Top Drawer Soccer Projects Soumare Trade Will Cost The Union Midfielder Dillon Powers

Teams in Major League Soccer have consistently moved away from building through the annual league SuperDraft, but talented players still are acquired through the process.

For the Philadelphia Union, the 2013 MLS SuperDraft will be their first without a first round selection. It will also be the first SuperDraft without former head coach Peter Nowak.

Nowak was still in charge when the Union sent their 2013 SuperDraft first rounder, and allocation money, in an allocation order spot swap with Vancouver. The Union ended up signing central defender Bakary Soumare, who spent most of his time with Philadelphia during the 2012 MLS regular season rehabbing.

Top Drawer Soccer's first Major League Socer mock SuperDraft has the Whitecaps selecting Notre Dame midfielder Dillon Powers, a box-to-box midfielder who is "a ready-to-go MLS prospect," according to the site's J.R. Eskilson and Travis M. Clark.

I talked to Clark about Powers:

Scott: My first question is always whether or not a player can be compared to a current professional. Makes it easier for the reader to understand the rest.

Travis: If he stays healthy, he's perhaps a Beckerman-type player.

Scott: Is that his ceiling potential wise?

Travis: Yes.

Scott: What's his most likely contribution level, in your opinion?

Travis: He can play in 2013 and maybe start, but again, he's had huge injury problems. So he's got to stay healthy.

Scott: What about him makes Powers good enough to warrant a top five selection if his injury problems are so bad?

Travis: He has a high ceiling, and the senior class is limited in talent.

Scott: I noticed that TDS predicts a somewhat small Generation Adidas class. Is this draft overall a weak one?

Travis: I think so. It's also hard to know who will be in the GA class, so that isn't necessarily a reflection of what will happen. You just never know.