Eleven of the 32 players available, just more than a third, were selected in phase two of the MLS Re-Entry Draft Wednesday afternoon. If all of the 11 players chosen today come to terms, that means a grand total of 13 out-of-contract players were able to find work. Only two — and both were minor deals — were taken in the first round, where players are guaranteed to make in 2011 at least what they did in 2010. The other 11 will likely all go for less money than they did in 2010.

Alberta has made soccer news for the wrong reasons in 2010 as an ugly power struggle has crippled the Alberta Soccer Association. The province continues to be badly under-represented on most national teams, which are dominated by players from British Columbia and Ontario. The rise of BMO Field and Stade Saputo has made Commonwealth Stadium, once the official home of Canada’s national soccer team, a place reserved to host Canadian games only if they are World Cup qualifiers in winter months against Mexico, in hopes of freezing out the regional power. Gains made in boosting the game in Ontario and Quebec have taken a toll on Alberta. So, that’s why the selection of Ethan Gage as the country’s male U-20 player of the year is a big deal.

The Vancouver Whitecaps might only be joining MLS in 2011, but the club’s youth development programs is still miles ahead of TFC Academy. The Whitecaps Residency got another feather in its cap Monday when the Canadian Soccer Association named Bryce Alderson the country’s male U-17 player of the year.

Earlier this week, the Vancouver Whitecaps named Carl Valentine, a member of Canada’s 1986 World Cup squad, as the club’s official ambassador. Valentine was a member of the 1979 Whitecaps squad that won the NASL Soccer Bowl, defeating the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Giants Stadium, just a week after Vancouver stunned the heavily favoured New York Cosmos in the semifinal. “Valentine, at 21, the kind of young recruit NASL teams should be looking for—rather than the big-name, passe players they are forever signing—was continually showing thrust and speed,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Clive Gammon about Valentine’s performance in the Soccer Bowl. As well, you can’t miss the fact that, on the Whitecaps website, right beside the logo, reads a simple statement: “Since 1974.” This a team that was forged in the NASL, and doesn’t talk about the league in embarrassed hushes.

Two players. That’s the grand total of eligible out of-contract players who got new deals with new clubs during Wednesday’s first-ever MLS draft. And neither was what you would call a marquee name — striker Joseph Ngwenya was taken first overall by D.C. United — and defender Aaron Hohlbein, who spent time in second-division soccer last season with Miami FC, was taken by Columbus Crew. The star names, like Designated Player Juan Pablo Angel, were left untouched. Actually, pretty well everyone was left untouched through Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Draft, where teams are required to at least match what the players made last season.

Two names stick out on the list of players who are available for the first-ever Re-Entry Draft, which goes Dec. 8. Juan Pablo Angel currently holds the title as the best Designated Player signing in MLS history. Jeff Cunningham is one goal behind Jaime Moreno for the all-time career lead in goals. Both are on the list of players whose options were not picked up or are out of contract and are eligible to be selected in the Re-Entry Draft. But, when it comes to personality, the two players couldn’t be more different.

e Dec. 5 MLS Re-Entry Draft is a straightforward process, but there will be a couple of considerations for Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey and Columbus Crew GM Mark McCullers. The Crew and Real Salt Lake will meet in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals; the first leg of their aggregate two-game series will go Feb. 22, while most teams are in the midst of their training camps.

For all the Canadian soccer fans hoping to make short hops across the border to catch World Cup games in 2022, there is disappointment. The United States’ bid to host the tourney was unsuccessful, as FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.

The first domino has fallen. Wednesday, Seattle made Fredy Montero, the franchise's top scorer, it's newest Designated Player. Not counting Landon Donovan's grandfathered deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy, the Colombian star becomes the first MLS regular to graduate from the normal salaried ranks to DP status. MLS knew this was coming. When the new DP rule was rolled out on April 1, allowing each team to have a maximum of three slots, the league knew that its member clubs would soon need to use spots so they could retain existing players, not just to attract players from Europe and South America.

Bas Ent could be in Toronto FC colours next season. Ent, a 23-year-old from Zaandam, Holland, has received serious interest from TFC, who gave the pacy winger a 45-minute trial in a friendly with EPL side Bolton Wanderers earlier this year. Dutch media has reported that Ent has already signed with the MLS club but there are plenty of details to work out before he officially goes to Toronto. “He is not eligible until we let him go,” says Mike Mossel, co-owner of Dayton Dutch Lions FC, the USL Premier Development League team that Ent played on last season. “The question is what does Toronto want to pay for him and how much do we want for him?”