Cerebral receiver gets Clermont comparisons
By Lowell Ullrich,
Vancouver Province
The running joke around the B.C. Lions last year came up any time players were reminded that one teammate suggested it would be good idea to place a recycling box inside the locker-room.
Recycling? A locker-room, many veterans chortled, is for smelly undergarments, not a place to discuss greenhouse-gas emissions.
Adam Nicolson, the newest first-round draft pick of the CFL team and a biology major at the University of Ottawa, might eventually change that mindset, although as a rookie such talk will only come out in time.
The receiver from North Bay, Ont., would like to better protect the environment, but not before he adapts to the more violent world of trying to catch a pass in heavy traffic.
“I’ve always been interested in environmental aspects and ecology, but right now I’m really excited about coming to B.C.,” Nicolson said Thursday.
And if there’s more to the soft-spoken 22-year-old, it will have to come out through his play.
“You have to punch him to get a reaction out of him, but he’s a very cerebral, rational kid,” said Ottawa coach Denis Piche. “He’s happy. You just don’t know it.”
Having coached against Nicolson’s future mentor on the Lions, Jason Clermont, the comparisons were apparent to Piche long before his draft selection.
“Adam might not be as big as Jason, but he’s a lot faster,” Piche said. “Adam was a beast in testing. He’s not going to look out of place [in the CFL].”
The reserved nature may stem from the fact his father, Graeme, was not a household name in the late 1970s when he played for three NHL teams.
But that may change if the Lions’ newest face can integrate himself on a roster that has room to add four non-imports and at least six new faces overall heading into training camp.
For now, Nicolson will get his dad to help him negotiate his first pro contract. Coach Wally Buono, meantime, signed UBC cornerback Konrad Wasiela as expected Thursday.
