One of the biggest missed opportunities of Minnesota United’s first two seasons in MLS came in the form of youth development.



By the time the Loons were confirmed as a 2017 expansion side, they were staring down a narrow runway towards launching into the new league. With only three months from the end of the NASL season to the start of the MLS preseason, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that they’d pull from their NASL roster. After all, MLS had long done a poor job of scouting its country’s lower-division leagues. The team got major impact from players like Miguel Ibarra, Brent Kallman, and Christian Ramirez — a trio that combined for 140 Loons starts in two seasons.



Rather than tapping into unparalleled connections in the NASL or the adjacent USL, the team didn’t bring along any other lower-division prospects. It wasn’t due to a lack of available talent, of course. Current MLS players like Jimmy Maurer (Dallas), Nazmi Albadawi...