The Whitecaps will be led by former Watford FC and United States national team defender Jay Demerit. The 31-year-old has returned to the U.S. after his contract with Watford in England expired. Demerit spent six years in Watford where he helped them reach the Premier League in the 2006-07, although they were relegated after that one season. He will captain the Whitecaps with leadership help from other league veterans in the squad such as midfielder John Thorrington and goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

Thorrington and Cannon are, along with Demerit, by far the most experienced players on the team. These three will have to step up and take the mantle from the start in order for Vancouver to be competitive throughout the season in a tough Western Conference. They seem to be taking a note from fellow northwest team Seattle, who built their team much the same way; signing veteran players such as Kasey Keller, Peter Vagenas and Tyrone Marshall for their inaugural season.

Those three are currently joined by midfielders Atiba Harris and Shea Salinas and defender Jonathan Leathers as players on the roster with previous MLS experience. These six players will give the Whitecaps a solid structure to their everyday regular season lineup and enough experienced players to help many of the less experienced players throughout the season.

These veterans will be joined by several recognizable faces to Vancouver fans. Goalkeeper Jay Nolly, defenders Philippe Davis, Greg Janicki and Wes Knight and midfielder Terry Dunfield all return to the Whitecaps as members of last season’s USSF D-2 team. Last season’s Vancouver team finished fifth out of twelve teams in the regular season table and lost to the Puerto Rico Islanders in extra-time of the semi-finals of the playoffs.

A bittersweet addition to the Whitecaps came in the form of number one overall MLS SuperDraft pick Omar Salgado. The 17-year-old was a member of the U.S. U-20 National Team after accepting a call up last season. Salgado, a native of El Paso, Texas, joined Mexican Club Deportivo Guadalajara at age 15 and spent time with their reserves and U-17 squad. While all this success at a young age is evidence enough of his large potential, Vancouver won’t be able to unleash that potential in their colors for the vast majority of the season.

Salgado, arguably the Whitecaps’ most notable acquisition, according to a FIFA rule, is not allowed to play in any other country’s club’s first team than one in his own until he is 18 years old. Since the young American’s new team is located in Canada, he is unavailable until his 18^th birthday on September 10^th.  Until then he will continue to play for the U.S. U-20 squad. He’s currently training with the Whitecaps during the preseason and has scored once in their six matches. Vancouver will be hoping to hang on to him for more than just this season, with rumored interest from big name clubs such as Arsenal.

The absence of Salgado leaves an obvious hole for Vancouver: attack. Other than Salgado, the Whitecaps list just one forward on their roster, former FC Dallas midfielder/forward Atiba Harris. The slim options up front leave an open door to the six listed forwards attending preseason camp with the team. Forwards Long Tan and Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo, who played in the USSF D-2 last season, are two of the six attending camp and have both scored once this preseason.

The Whitecaps start the regular season with five of their first seven matches at home, an advantage they will have to take in order to be challenging for a playoff spot later in the season. Also, in those seven games just one, the last match of the seven against FC Dallas, is against a team that made the MLS playoffs last season. How Vancouver starts the season and the quickness with which they can gel will be one of the larger deciding factors in how their season goes. A good start could signal a Sounders-esque playoff appearance while a rocky one could see them be this season’s version of the 2010 Philadelphia Union.

The Whitecaps will also be led by fourth-year head coach Teitur Thordarson. Thordarson has been in charge of Vancouver since December of 2007 after managing in various leagues throughout Europe for the previous 20 years. He led the Whitecaps to the 2008 USL First Division title in his second year at the helm.

The league and their fans will learn a lot about the Whitecaps early in the season. Whether or not their veterans and newcomers can gel quickly and overcome their lack of depth in attack will also be large factors in the overall success of Vancouver in their expansion season. Whether or not those things happen only time will tell, but the MLS will learn what northwest soccer followers already know; that the supporters and atmosphere in Vancouver rivals any others in the country.

Heath Harshman is a sophomore Communication major at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. Heath has a weekly political-media radio show Thursdays from 11a.m.-12p.m. on KUGR.org. He hopes to have a career in public relations and is currently the media relations coordinator of minor league baseball’s Tri-City Dust Devils. Follow Heath on twitter @heathharshman or add him on facebook. Thoughts or comments can be sent to Heath at heath_harshman@yahoo.com