Canada West poised for strong showing at CFL Draft
For a host of Canada West football standouts, Tuesday’s Canadian Football League Draft in Toronto represents a major step towards a career in professional football.
This year's seven-round Canadian College Draft (May 12 live on TSN beginning at 6:00 p.m. MST), will see the top national players selected from both Canadian Interuniversity Sport and colleges south of the border, once again features no shortage of talented Canada West products waiting to hear their names called.
Over the past three years, a total of 33 Canada West players have been selected in the CFL Draft, including two first overall picks (2012 - Ben Heenan, Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Roughriders; 2013 – Linden Gaydosh, Calgary, Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
Heading into this year’s edition of the draft, six prospects from Canada West landed on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s final 20-player ranking, which was released late last month. The conference’s list of six is the most among CIS conferences, coming in just ahead of Ontario University Athletics, which featured four ranked players.
Leading the way for Canada West in the final draft rankings was University of Calgary Dinos offensive lineman Sukh Chungh, who was the second highest ranked CIS player on the list at 6th. The Port Coquitlam, BC product is coming off stellar back-to-back seasons with the Dinos, after being named a conference all-star and CIS All-Canadian in both 2013 and 2014.
“Sukh’s been training extremely hard for the Draft, and he had great camps down at the NFL Combine, as well as the CFL Combine,” Dinos head coach Wayne Harris pointed out. “I would expect that he’s going to be a high draft pick, and he’ll perform very well for whoever picks him.”
Also representing the conference inside the CFL draft top 10 are Manitoba Bisons receiver Nic Demski, and Calgary offensive lineman Sean McEwen, who were ranked 9th and 10th respectively.
Demski was an offensive sparkplug for the 2014 Hardy Cup champion Bisons, and represented the conference's most prolific big play threat in 2014, as evidenced by his 21.8 yards per catch average – tops in the nation in that category.
“Nic is a four-time All-Canadian, and as probably the most explosive player in the draft, is a consummate play-maker,” Bisons head coach Brian Dobie said. “As a proven winner, Nic's hard work has earned him the opportunity to be considered a first round draft pick. His teammates and coaches at Manitoba will all be pulling for him on May 12th.”
At No. 10 in the rankings, McEwen is the second half of the Dinos’ dynamic offensive line duo, after teaming up with Chungh to provide airtight protection for 2014 Hec Creighton award-winning quarterback Andrew Buckley.
“Sean brings a lot of leadership and guidance to the rest of the offensive line,” Harris said of his centre. “He’s the guy that makes the calls, and he reads defence. He understands defences, and supplies that blocking scheme that makes everybody feel comfortable on the field.”
Along with Chungh and McEwen, a third Calgary product, receiver Jake Harty, comes into the draft ranked. Harty, who was No. 18 in the final rankings, finished fifth in the conference in receiving yards per game last season, averaging 77.3 yards.
The Dinos' trio of ranked prospects is the most among any CIS school, and continues Calgary’s strong CFL Draft presence in recent years, which has seen 17 Dinos selected in the draft since 2011.
“Jake has looked extremely good. His training has gone very well, and he had a great combine. We’d love to have him back,” Harris said of Harty. “All three of them, we’d love to have back, but we wish them all the best, and to do well.”
Also well-represented in the CFL draft rankings are the Regina Rams, who feature a pair of players, with receiver Addison Richards and defensive back Tevaughn Campbell ranked 12th and 15th.
Richards enjoyed a remarkable season with the Rams, setting a school record with 55 catches and led the CIS with 916 receiving yards. Those numbers earned the 6'5" Regina native honours as a Canada West all-star and first team CIS All-Canadian.
Campbell, who is also a sprinter on the Cougars track and field squad, is the only Canada West defensive player on the list, and enters the draft after an impressive performance at the CFL Combine back in March, where he set a combine record of 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
In addition to the six players ranked by the CFL Scouting Bureau, a host of other Canada West products are expected to be drafted Tuesday. The 2014 CFL Draft saw a pair of Canada West players crack the final draft rankings – which at the time featured just 15 players – before a total of 11 players from the conference were eventually selected by CFL clubs.
The first two rounds of the 2015 CFL Draft can be seen live on TSN beginning at 6 p.m. MT, with the final five rounds available online at TSN.ca.
(With files from Ben Matchett, University of Calgary, and Chris Zuk, University of Manitoba).
CANADA WEST PLAYERS - FINAL CFL SCOUTING BUREAU RANKING
No. 6 - Sukh Chungh – OL – Calgary
6-4 / 303
Port Coquitlam, BC
2014 Canada West All-Star, CIS All-Canadian (second team)
No. 9 – Nic Demski – WR – Manitoba
6-0 / 215
Winnipeg, MB
2014 Canada West All-Star, CIS All-Canadian (second team)
No. 10 – Sean McEwen – OL – Calgary
6-3 / 297
Calgary, AB
2014 Canada West All-Star, CIS All-Canadian (first team)
No. 12 – Addison Richards – REC – Regina
6-5 / 205
Regina, SK
2014 Canada West All-Star, CIS All-Canadian (first team)
No. 15 – Tevaughn Campbell – DB – Regina
6-0 / 185
Toronto, ON
No. 18 – Jake Harty – REC – Calgary
6-2 / 210
Calgary, AB
For the CFL Scouting Bureau’s full final ranking, click here.