Touchdown to remember

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This article was published 03/09/2016 (3323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — Nic Demski will always treasure the moment he ran out of the tunnel at Mosaic Stadium ahead of last year’s Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“That was probably the most exhilarating feeling I’ve ever felt,” said Demski, now in his second season as a receiver with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “I’ve never felt that way before and never really experienced anything like that before either.”

Demski, who was selected by Saskatchewan with the sixth-overall pick in the 2015 CFL Draft following a stellar four-year career with the University of Manitoba Bisons, would make it a day he’d never forget; the highlight coming midway through the second quarter when he returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown — his first in the CFL — as the Riders walked away with a 37-19 win over Winnipeg.

“It’s a crazy experience,” he said.

The touchdown was a high note in a season that had many more lows. The Labour Day win was the first victory for Riders, who improved to 1-9. Demski wouldn’t score another touchdown for the remainder of the season, with the Riders winning just two more games to finish a CFL-worst 3-15.

A year later, not much has changed. With the Labour Day Classic next up on the schedule, Saskatchewan is only in slightly better shape, entering the game with a record of 1-8.

Though the records are almost identical in both seaons, Demski insists much is different this time around.

“The energy is there. Just knowing the little things that we got to do,” he said. “We’re a super young team and nobody has really played with each other before. It’s just all about chemistry and just getting together and pushing forward.

“Over these past couple of weeks the team has really been getting close and I really believe we’re almost there. Hopefully Sunday can be the starting point to a good run for the rest of the season.”

Though the wins haven’t come easily, Demski said his experience in the CFL has been a positive one. He does admit the losses have taken a toll at times, if only because it’s something he’s never experienced.

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“Its different,” he said. “I’ve always been on winning teams. In high school, I was part of a huge powerhouse with the (Oak Park Raiders) and with the University of Manitoba we were never below .500. Coming to this is a little bit different but at the same time I’m around a great group of guys… we just got to build upon it and hopefully (Sunday) is the starting point for it this season.”

‘Over these past couple of weeks the team has really been getting close and I really believe we’re almost there and hopefully Sunday can be the starting point to a good run for the rest of the season’– Nic Demski

After splitting the return duties earlier in the year, Demski is now being used more in the offence. That means spending more time learning from veterans such as quarterback Darian Durant and receiver Rob Bagg, two players Demski credits most for his growth so far in his young career.

Demski knows he still has plenty of growing to do and that it will take time before he starts putting up the numbers he knows he can produce; the ups and downs are all part of that. He had seven catches through the first three games, including his first receiving touchdown in a Week 4 loss to the B.C. Lions, but has just four in his last five.

“I’m not getting too many looks and that just comes with time and comes with trust and comes with preparation,” he said. “I just got to trust the process and do what I do best and just keep on grinding.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.