ORLANDO – Cyle Larin has had one of the most impactful seasons by an MLS rookie in the league's 20-year history, but anyone who thinks he will soon be going on to new opportunities – especially those in Europe – might want to think again.
The notion that Larin could be moving abroad has been summarily dismissed by Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath. He firmly believes the 20-year-old Canadian is on the way to a stellar career after a debut season that has gotten better as it has unfolded. But Heath also cautions that Larin must develop further in MLS before he thinks of going anywhere else.
“At the end of the season, we have to sit down with Cyle and the coaches to discuss where he can improve,” Heath said. “He has all the tools, but he is not yet at the stage where he can go to Europe. There are certain things he still needs to develop, and this is the best place for him in terms of his development. But I will say that he has a fantastic opportunity if he stays injury-free.”
After 17 goals in 26 MLS games, some might not be questioning whether the University of Connecticut product is the 2015 MLS Rookie of the Year but rather, in the league’s 20th year, is he the best rookie of all time?
The likes of Clint Dempsey and Maurice Edu – both first-round picks, with Dempsey going eighth in 2004 and Edu No. 1 in 2007 – have had greater impacts after their rookie seasons, but they might not have done so much so quickly.
Steve Ralston and Ben Olsen became MLS and USMNT greats and now find themselves in the coaching ranks. Previous rookie goal-scoring record-holder Damani Ralph caught the eye with 11 tallies in his debut season for Chicago in 2003, also in 26 games, as well as netting the winner in that year’s US Open Cup final. But even he might not have made the same kind of mark.
Defenders like Carlos Bocanegra in 2000 (No. 4 overall pick), Michael Parkhurst in 2005 (No. 9) and Omar Gonzalez in 2009 (No. 3) all were regular starters and helped their teams reach MLS Cup championship games, but can anything really compare to the impact of a goalscorer?
Only four of the league's 19 Rookie of the Year Award winners have been on teams that missed the playoffs, and Orlando City are fighting an uphill battle to qualify. Yet all four of those have come since 2007, with expansion making it far more difficult to reach the postseason.
Orlando general manager Paul McDonough has been giving it some thought and, while he is admittedly biased, finds himself hard-pressed to come up with an alternative best-rookie-ever candidate.
“Edu and Dempsey are the only others you could bring into the argument,” McDonough said. “Certain guys have done well, but I just can’t recall anyone having a more impactful rookie year than Cyle.
“Ralph also went into a good, experienced team in Chicago, playing alongside Ante Razov, which would have been an advantage. Cyle has been the lone striker almost all the time. Ralph’s record stood for a long time for a good reason. It just isn’t that easy to do. Now the league is better, too.”
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McDonough was instrumental in making Larin ‘The One’ for Orlando in this year’s draft, and he has good perspective on what Larin had to deal with coming into the season, given that McDonough was an assistant coach at UConn from 2003-09 and has maintained his contacts with head coach Ray Reid.
“The hard part for Cyle is that he came in with all the hype of being the No.1 pick,” McDonough said. “Then he came into an expansion team in which he had to play a leading role, which made it really difficult. It gives more credence to what he has done – 17 goals in 26 games is unbelievable, really.
“If you look at the guys in front of him in the goalscoring ranks, Kei [Kamara], [Sebastian] Giovinco and Robbie [Keane], those are all amazing, front-rank talents who have been doing it for years. I can’t see anyone having had a more impactful rookie year than Cyle.”
McDonough also knows who deserves most of the credit for ensuring the talent was able to blossom on the MLS stage.
“He’s never going to say it himself, but Adrian is really the one who made it possible," McDonough said. "He’s not only a great coach but, as a [former] striker himself, he’s a great coach of strikers, hence I don’t think Cyle could have landed in a better place.”
Ironically, Larin would never have made the start he did if it hadn’t been for a dizzying series of injuries and fitness issues that crippled the depth chart ahead of him. Martin Paterson was ruled out with a hamstring problem, Bryan Róchez was not deemed fully fit, Carlos Rivas was injured in the second game and Pedro Ribeiro went down with a torn hamstring in the fifth, opening the door for Larin.
The Canadian youngster scored on his first start, against Portland on April 12, and added three more in his next five games to cement his starting role even when the others were fit again.
“That’s football for you,” said Heath. “One of the things I always tell the players is that you never know when your time is coming around. You have to be ready to grab your opportunity – and Cyle certainly made the most of his.”
