Impact staff looking to improve team at the SuperDraft
Year two of the Rémi Garde era at Stade Saputo is officially underway. If his first season in charge allowed supporters to be hopeful until the very end, 2019 will be different on many levels: the experience of a full MLS campaign and everything that comes with it has been added to Garde’s repertoire, while the core of the squad won’t be starting from square one like in last year’s training camp.
All that to say that the MLS SuperDraft, whose first two rounds will take place this Friday, is already underway for the Bleu-blanc-noir. This time last year, the Montreal club was putting its hands on $350,000 in allocation money while selecting Ken Krolicki in the third round – a steal – who ended up being more than useful for the team: the young 22-year old from Fukuoka, Japan, played 24 games and 1,588 minutes in 2018.
This time around, the Impact didn’t wait to sit in the draft room to get the ball rolling: the club’s first-round pick was sent to Dallas, along with $75,000 in allocation money, in order to acquire the services of striker Maxi Urruti. There’s therefore four picks left for the Bleu-blanc-noir: one in the second round (34th overall), one in the third (58th overall), and two in the fourth (82nd and 92nd overall).
Garde and his lieutenants are currently in Orlando, Florida, where the 2019 adidas MLS Player Combine is taking place. It was during these sessions that Ken Krolicki was noticed last year. Will the hawkeyed Frenchman notice another talent that can immediately help the starting 11? To be continued, Friday at 1pm.
