Bert Faibish
CFL.ca
In every professional sports league, the draft is looked upon as chance to replenish the young talent on the roster and develop potential with an eye to the future.
In the CFL, where a team’s success is often predicated on its Canadian talent and depth, the draft takes on added importance. On Sunday May 8th, the eight CFL teams will have the opportunity to find that one special player that can impact their roster’s ratio and potentially change their team’s fortunes.
For the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, this year’s draft is especially important.
After parting with Non-Import main stays like Chris Bauman, Jermaine Reid, Alexandre Gauthier, Brian Ramsey and George Hudson in the off-season, the draft will be a great opportunity for Obie and company to restock his cupboard of Canadian impact players.
Needs
Offensive line: After seeing a handful of Canadian linemen leave through free agency the Ticats could certainly use a few extra big bodies come draft day. The first round may or may not be the place to pick them up though, since the impressive Scott Mitchell will almost certainly be one of the first names off the board. With the fifth pick overall, there may not be an O-lineman that the Black and Gold’s brain trust deems worthy of that high a selection.
Since the three linemen on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s list all have remaining NCAA eligibility and possible NFL potential, the next-best lineman after Mitchell could be Concordia’s Anthony Barrette. At six-foot-five, 320 pounds Barrette certainly has the size to step in and compete against any defensive lineman in the league. Though I feel like O-line is unlikely with their first pick, if it was, Anthony Barrette could be the name called by the commissioner.
Defensive line: The D-line is possibly one of the hardest positions to fill with a Non-Import player, and is an area that Hamilton could look to address come draft day. Jermaine Reid’s departure leaves Matt Kirk and Eddie Steele as the only interior d-linemen on the roster, but picking a defensive tackle at #5 is also highly unlikely. Bishop’s Matthieu Boulay opened some eyes at E-Camp and could be the first interior D-lineman off the board. Even though some quality defensive end prospects will be available, the Ticats seem set with a number of highly talented Import ends and a move in that direction would make little sense.
Receiver: For my money, this is the most interesting possibility with Hamilton’s first pick. If Nathan Coehoorn’s name hasn’t been called by this point, you can bet that Receiver’s Coach Tim Kearse will be losing his voice, trying to convince Obie and coach Bellefeuille to take the Dinos’ receiver. Even though Hamilton has guys like Matt Carter and Glenn Mackay on the roster, there is a need for a play-making Canadian receiver. If Coehoorn is gone, another option could be Harvard’s Marco Iannuzzi , who rocketed up teams’ draft boards after an impressive E-Camp showing.
While Bob O’Billovich’s propensity for draft day trades and the selection of futures makes it is almost impossible to predict exactly who will be selected first once the Ticats go on the clock Sunday, you can bet that they’ll be getting a quality player and a potential impact maker for the foreseeable future.
