Gerry Dobson

Toronto FC turned No. 1 selection Maurice Edu into a $5 million windfall.

If you thought this year's MLS SuperDraft is being held on Thursday in Philadelphia because expansion begins play this year, you'd be wrong. It simply is a coincidence. Major League Soccer grabs the coat tails of the largest coaching convention in the world and follows it around. This year, the National Coaches Association of America is holding court in Philadelphia and presto, the MLS draft is there as well.

And if it wasn't for Toronto FC's splendid draft history, perhaps none of us would be paying much attention. Toronto does not have a first round choice; in fact, the club has only two altogether. It all adds up to nothing more than hyperbole. But consider all the noise the Reds have made in the past and it's worth another look. I'm not saying everything they've done has worked out, but Director of Soccer Mo Johnston is always in on the action.

In 2007 it drafted Maurice Edu first overall. No, Edu didn't hang around long, but the $5 million it fleeced out of Glasgow Rangers for the American helped ensure that Toronto will play on real grass this year. In Year 2 it had five picks; most notable was No. 9 overall Julius James (who was eventually used to help pry Dwayne De Rosario out of Houston). It also nabbed capable goalkeeper Brian Edwards after selecting James. Perhaps long forgotten is the fact they also drafted Make Zaher in the third round and eventually flipped him to D.C. for a first round pick in 2009.

Oh yes, 2009; that would be the year it had three first round selections thanks to the wheeling and dealing of Johnston. The trio of Sam Cronin (No. 2), O'Brian White (4) and Stefan Frei (13) are important components of this team.

That brings us to this year. Its only first rounder went to Dallas for Adrian Serioux -- which may or may not turn out to be a good thing as much will depend on how much it can get out of the worn down midfielder turned defender. But Toronto's boss didn't get the nickname 'Trader Mo' for nothing. No question he's hard at it once again. The problem is he has precious little to give up. It's hard to imagine Johnston not coveting MAC Hermann winner Teal Bunbury. Natural goal scorers are hard to come by in this league, and if Teal has half the nose for goal that his father Alex had, then he'll be worth trying to pry from another team. But how many Canadians does Johnston want on this team? Bunbury is a Canadian youth international but has yet to declare his allegiance. He was born in Hamilton, ON, but has lived in the United States most of his life and is eligible for both countries.

Whatever happens Thursday, there will be surprises. And once again for the fourth year in a row, Soccercentral will be there tracking all the moves. I'll be blogging at sportsnet.ca and we'll have a full report and interviews with the key players on Soccercentral Saturday.