John Tolkin is Having Success in His Short Career

photo by Matt Kremkau

by Daniel Feuerstein

In the New York City area, we can quickly recognize who will become a rising superstar in their respective sports, and tag him as the next best player for their sports club. We all know what Derek Jeter has done for the Yankees, Pete Alonso for the Mets, Saquan Barkley for the Giants, Henrik Lundqvist for the Rangers, and the trio of Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson & Breece Hall for the Jets.

We've been waiting for a while to see a prospect come up through the Red Bulls to make his mark since Tyler Adams, Sean Davis, Derrick Etienne Jr., and so on grow up from Red Bulls 2, to the big club right now. That player currently doing the job at a high level is left fullback John Tolkin who is currently away on International duty at the CONCACAF Gold Cup for his first-ever tournament.

But since his call-up from Red Bulls 2 back in the 2020 season and finally getting a start in a 2-1 win against Orlando City on May 29th, 2021, he hasn't left the starting 11 at all. He's been a staunch starting player, and a piece of the puzzle to get this club working towards victories in league play, and all competitions they perform in. He's created many strong defensive plays and has scored two goals in his short career, but is already making a big name for himself.

Now he's on a different level as he was a part of this past January Camp Cupcake International matches, he started against Colombia and did very well in the scoreless draw going over sixty-plus minutes while denying any goal-scoring opportunities down the left flank. Now he started in his first group stage match in the Gold Cup in a one-all draw against Jamaica and did very well. But now he's getting another accolade as the announcement of the 2023 MLS All-Star team will face London-based football club Arsenal at Audi Field for the 2023 MLS All-Star Game.

John Tolkin has been selected to represent the league in this match, and he has been deserving of this honor from the get-go. From his crazy haircuts to his hard-nosed defensive plays, Tolkin will be joining former Red Bulls players transferring over to Europe one day, because his type of talent will be sorely needed for some of the best clubs across the Atlantic Ocean. But until that moment happens, he is still playing his club career at Red Bull Arena.

But this is a happy time to cheer and support John Tolkin and how quickly he has grown as a player. The hope is that when he returns from International duty, he continues to play hard and help lead the club out of the hole that they look to be climbing out of and secure a playoff spot towards the end of this regular season.

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