A Look Forward to the Expansion Draft by Travis Murphy
Editor's note: Travis Murphy is taking a look at the upcoming NWSL expansion draft. We disagree slightly on the list of players to protect and if it comes down to actually having to protect players, I will share my thoughts. Regardless expect that the college draft to impact roster moves as well.
Two new teams will be entering the NWSL to compete in the 2022 season: Angel City FC in Los Angeles and a yet-to-be-named team in San Diego.
That means an expansion draft will be held in the offseason on the 16th of December. Other than the date, the only detail of this draft that’s currently known is that teams will be able to protect only 9 players, down from 11 in last year’s expansion draft when Racing had an opportunity to begin building their team. The Racing front office has likely been preparing different scenarios for this expansion draft all year so let’s speculate on the team’s strategy.
One key piece of that strategy took place this week – Racing traded the rights of Christen Press to Angel City FC in return for roster protection during the expansion draft. Racing just reduced their exposure in the expansion draft from losing four players down to losing two at most – Angel City cannot select from Racing, and San Diego will be limited to selection no more than two per team.
That is, of course, assuming the 2020 expansion draft rules remain in place: each club can select no more that two players per team; only two US National Team players could be taken overall by the selecting teams; and if a National Team player is selected the picking team cannot select an additional player from the team. Racing must submit a protected player list to the league in advance of the draft, all other players under contract with Racing or whose rights are held (draft picks and players selected in last year’s expansion draft but not under contract) will be available for selection by San Diego.
Must Protect: Freja Olofsson, Gemma Bonner, Ebony Salmon, Nadia Nadim, Savannah McCaskill, Emily Fox
I don’t think there are any surprises on this list. Olofsson, Bonner and Fox have played all 90 minutes anchoring the Racing defense numerous time this season. Salmon, Nadim and McCaskill are the key players in the Racing attack. These six represent the core group moving into 2022 that the club will protect.
Pick 3: CeCe Kizer, Michelle Betos, Emina Ekic, Yuki Nagasato, Erin Simon, Kaleigh Riehl
For the three remaining slots, decision making for the club becomes more difficult. Five of these players are regular contributors, both in minutes played and importance to the team. Ekic is not at that level yet but is also the “Hometown Girl”, the team’s fifth draft choice and has a lot of untapped potential. Riehl has settled into the second CB role recently and would solidify our backline into next season, protecting Simon would have a similar impact on our defense’s right side. Betos is the captain, has immensely helped the club’s growth through early struggles, helped set the club’s culture, has had some spectacular performances in net and become a fan favorite. Kizer and Nagasato have both contributed solidly in the attack but been missing at other times.
Of the six outlined, the club should protect Riehl, Kizer and Ekic. All three players are young and should continue to grow and contribute more. There are other options than Simon at right back should she be selected in the expansion draft. Leaving Nagasato and Betos unprotected is a gamble that they will not be drafted due to their age – they’re not likely to be building blocks for the future of the new teams. In addition, there is a wealth of good goalkeepers in the league, and it seems likely that other, younger players will be available at that position. In particular, goalkeeper Abby Smith was just traded to Portland but should be backing up Bella Bixby at that position and left unprotected as a result.
Connections to Southern California are another consideration for the front office. Matthews’ husband signed with the San Francisco 49ers recently and she may desire a move to the west coast as a result. Racing also has rights to two current Pac-12 NCAA players – Smith at Cal Berkeley and Talley at USC. They may be interesting choices for the expansion sides depending on how their fall NCAA seasons progress.
What most Racing fans are hoping for is that the front office can put together a similar trade for the rights to Heath to turn an unused asset into roster protection from San Diego as well. That is certainly a scenario being looked at right now, but it may be a little more difficult to execute depending on Heath’s desire to play there. Another possible scenario: a three-team trade between Portland, Racing and San Diego. Heath loved playing in Portland, San Diego could negotiate for a couple players from Portland and Racing receives allocation money and roster protection.
The following list is what Racing would need to submit to the league office if there are no other roster changes between now and the deadline.
