the World Cup.
When asked about his targets for the upcoming draft, Lines acknowledged this his response would seem somewhat vague, but simply noted that they were looking for one of each; a defender, midfielder and forward if they were able to. Despite the fact that changes in the offseason has left the roster significantly different and draft dependent to this point, Lines explained that the changes were necessary in order to return to the playoffs this season, and is confident that this roster and the talent available can afford them the opportunity to do that.
As far as the short and long term goals of the Flash go, Lines sees this upcoming draft playing a significant role in aiding in the success of the club in both the immediate and foreseeable future.
“Having four first round picks, and we’ve spoken about the nice draft class, I think that shows. That’s four young players that obviously are going to need a little bit of time, maybe one or two more than others, but that’s showing that we are building for the future, that we are looking ahead, but not too far ahead because you’re measured on what you’re also doing now. We’ve got to find that right balance, we’re hoping to find that balance. We’ll definitely be a little bit younger than what we have been in the past but I firmly believe it’s not about age. It’s not ‘you’re too old for it’ or its not ‘you’re too young for it’ but its ‘are you good enough for it?’ We’ll see, the season will tell.”
The Western New York Flash hold picks 3, 4, 6, 7, 18 and 21 in the 2015 NWSL College Draft which will be held on Friday January 16, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. as part of the NSCAA Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.
