VANCOUVER — Jeb Brovsky, Nizar Khalfan and Bilal Duckett are no longer Vancouver Whitecaps.
The Caps lost 23-year-old defender/midfielder Brovsky to the Montreal Impact in the Major League Soccer expansion draft on Wednesday and then waived midfielder Khalfan, who was picked up by Philadelphia in the league waiver draft.
Duckett, a defender, was also waived but not picked up in the draft.
More Vancouver roster changes are expected soon as the club makes room for incoming players favoured by new head coach Martin Rennie.
The Impact, who will join MLS next season, made Brovsky their fifth of 10 picks in the expansion draft, held after all MLS teams submitted lists of 11 protected players who could not be taken.
Brovsky was the 19th overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. The versatile Notre Dame University graduate made 24 appearances for the Caps this season as a midfielder and a right back, collecting one assist in 1,509 minutes of play.
Brovsky is currently in India conducting soccer camps for his non-profit foundation, Peace Pandemic.
Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi said Brovsky didn't have a consistent year but played well at right back late in the season.
“I'm not surprised Montreal sees him as someone that will help them in their first year,” he said.
Khalfan, a 23-year-old Tanzanian international, was exempt from the expansion draft because of his homegrown status with Vancouver, but the club exposed him in the waiver draft.
He had one goal and four assists for Vancouver in 22 appearances this season.
Lenarduzzi said Khalfan had some “very good” performances this year but consistency in his play was an issue and the club felt it could upgrade in that position.
He said Khalfan was probably the best professional on the team this season.
“He never causes you any problems, he keeps his mouth shut and gets on with it — a real treat to deal with,” Lenarduzzi said. “I'm happy that someone has picked him up.”
Duckett, the 37th pick in the 2011 SuperDraft, is also a Notre Dame graduate and the 22-year-old Georgia native was one of the Caps' fittest players this year but saw limited duty, making just four appearances.
The Whitecaps had left Gambian striker Mustapha Jarju exposed in the expansion draft but the Impact clearly weren't impressed with his play this season or his hefty salary of $427,000 a year. Jarju, a designated player for the Caps, had no goals or assists for Vancouver in 10 appearances.
The Impact made Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching the first pick in the draft, which surprised many as the 33-year-old former U.S. international indicated he didn't want to play in Montreal.
Impact head coach Jessie Marsch said Ching was just too valuable an asset to ignore. It wouldn't be a huge shock to see the Impact deal Ching back to Houston or another MLS team.
SIDE KICKS: The Whitecaps' 2012 pre-season schedule will include a 10-day training camp in Casa Grande, Ariz., starting Jan. 31, and participation in the Disney Pro Soccer Classic tournament in Orlando, Fla., that runs from Feb. 24 through March 3. The Disney event will feature MLS sides FC Dallas, Toronto FC, Houston Dynamo, Montreal Impact, Sporting Kansas City and Swedish premier division club BK Hacken.
Caps players will report for pre-season training in Vancouver on Jan. 23.
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