They select last, but B.C. has 3 of first 17 picks
By Lyndon Little,
Vancouver Sun
The B.C. Lions will have to wait their turn until the final pick of the first round at Wednesday’s CFL draft of Canadians.
But you won’t hear them complaining. It’s the price Grey Cup champions pay for success.
“I told Wally [head coach and GM Wally Buono] it wouldn’t bother me if we draft No. 8 every year,” said Mike Benevides, who coordinates the team’s draft. “Because it means we’re coming off a great season.”
Nevertheless, this year’s draft holds a decidedly different feel for the Lions. Last season, with three of the first six picks, they were the team everyone was watching to see what would happen. This year, it’s the Calgary Stampeders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats who hold the keys to the first round.
Barring a late pre-draft deal, the Ticats will pick first and fourth. The Stamps hold three first-round cards at Nos. 3, 5 and 6. The Edmonton Eskimos have the second pick while Montreal, in the seventh spot, and the Lions in the eighth, complete the first round.
Buono admits it’s a different scenario in 2007, with the focus shifting to what the Ticats and Stamps have up their sleeves.
“You definitely have to wait and see what happens ahead of you,” he says.
“What picking eighth does is it means you have to go into the draft with several different possible scenarios in mind,” adds Benevides. “You still have your overall philosophy, but you also have to have a certain measure of flexibility.”
While this year’s draft is lacking some of the “slam dunk” picks of past years the Lions are convinced their club will be able to acquire some valuable assets. The team also has its own second-rounder and Hamilton’s first pick of the third round, giving B.C. three of the first 17 selections.
“We’re confident we’ll get players who can compete,” Buono says. “The difference is, last year we were pretty sure we’d get players who would not just compete but who would make the team. It’s not as comfortable a position. But there are good players available if you pick wisely.”
The Lions aren’t counting on seeing any of the most hyped prospects when they pick at No. 8. Among those likely be snapped up early are University of Toledo defensive lineman J.P. Bekasiak, University of Regina receiver Chris Bauman, Wilfrid Laurier linebacker Justin Phillips plus offensive linemen Mike Gyetvai of Michigan State and St. Mary’s University’s Eric Ince.
The 6-6, 305-pound Bekasiak didn’t turn out for football until his final year of high school in Windsor, Ont., but has size (6-6, 305) and skills. Bauman also has size (6-5, 215) and has drawn comparisons to another U of R product in Jason Clermont.
Vancouver-area players the Lions are watching closely include Wyoming defensive lineman Corey Mace (Port Moody), York University running back Pearce Akpata (Pinetree Secondary), versatile McGill defensive lineman/centre Ben Walsh (Vancouver College) and UBC defensive back Konrad Wasiela. A CFL team taking Mace will need to weigh the fact he has agreed to a free-agent deal with the NFL Buffalo Bills. Tulsa offensive lineman John Hameister-Ries, a B.C. pick from last year, also signed as a free agent Monday with the Phoenix Cardinals as did Vancouver College’s Pete Dyakowski of LSU, a Hamilton 2006 pick, with New Orleans.
