Go Als Go.com

Between the media buzz surrounding this year’s CFL Canadian Draft (which I would say was at least twice as loud as any year I can remember) and the excellent coverage provided on CFL.ca leading up to the event, I was about as stoked as I could be to tune in to TSN’s coverage of the first two rounds.

Before launching into my take on what went down in the draft, though, I have to send some major props out to TSN for giving the CFL Draft the care and attention it deserves.

With a lot of air to fill between picks, TSN’s two panels (one driven by Rod Black, Glen Suitor, Matt Dunigan, and Chris Schultz with the other manned by CIS football experts Farhan Lalji, Duane Forde, Steve Sumarah, and Blake Nill) did a fantastic job of keeping the broadcast focused and informative.

It was also a great touch to have CFL commissioner Mark Cohon in studio and top prospects Henoc Muamba, Anthony Parker, and Nathan Coehoorn (via video feed and phone). It’s one thing to read post-draft quotes; it’s another to see and hear the unbridled pride and enthusiasm those three exhibited in person during the broadcast. It was also a real treat for TSN to get Milt Stegall on the line to celebrate with Coehoorn after he was picked. That was a priceless moment.

AND THE DRAFT PRIZE GOES TO. . .

Grading the CFL draft is at best a wait and see proposition, considering the facts that many of the players chosen in the draft have college eligibility remaining and/or NFL opportunities at hand and that the CFL represents a considerable step up in competition for many of the draftees. There's just no way to judge the impact of a draft class immediately after the event.

That said, you have to like what the Edmonton Eskimos were able to accomplish. Getting two of the top-rated prospects in the draft with the second and fifth picks in round one was a real coup for first-year GM Eric Tillman. Scott Mitchell and Coehoorn should be quality players for the Esks for years to come. Both have phenomenal combinations of physicality and talent, and both seem as close to sure things to make contributions right away as this draft offered.

Edmonton’s later picks weren’t chopped liver either. DB Hugo Lopez and WR Youssy Pierre could turn out to be instant contributors on special teams once they hit the field.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

Heading into the draft, I was probably most curious about which team would pull a jaw-dropper first. I didn’t have to wait very long to find out. Montreal’s choice of University of Montana K Brody McKnight with the 8^th pick overall was completely off my board.

While McKnight posted respectable kicking percentages and punting averages with the Grizzlies, he’s a year away from training camp for a team who needs a kicking prospect right away. The Als trading for Sean Whyte later in the day cleared some of the mystery up for me, but with Chris Milo and Hugh O’Neill still available at that spot, the McNight pick got one of my eyebrows up.

I had to raise my other eyebrow at Phil Blake falling into the third round and Jadon Wagner dropping to the sixth, too.

A STEAL OR A REACH?

In a top-heavy draft with a short list of no-miss picks along the o-line and at receiver, Winnipeg’s selection of Jade Etienne with the 4^th pick overall seemed like a reach to me. Nathan Coehoorn, considered the most game-ready WR available this year still on the board, the Bombers choice of Etienne is likely to carry a sticky note with it for years to come as the two players go head-to-head in the league for the next decade.

The Bombers claim they had Etienne higher on their board because of his deep-threat potential. We’ll have to see how that pans out for them.

UP NEXT

With less than a month to go before training camps open all over the league, I’ll be taking a look at a few of the burning questions surrounding each club.

Until then, take care, and enjoy the unbridled hope the next month offers.