CFL Drafts of the past

With just over a week to go until the CFL Canadian College Draft, the eight teams around the league are finalizing their draft boards and preparing for the draft itself after months of scouting and evaluating. The video highlights and testing numbers have been looked at, the interviews conducted, and the teams will now be putting together their lists of what they need and who fits into what they’re looking for.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders hold the first overall pick, and the consensus is that they’ll likely select offensive lineman Ben Heenan with the selection. With the retirement of offensive guard Gene Makowsky in the off-season, the Riders might find a good replacement in Heenan. Another positive for the Riders here is that Heenan played his university football in the province, with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

The CFL draft is unique wherein anyone in the draft can make an impact, whether they be a first-round pick or a sixth-round pick. As readers might remember from my column “Ode to the Sleepers and Stinkers” from March, I love a good sleeper pick as well as a good bust, and the CFL draft is always full of them.

Here are lists, going backwards in time, of the best sleeper picks in CFL draft history, followed by some of the biggest draft busts, as well as some of the surprise picks in the last fifteen years of the draft.

Sleepers

What is a sleeper? A sleeper here shall be defined as a player taken in one of the last two rounds of the draft, who earned a regular spot on a roster or made a significant impact with the team who drafted him, or a team he was traded to. Others could be added to this list, but they were released from the team who drafted them, therefore nullifying their status as a sleeper (ex: Mathieu Bertrand).

Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, OL, 6^th round, 48^th pick overall by Montreal in 2008

Brodeur-Jourdain, a prospect from Laval, was 2008’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” the nickname provided to the last person chosen in a draft. He has since proven to be anything but irrelevant, stepping in at centre and filling the void left when longtime Alouette centre Bryan Chiu retired the day before training camp began in 2010. LBJ helped the Alouettes to a Grey Cup victory in his first year as the starter, and has become the anchor in arguably the league’s best offensive line, who produced the league’s leading rusher in Brandon Whitaker in 2011.

Chris Getzlaf, WR, 5^th round, 33^rd pick overall by Hamilton in 2007

The University of Regina receiver has seen his production increase steadily over his four-year career, since arriving in Saskatchewan in an August 2007 trade. Getzlaf helped the Riders to back-to-back Western Division championships, and in 2011 earned his first career 1,000-yard receiving season while also being named his team’s Most Outstanding Canadian. Getzlaf formed ¼ of the Riders’ “Canadian Air Force” with Rob Bagg, Andy Fantuz, and Jason Clermont, but with Fantuz now a Tiger-Cat and Clermont retired, Getzlaf should once again see his production increase in 2012.

Bryan Crawford, RB, 5^th round, 44^th pick overall by Toronto in 2005

While his offensive numbers are nothing spectacular, Crawford’s value was found on special teams, where he played seven seasons for the Argonauts. He was one of the mainstays on an Argo team which has seen massive personnel turnover over the past four or five years, and is one of the reasons why the Argos special teams have been so successful along with the emergence of Chad Owens over the past two seasons. Crawford retired this off-season, but his value to the Argonauts’ franchise is not one to be frowned upon.

Dave Stala, WR, 6^th round, 50^th pick overall by Montreal in 2003

Stala spent six years among a myriad of star receivers in Montreal before signing with Hamilton, where he has spent the last three seasons. During his time in Montreal, Stala played in three Grey Cups, and accumulated 1,037 yards in his third season, while in Hamilton he has become a fan favourite not just for his production on the field, but for his creative touchdown celebrations as well (His hackey sack celebration might be one of the best of all time). In 2010, Stala was the East Division nominee for Most Oustanding Canadian, and led the Ticats in receiving last season. With Andy Fantuz’s signing in the off-season, he will play a more complementary role, but one he will no doubt embrace.

Chris Hardy, DB, 6^th round, 47^th pick overall by Edmonton in 1997

Hardy, like Crawford, was a player who was able to find a niche on special teams in the CFL. A quarterback with University of Manitoba in college, Hardy made the switch to free safety, where he played limited time, but showed his true versatility on special teams. During six-year stints with each Edmonton and Toronto, Hardy played time on the coverage teams, as well as displayed his skill at punting and placekicking at various points in his career. Hardy was a team captain in the later years of his career with the Argonauts, and was an important cog on their special teams wheel while providing veteran leadership in the locker room.

Busts

It should be noted that this list of “busts” does not include draft picks who pursued an NFL career instead, but rather a group who tried the CFL route and became busts. Also, busts have to be someone who had some pre-draft buzz around them, or someone who people might remember. Even the most hardcore CFL fan can look at the first two rounds of the 2005 draft and go “Huh?” at many of the names.

Saleem Borhot, DB, 2^nd round, 12^th pick overall by Edmonton in 2010

This was a pick that surprised many who felt that Borhot’s lack of strength and size would see him at the best being a later-round pick or free agency pickup. Borhot didn’t last too long in Edmonton, as he was put on the injured reserve before the season ended, and had been the recipient of a few highlight-reel hits delivered by the ball carriers in five appearances.

Dylan Barker, DB, 1^st round, 1^st pick overall by Hamilton in 2008

Barker being on this list is in no way a reflection on Barker’s talent level. He was very deserving of the #1-selection, but just ran into too many injury troubles, including a broken leg which ended his rookie season before it started, and a back injury which caused him to miss the entire 2011 season. While he never amounted to being the hard-hitting safety which the Ticats drafted him to be, he did set a record with 37 special teams tackles in 2009. However, the back injury forced him into retirement this January, meaning Barker’s short career puts him on this list.

Chris Bauman, WR, 1^st round, 1^st pick overall by Hamilton in 2007

Is Hamilton cursed with drafting busts? Or is Bauman cursed with being a bust? Bauman, a 6-foot-4 receiver, showed flashes of his potential during four seasons with Hamilton, but only accumulated a total of 1,511 yards for the Ticats before signing a very lucrative contract with Edmonton last off-season. Bauman continued to underachieve, however, with only 11 catches in only seven games as an Eskimo. Bauman has since moved on to his third team, after being signed by Calgary post-release from Edmonton, meaning that not only was Bauman the bust of the draft in 2007, but also the bust of the free agency class in 2011.

Adam Braidwood, DL, 1^st round, 1^st pick overall by Edmonton in 2006

Braidwood would be named the Eskimos’ rookie of the year in 2006, but things quickly went downhill after that. He played only three more years of CFL football before being let go by Edmonton for a variety of reasons. Mixed Martial Arts became a more interesting career to Braidwood, while he also wound up in severe legal troubles after being charged with aggravated assault and forcible confinement, along with several firearm offences. While, like Bauman, showing flashes of his potential, it was the off-field distractions which led Braidwood to being named a bust.

Dave Miller-Johnston, K, 1^st round, 2^nd pick overall by Toronto in 1998

Miller-Johnston is the highest kicker ever selected in the CFL draft, but the Concordia product never attempted a kick in the CFL. How bad is it? Tie Domi has more attempted kicks in the CFL than Miller-Johnston. Also, if you try Googling “Dave Miller-Johnston CFL,” Google says “Did you mean: Dave Miller-Johnson CFL?” Yeah, pretty easy to say this guy was a bust.

Surprise Picks

The surprise picks are players who leapt onto the draft radar essentially at the draft, or who were taken perhaps unexpectedly high.

Akwasi Antwi, LB, 4^th round, 26^th pick overall by Calgary in 2011

Antwi wasn’t on many teams’ radars because a lot of teams might not have known he was draft-eligible. Even Antwi himself didn’t even know he was draft eligible, nor did a lot of people at Mount Allison, who were all pleasantly surprised when Antwi’s name was called at the ’11 draft. After only three years in the CIS, Antwi played in all eighteen games for the Stampeders, mainly on special teams, but Calgary’s draft board was likely the only one he was on due to defensive coordinator Chris Jones’s connections out east.

Marco Brouillette, LB, 3^rd round, 23^rd pick overall by Montreal in 2010

A quarterback at Universite de Montreal, Brouillette was on some people’s draft boards, but not as high as 23^rd overall. The Alouettes snapped him up early because of his freak athletic ability, and versatility on the field. Moved to the defensive side of the ball, Brouillette showed his versatility in an injury-decimated Montreal defence in 2011, appearing at all three linebacker spots as well as halfback and free safety. He also scored his first CFL touchdown on an electrifying fake punt, where he showed off his speed and running ability which made him a successful CIS quarterback and put him on the draft radar to begin with.

Samuel Giguere, WR, 1^st round, 8^th pick overall by Hamilton in 2008

Giguere was on the NFL scene by the time the 2008 CFL draft rolled around, but much like Vaughn Martin (drafted 39^th overall by Montreal in 2011), it was expected that Giguere would fall down to the later rounds because of his NFL potential. Hamilton was quick on the draw however, snatching him up with the hopes that his NFL career wouldn’t work out. Well, unfortunately for Hamilton, it did somewhat work out, and the Sherbrook graduate is still south of the border. Just because he hasn’t yet had a CFL career doesn’t mean he won’t, but it does mean he is one of the surprise picks.

Warren Kean, K, 1^st round, 2^nd pick overall by Edmonton in 2007

With Sean Fleming still the Eskimos’ number one guy (although ironically he would retire after the 2007 season), some found it strange that Edmonton would pick a kicker so high. With little demand for kickers at the time, and only one other kicker drafted (35^th overall), Kean going 2^nd overall surprised some around the league. Consider this too: current CFL regulars JP Bekasiak, Justin Phillips and Jabari Arthur were all first-round selections that year as well, as the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th selections. With Derek Schiavone, Grant Shaw and Burke Dales now Eskimos, Kean’s career was short-lived, although he did sign short-term contracts with Calgary and Saskatchewan over the past couple of seasons. Miller-Johnston is still the biggest bust at kicker, but Kean being selected so early is still one of the all-time surprises.

Philippe Girard, DB, 1^st round, 5^th pick overall by Edmonton in 1998

The second Mount Allison player in this category, Girard is a surprise pick not only because of where he was drafted, but where he played on the field. Girard, an All-Canadian at defensive halfback, played the majority of his CFL career as a defensive end; an abrupt change for sure. Drafted ahead of future superstars Ben Cahoon and Scott Flory, Girard was likely on the draft radars of many teams, but perhaps not as high as 5^th overall; in an NCAA-heavy first three rounds, the focus was clearly south of the border and certainly not on Atlantic Canada. Girard remains the highest-drafted player out of Mount Allison, and was the highest-drafted player out of the AUS until 2003.

Best Draft team-by-team

Keeping in mind that this is only taking into consideration the last fifteen years, here are the best draft years each team has had in that time.

BC Lions: 2010: Shawn Gore (WR), Hamid Mahmoudi (DB), Akeem Foster (WR), Cauchy Muamba (DB)

Calgary Stampeders: 2005: Miguel Robede (DL), Godfrey Ellis (OL), John Comiskey (OL), Brett Ralph (WR)

Edmonton Eskimos: 2008: Greg Wojt (OL), Tim St-Pierre (LB/FB/LS), Justin Cooper (DL)

Saskatchewan Roughriders: 2006: Andy Fantuz (WR), Luca Congi (K)

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 2008: Brendon Labette (OL), Aaron Hargreaves (WR), Don Oramasionwu (DL), Pierre-Luc Labbe (LB/LS)

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: 2003: Julian Radlein (FB), Kevin Scott (LS), Agustin Barrenechea (LB/FB)

Toronto Argonauts: 2008: Mike Bradwell (WR), Mark Dewit (OL), Tyler Scott (WR), Matt Black (DB)

Montreal Alouettes: 2008: Shea Emry (LB), Andrew Woodruff (OL), Paul Woldu (DB), Luc Brodeur-Jourdain (OL)

The 2012 CFL Draft will take place Thursday, May 3^rd in Toronto and will be broadcast on TSN. It is an exciting time for college players around Canada, and is the first sign that training camps are right around the corner. Who will be the next Marco Brouillette, Dava Stala, and Dave Miller-Johnston? Only time will tell, but be sure to tune in to TSN next Thursday to start finding out!

Top 15 moments from Mountie Hockey 2011-12

Top 15 moments from Mountie hockey 2011-12

2011-12 was a season which ended in disappointment for the Mount Allison Womens’ Hockey team as they fell 3-0 in the AUS championship game, but the record-setting season will not soon be forgotten.

Some incredible individual performances, combined with some amazing team efforts, helped put together the finest season in the ten-year history of the program.

As fifth-year defender Sara Diamond admitted after the championship game, it was tough to believe where they found themselves after the rough seasons they endured early in her career.

This week’s blog celebrates the top fifteen highlights from the season.

15. The outpouring of support preceding the championship game. It was absolutely incredible to see how many other Mountie athletes, students, and alumni were talking about the game. On Facebook, Twitter, and even over Webmail, the congratulations and well-wishes were flooding in to the Mounties. A fan bus was thrown together in about half an hour (very impressive for late on a Saturday night), and several Mount Allison administrators, professors, students, and alumni were spotted in the crowd for Sunday’s final, creating the best atmosphere that I have ever experienced at a Mountie hockey game.

14. The third line explodes against Dalhousie. February 11 at home, the line of Megan Entwistle and sisters Chelsea and Courtney King combined for four goals and nine points in a 7-4 victory over the Tigers. The offensive capitalization for this trio was a welcome sight to Head Coach Zach Ball, who had mentioned to me only the weekend before that sooner or later that line would soon start taking advantage of their opportunities in front of the net. They sure did that, with Entwistle recording a goal and two assists, Chelsea notching two goals, and Courtney adding a goal on a penalty shot to her three helpers. What was more a welcome sight to Ball was that he was able to get a big offensive game from this line, which epitomized the balanced offensive attack of the Mounties over the last half of the season.

13. Lauren Oickle’s goal while falling down vs Dalhousie. Oickle corralled the puck at her own blueline and sped through the neutral zone before blowing past the Dalhousie defender down the right wing. The left-handed shooter fired a hard shot into the near top corner of the net just as she lost her balance, spilling to the ice. It was the fourth goal in the 7-4 win mentioned above, and was the second of three goals in three minutes, showing the quick-strike potential of Oickle and the Mounties.

12. Outscoring Saint Mary’s 26-3 over four games. Looking back to two seasons ago when the Mounties only scored 37 goals in 24 games, it was nice to see the Mounties show their dominance over another team. Wins of 4-1, 8-1, 5-0 and 9-1 asserted the Mounties’ position over the Huskies, and it is worth noting that five different Mounties recorded multi-goal games against Saint Mary’s over the four game season series. Not only did Mt. A dominate on the scoreboard, but they controlled the faceoff circle against the Huskies, winning over 54% of the draws. Katelyn Morton led the Mounties offensively during the season series, while Lindsay James notched five points in four games against SMU.

11. After facing a nation-leading 879 shots in her sophomore season, Meghan Corley-Byrne had a much easier time this season, and helped by capable backup Jenelle Hulan, the goaltending duo combined to post the second-highest save percentage in the CIS, stopping 92.8% of the shots they faced. The team they were behind? The McGill Martlets, led by two-time Olympic gold-medal winning netminder Charline Labonte. Corley-Byrne finished fourth among individual save percentages (93.7%), and we’ll hear more about Hulan in a moment. A stingier defence, coupled with an easier workload and a stronger offensive attack no doubt contributed to the boosted save percentage, but ultimately the save percentage comes down to the talented netminders which the Mounties have been able to recruit over the past few seasons. The steady blueline was led by veteran Meg Davies, while Beth Deveaux stepped in admirably into a second-pairing role, joining the team at Christmas.

10. Jenelle Hulan continues to dominate Dalhousie. The third-year netminder didn’t get many opportunities this year, behind two-time first-team all-star Corley-Byrne, but she seems to enjoy playing against the Tigers. This season, she went 4-0-0 against Dalhousie, while facing over 30 shots three of the four times. In her career, she has gone 8-1-1 while facing the Tigers, so it hasn’t been a surprise over the past two seasons especially to see Corley-Byrne on the bench when the Mounties and Tigers face off. Hulan has always filled in very capably when called on, and will enter her fourth year in the fall, and will hope to log more minutes with the graduation of Corley-Byrne.

9. Six different Mounties scoring their first CIS goals. Rookies Emily van Diepen, Riki Krentz, Kristy Lanigan and Hailey Munroe all found the net in their first season, while sophomore defenders Meg Cameron and Carmanah Hunter scored their first goals as Mounties. Something that is always a thrill at any level of hockey is scoring the first goal, and Ball must have been ecstatic that so many players on the roster were able to get on the scoresheet, and again this truly exemplifies the balanced scoring attack which the Mounties possessed this season.

8. Snapping U de Moncton’s winning streak. Prior to their meeting on November 20 in Sackville, the U de Moncton Aigles Bleues were 8-0-0, but Kristen Cooze and the Mounties had something to say about that. With the game tied 2-2 in the third, Cooze carried the puck through the neutral zone, danced around both Moncton blueliners, and deposited a forehand shot past the Moncton goalie to give the Mounties a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. This was very much a statement game for the Mounties, showing the league they were ready to do more than just compete this season, and they backed up that statement following the game, only losing three more times in regulation the rest of the season.

7. Courtney King’s tying goal vs. STU in playoffs. It’s tough to overlook this goal’s importance to the Mounties’ season. When King jammed home a shot with 54 seconds left in the third period to tie the game 1-1 against the Tommies, it gave the Mounties a chance to win in overtime. While they did not do so, the overtime loss granted them one point in the playoff tournament standings. This allowed the Mounties to advance to the Championship game when they beat Moncton in regulation the following day. Without this goal with time running out, it’s hard to see a scenario where the Mounties would have qualified for the final game.

6. Katelyn Morton’s beauty vs U de M in playoffs. Down 2-1 in the second, Morton took the puck behind her own net, and gathered a head of steam up the right wing, skating all the way into the offensive zone. After crossing the blue line, Morton dangled around the Moncton defender before embarrassing the goaltender, backhanding a shot top shelf for a very important goal, her second of the game at that point. Morton would score again to complete the hat trick, but this goal has got to be considered as one of the goals of the playoffs, if not the entire season for the Mounties and AUS.

5. Comeback win at U de M to keep winning streak intact. On February 22, the Mounties found themselves down 2-1 after two periods, putting their five-game winning streak in jeopardy. With just over one minute remaining in regulation, Jenica Bastarache’s shot bounced in to tie the game 2-2. Not long into overtime, Courtney King deflected Ashlyn Somers’ shot in to extend the winning streak to six games. This winning streak would close off the regular season at seven games, and this game maybe put a seed of doubt in Moncton’s brains while motivating the Mounties, who had beaten nationally-ranked Moncton twice at this point. And boy would this be important.

4. Lauren Oickle’s natural hat-trick in UPEI. Facing a 1-0 deficit after one period, the Mounties turned to their captain to put on a show in Charlottetown. Her first goal, six and a half minutes into the second, was a rebound opportunity from the slot. The second was an absolute cannon from the left wing which the UPEI goaltender never had a chance at seeing, and she scored her third goal in a row working a beautiful give-and-go with Meg Cameron on the powerplay. As much as the winning streak mentioned previously was about the Mounties’ team success, Oickle really came on strong during that February streak, scoring seven goals and four assists, while not taking a single penalty during the streak.

3. Katelyn Morton’s 4 goals in 1 period vs SMU. While some people were surprised to see Morton in the lineup (she had missed the previous two games due to injury), Morton wasted absolutely no time making her impact. Starting only 13 seconds into the game, the fourth-year winger scored all four goals in the first period, and added an assist on the first goal of the second while pacing the Mounties to a 9-1 win. It was her second of three hat-tricks on the season, helping Morton on her way to leading the Mounties in goals for the fourth year in a row. Her offensive production helped the emergence of linemates Ashlyn Somers and Lisa Riley, who both set career numbers in goals, assists and points.

2. Comeback win at St FX. I had this at number one until three days ago, but this is likely the biggest regular season win in Mounties history. Down 2-0 after one period, it may have looked to some like the perennially nationally-ranked X-Women were on their way to another easy win. The second period saw the momentum begin to shift, as goals by Oickle and Cooze knotted the game up 2-2 before an unusual goal put the Mounties ahead. In a rare 3-on-3 situation, Courtney King was able to knock Meg Cameron’s shot into the twine to give the Mounties yet another comeback victory on the season. As it would turn out, it was the second win of their long winning streak, and was also the first ever regulation win over St FX and first ever win at St FX for the Mounties.

1.       Comeback win against U de M in playoffs. Following Saturday’s emotional playoff win, this was a no-brainer for number one. Facing potential elimination from the playoffs with either a loss or any overtime, needing a regulation win to advance to their first ever AUS final, the Mounties put together one of the most thrilling and emotional playoff comebacks in AUS history. Down 2-0 during the first period, and 4-2 after two periods, the Mounties scored three unanswered goals in the third to complete the comeback over the Aigles Bleues. Katelyn Morton’s goal described at number six tied the game 2-2, but Moncton scored twice before the second period ended. Morton scored the first of the epic comeback goals early in the third, and Meg Davies scored a weird one soon after. After her point shot got deflected high in the air, the puck spiralled down, landing perfectly between the knees of U de M goalie Kathy Desjardins before rolling into the net, tying the game 4-4. With less than seven minutes to go, and the Mounties on the powerplay, Emily van Diepen’s shot was stopped, but Ashlyn Somers was all over the rebound, putting it top corner and blowing the roof off of the Dalhousie arena. The most important game and goal in Mountie history propelled them into the final game, where they would meet their disappointing end, but this is without a doubt many Mountie fans and AUS fans won’t be forgetting for a while.