Clement Simonin—French defender that many think may be a regular with the senior team next year
Skylar Thomas—From Pickering, the fast defender comes from the Sigma system. A bit raw, but with lots of potential.
Wesley Charpie -- Another SuperDraft pick. The American was selected with the USL in mind. Bez told me in January that he drafted knowing that he could have a full year look at all the players.
Luca Uccello—One of TFCA’s standouts in their 2014 League1 Ontario championship season. He’s a wide player that is dangerous in the attack
Mark Anthony Kaye—Another academy grad, Kaye already has his first pro goal, scored last year for Wilmington. A lot is expected from him.
Sal Bernal—He scored in college. TFC is hoping he can repeat it at a pro level
Edwin Rivas—See above
Mo Babouli—The most fascinating player of all. I saw him play at least 15 times last summer. He just scores. That what he does. A guy that probably is lost in the spider web of unsanctioned men’s leagues if he was 10 years older, the TFCA discovered him at the last possible moment (although the Impact had him on their radar when he was younger after accidently seeing him at a tournament). This year is likely his one chance – he’s an (early) 93 – but he’s always found a way to succeed up to now. This is a player USL was made for.
In addition to the seven full-time USL players, TFC announced today that it was loaning seven players to the Baby Reds. They are:
Quillan Roberts—Q was a regular starter for Wilmington last season in the USL
Alex Bono—The two keepers will probably split time, with Roberts the long-term Baby Reds starter and Bono, a USMNT prospect, making Joe Bendik nervous.
Ashtone Morgan—You don’t need to be introduced to Morgan. He has nearly 100 first team appearances. Being assigned to USL does not mean Morgan’s time with the senior team is done – he, like all of the loaned players, can move freely between the two clubs. It is a great opportunity for the one time starter to finally get back on track though.
Manuel Aparicio—Diminutive and creative Aparicio might have been cut loose by now if not for the USL chance. TFC fans will be hoping he excels.
Jay Chapman—Chapman would have been a top 5 draft pick in the SuperDraft if TFC’s homegrown claim had failed. As it is, expect the 2014 Big Ten midfielder of the year to be one of TFC2’s most important pieces.
Chris Mannella—named captain, which should tell you a lot about how much TFC values him.
Jordan Hamilton—there will be kids in Vaughan that wear his name on the back of their strips. TFC is taking their time with a player that might have been the best striker in the draft if he wasn’t an academy player. He has five USL goals already to his credit.
Quietly -- literally while writing this -- TFC added a few more names to the TFC2 roster. They are: Daniel Fabrizi, Mark Serjeant, Adam Bouchard and Massimo Mirabelli. All four are Canadian. Mirabelli spent time with FC Edmonton.
You will also see TFC Academy kids getting trials with the USL side throughout the year as well as the odd first team conditioning stint. However, the 15 players above will likely get the bulk of the minutes.
It’s a young team – not a single player born in the 1980s – and a Canadian team, 10 of the 15 are Canucks.
Is it a good team? Time will tell, but there is talent there. USL is a funny league in that there are two types of teams in it – the development focused clubs, like TFC2, and the stand alone teams which act as professional teams representing their communities. The latter are older and more battle scared, the former are raw with a higher ceiling of talent.
Last year the first (and only) development side almost made the USL final. However, that was the Galaxy’s team and the Galaxy generally do things right. Ultimately a standalone side, Sacramento, were champions.
Regardless, TFC2 will be looking to win games as well as develop players. The coaches I’ve spoken to all stress that—winning at this level is part of the development plan.
On a housekeeping note, I plan to focus the majority of my writing on TFC2 and TFCA this year. I feel that’s where I can best add value to the reporting. I’ll still cover TFC on the podcast and occasionally here. We will have other writers step up the senior team coverage so you’re getting more, not less, TFC material in total.