Canadian talent key to Bombers’ off-season revamp

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/05/2015 (3793 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He was handed the keys on an interim basis in the summer of 2013, with the permanent nameplate for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers GM’s office being affixed in late November that same year.

And from the very first moment Kyle Walters opened the door to the place, it’s been more about fixing and repairing than actual building. In short, he’s been playing the role of one of those fixer-upper dudes — football’s version of Mike Holmes, so to speak — commissioned to repair a joint that not only came with foundation issues and a leaky ceiling, but needed to be essentially gutted and rebuilt.

Fast-forward to mid-May 2015 — just a few hours after putting the finishing touches on the club’s Canadian draft — and Walters was back in his office with his foot on the gas again.

“It never really stops,” began Walters. “We’ve got a lot to do before training camp.”

Walters & Co. made two paper moves on Wednesday, signing second-overall draft pick Sukh Chungh to a two-year contract and offering a training-camp invitation to University of Manitoba Bisons QB Jordan Yantz.

But with the draft in the rear-view mirror, it’s worth examining just how much of a makeover the GM has made to the Bombers’ Canadian content this winter. Three new Canadian starters were snagged in free agency in centre Dominic Picard, linebacker Sam Hurl and defensive end Jamaal Westerman, while two long-serving homegrowns in Steve Morley and Cory Watson were cut and traded, respectively.

While any draft class comes with an element of the unknown, the Bombers do have more Canadian depth and roster flexibility than at any time under Walters’ watch. Granted, that might not be saying much given what he inherited, but this franchise — absent from the playoffs in four of the last five years — looks to be getting some of its shine back.

“All along we said we needed a strong quarterback, we needed strong Canadians and we needed a strong U.S. scouting department,” said Walters when asked to compare where the franchise is now compared to when he slid behind the big desk. “You just keep saying that over and over and over again and that just drives you to make your decisions.

“And that’s about it.”

That’s a bit of a ‘CFL GMing For Dummies’ take, but what shouldn’t be understated is this: While there is still work to be done, especially to compete in the ultra-competitive West Division, the Bombers are not the laughingstock they were less than two years ago.

“We weren’t well-respected, point blank,” Walters said. “(Head coach) Mike (O’Shea), (president and CEO) Wade (Miller) and I talked about what the first order of business had to be. It was to bring some damn credibility back to our organization, to make it a proud CFL team.

“When we hired Mike… he’s as proud a Canadian and CFL guy as there is, and he said, ‘It’s embarrassing that one of our franchises, especially one in the West, has fallen from grace. Let’s bring it back.’

“That’s our job — Mike, Wade and myself as proud Canadians — to bring some respectability and credibility back to this organization. We’re trying to do that.”

Step 1 is always about the Canadian content. As the late Cal Murphy always said, “Canadians are like gold, Americans silver,” when building a roster. To that end, while the Bombers still have some question marks with their seven Canadian starters — can Hurl be a legit middle linebacker, is Matthias Goossen ready to start at right guard, can Westerman be a difference-maker at end, does Rory Kohlert frighten defences at receiver? — there are now at least some legitimate options in the cupboard.

“We’re tentatively going to open with eight Canadians starting on Day 1 of training camp,” said Walters. “That’s good because it does allow for some flexibility. With our three interior offensive linemen we’ve got legitimate competition for those spots. We’re a little unproven at receiver, but we’ve got some guys there who are hungry, and Rory showed that he’s a legitimate starter, Julian (Feoli-Gudino) in flashes. Adding Addison Richards in the draft was important and Kris Bastien and Ezra Millington looked good (at the free agent camp) in Florida.

“The other interesting thing is (linebacker) Graig Newman is essentially new this year. We signed him as a free agent last year and then he had that terrible injury in the pre-season. We’re counting on him as a ‘new’ Canadian body this year.

“We talked about all this a lot as a scouting department… it’s not easy, but I think we’ve made strides in improving the overall quality of our Canadian talent. We were aggressive in free agency in making Winnipeg a legitimate destination, and we put time and energy into preparing for the draft.

“What I’m most happy about when you look across the board at our Canadians, there’s some depth and there’s some competition to be had at most of the spots.

“Are we where we want to be? Of course not. But we’re getting there.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait