Andrew Wenger, the first overall pick in the 2012 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, already has created a problem for his new team, the expansion Montreal Impact.Where to play him?Wenger was the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year for Duke in 2010, scoring zero goals and picking up two assists.Moved to forward in 2011, Wenger scored 17 goals with eight assists and was selected ACC Offensive Player of the Year and also received the Hermann Award, college soccer’s version of the Heisman Trophy.Yet asked what he considers his natural position, Wenger went in a different direction.“Possibly in midfield. I’m a pretty athletic player,” Wenger said Thursday after MLS commissioner Don Garber introduced him in French as Montreal’s choice in the draft, which was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Kansas City Convention Center. “I like to be around the ball, so whatever gets me close to the ball, that will work.“I’ve heard the buzzword is versatility. Whatever (Montreal) wants me to do, I’ll do. We’ll figure that out soon enough. MLS is a lot different game than college, but we’ll see.”Wenger, 6-0, 185, is currently playing centerback for the U.S. Olympic team that is training for the 2012 Games, and Montreal coach Jesse Marsch is considering all possibilities for Wenger, who just completed his junior year but is scheduled to graduate from Duke in May.“It made the equation complex because we looked at him carefully at so many different positions,” said Marsch, who chose Wenger over Akron forward Darren Mattocks, who went second overall to Vancouver. “We followed him closely,” Marsch said of Wenger, “and he’s been a good player at many different levels for many years. In the end, short term, long term, he’s the best soccer player available. “He’s a very good centerback, if that’s what we feel is the best fit. He has potential to be a great midfielder, a great defender or a great forward. As a new franchise, to have access to a player and a person like Andrew Wenger, we consider ourselves fortunate. We know he will handle being the No. 1 pick very well because he’s a mature young man.”Maryland forward Casey Townsend faced Wenger annually, and said Montreal got the best of both sides of the ball.“You can put him anywhere,” said Townsend, who was taken fifth in the draft by Chivas USA. “He’s going to be successful. He does everything well. He’s an athletic guy. He’s fast, he can score goals, he’s good in the air. … what more can you ask for?”Wenger, who turned 21 on Christmas Day, is looking forward to playing for Montreal, where he will be reunited with Zarek Valentin, a youth soccer teammate in Lititz, Pa.., who was taken by the Impact from Chivas USA in the expansion draft.“Montreal is an expansion team, so they need a lot of things,” Wenger said. “There’s a lot of potential in Montreal, and I’m happy to be part of it. I’ve never lived in a big city before. I lived in rural Pennsylvania, and Durham is not the biggest city in the world. “I’ve been watching the Travel Channel a bunch recently, and I’ve found some nice places to eat, so I’m excited about that.”

Montreal’s first choice in MLS draft is versatile

Montreal makes Hermann Award winner Wenger first selection in MLS SuperDraft.

By RANDY COVITZ

The Kansas City Star

MLS SuperDraft notes

• GARBER SOLD ON KC: MLS Commissioner Don Garber was impressed with how Kansas City played host to the draft and especially with the several hundred vocal members of The Cauldron, Sporting Kansas City’s fan club, which attended the draft.

“I walked over to Cliff Illig (a principal investor in Sporting Kansas City),” Garber said, “and said there are some special moments that even after 12 years I have on this job, and today was another one of them.

“It was not that long ago we were really wondering what to do to get this market excited. And you look at that Cauldron carrying on and carrying the day and creating that atmosphere for ESPN and everybody else. It was really special.”

Garber said not to expect the MLS draft to become an annual event in Kansas City unless the locally-based Kansas City-based National Soccer Coaches Association of America decides to keep its annual convention in Kansas City as opposed to moving it around the country.

“We’re committed to the NSCAA,” Garber said. “It’s a great way to bring the people responsible for developing the players we hope someday will play in MLS and at all levels. It’s a way to honor youth coaches, high school coaches and college coaches. They do a great job when they take this convention around the country.”

• HUNT CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT: Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt, who also operates FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew, was on hand at the draft and it took him back 10 years ago when the event was in Kansas City.

“We were in the convention center but in a much, much smaller space,” said Hunt, whose father, Lamar, owned the Kansas City Wizards at that time.

“The league continues to grow. I spoke with some people who have been with the league from day one, and we were reminiscing how it’s grown, how it’s changed, and it’s fantastic. The crowd here is a fantastic demonstration of the interest in the sport.”

• A FRENCH KISS: Garber opened the draft by announcing in French, the first pick of the draft by Montreal, Duke forward Andrew Wenger.

“I’m not as proficient in foreign languages as I’d like to be, but we wanted to honor the people in Quebec,” Garber said. “When you’re in Montreal, they speak French, it’s their first language, so we thought we’d surprise everybody and do the first pick in French. I was glad to be able to get through that. I was a little nervous.”

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Andrew Wenger, the first overall pick in the 2012 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, already has created a problem for his new team, the expansion Montreal Impact.

Where to play him?

Wenger was the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year for Duke in 2010, scoring zero goals and picking up two assists.

Moved to forward in 2011, Wenger scored 17 goals with eight assists and was selected ACC Offensive Player of the Year and also received the Hermann Award, college soccer’s version of the Heisman Trophy.

Yet asked what he considers his natural position, Wenger went in a different direction.

“Possibly in midfield. I’m a pretty athletic player,” Wenger said Thursday after MLS commissioner Don Garber introduced him in French as Montreal’s choice in the draft, which was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Kansas City Convention Center. “I like to be around the ball, so whatever gets me close to the ball, that will work.

“I’ve heard the buzzword is versatility. Whatever (Montreal) wants me to do, I’ll do. We’ll figure that out soon enough. MLS is a lot different game than college, but we’ll see.”

Wenger, 6-0, 185, is currently playing centerback for the U.S. Olympic team that is training for the 2012 Games, and Montreal coach Jesse Marsch is considering all possibilities for Wenger, who just completed his junior year but is scheduled to graduate from Duke in May.

“It made the equation complex because we looked at him carefully at so many different positions,” said Marsch, who chose Wenger over Akron forward Darren Mattocks, who went second overall to Vancouver. “We followed him closely,” Marsch said of Wenger, “and he’s been a good player at many different levels for many years. In the end, short term, long term, he’s the best soccer player available.

“He’s a very good centerback, if that’s what we feel is the best fit. He has potential to be a great midfielder, a great defender or a great forward. As a new franchise, to have access to a player and a person like Andrew Wenger, we consider ourselves fortunate. We know he will handle being the No. 1 pick very well because he’s a mature young man.”

Maryland forward Casey Townsend faced Wenger annually, and said Montreal got the best of both sides of the ball.

“You can put him anywhere,” said Townsend, who was taken fifth in the draft by Chivas USA. “He’s going to be successful. He does everything well. He’s an athletic guy. He’s fast, he can score goals, he’s good in the air. … what more can you ask for?”

Wenger, who turned 21 on Christmas Day, is looking forward to playing for Montreal, where he will be reunited with Zarek Valentin, a youth soccer teammate in Lititz, Pa.., who was taken by the Impact from Chivas USA in the expansion draft.

“Montreal is an expansion team, so they need a lot of things,” Wenger said. “There’s a lot of potential in Montreal, and I’m happy to be part of it. I’ve never lived in a big city before. I lived in rural Pennsylvania, and Durham is not the biggest city in the world.

“I’ve been watching the Travel Channel a bunch recently, and I’ve found some nice places to eat, so I’m excited about that.”