The Top 15

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/04/2012 (5207 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE CFL scouting bureau — which is comprised of scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s eight teams — released their final rankings this week of the Class of 2012.

There are no Manitoba-born players — or University of Manitoba players — among the Top 15:

1. Tyrone Crawford, DE, Boise State (hometown : Windsor, Ont.)

2. Ben Heenan, OL, University of Saskatchewan (hometown: Regina)

3. Shamawd Chambers, R, Wilfrid Laurier (hometown: Markham, Ont.)

4. Austin Pasztor, OL, Virginia (hometown: Langton, Ont.)

5. Frédéric Plesius, LB, Laval (hometown: Laval, Que.)

6. Christo Bilukidi, DE, Georgia State (hometown: Ottawa)

7. Ameet Pall, DE, Wofford (hometown: Montreal)

8. Jabar Westerman, DL, Eastern Michigan (hometown: Brampton, Ont.)

9. Simon Charbonneau-Campeau, R, Sherbrooke (hometown: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.)

10. Matt Norman, OL, Western (hometown: Montreal)

11. Ismael Bamba, R, Sherbrooke (hometown: Montreal)

12. Johnny Aprile, R, Queen’s (hometown: Toronto)

13. Justin Capicciotti, DL, Simon Fraser (hometown: Toronto)

14. Keenan MacDougall, DB, Saskatchewan (hometown: Saskatoon)

15. Kirby Fabien, OL, Calgary (hometown: Calgary)

WHERE DO THE BOMBERS DRAFT?

The Bombers have six picks in Thursday’s CFL draft. Here’s how their selections break down:

1st round — none (forfeited this year’s first-rounder by selecting receiver Kito Poblah first in last year’s supplemental draft);

2nd round — Two picks: 8th (via Sask. in Odell Willis trade) and 13th overall;

3rd round — Two picks: 16th (via Toronto in Steven Jyles trade) and 21st overall;

4th round — Two picks: 23rd (via Sask. in Odell Willis trade) and 29th overall;

5th round — none (traded to Saskatchewan in 2009 as part of deal that brought safety Brady Browne to Winnipeg);

6th round — none (traded to Calgary in 2009 for LB Neil Ternovatsky).

WHAT DOES THE BOMBERS ‘DRAFTOLOGIST’ HAVE TO SAY?

Winnipeg Blue Bombers special teams coach Kyle Walters has also been the club’s resident draft expert the past couple of winters, assigned the unenviable task of putting together detailed portfolios on dozens and dozens of potential Canadian prospects who have been playing both in Canada and throughout the U.S.

His job is all about eliminating the kind of draft surprises that are a nightmare for football teams — the player you take who looks great on paper and film but who turns out to have a bunch of unwelcome personal baggage; or the player you don’t take who is less than inspiring on paper and film but who either has the kind of heart and dedication that elevates his game to a whole different level or who has simply been slow to mature.

But for all the intangibles, Walters says the recipe for a successful CFL draft is actually quite straightforward.

“You look at your roster of Canadians and you try to add what you need,” says Walters. “But I think it’s just always safer to draft the best football player. And when in doubt, draft O-linemen and receivers.”

In terms of needs, the Bombers have a glaring one on the defensive line heading into this year’s draft. “Without a doubt,” says Walters. “Losing Doug Brown to retirement and Don (Oramasionwu) to free agency, it’s clearly an area where if the best player on the board is a defensive lineman, we’re going to have to take a good long, hard look.”

DOES BOMBERS GM JOE MACK WANT TO PLAY LET’S MAKE A DEAL WITH SASKATCHEWAN FOR THE FIRST-OVERALL PICK?

Saskatchewan GM Brendan Taman has himself an interesting — and rather enviable — dilemna heading into this year’s draft.

With the first-overall pick this year, Taman would be widely expected to use it to select University of Saskatchewan offensive lineman Ben Heenan.

Heenan was ranked as the top prosect in this year’s draft all winter long until just last week, when the final rankings from the CFL scouting bureau put him second to Boise State defensive end Tyrone Crawford.

The catch, however, is Crawford is almost certainly headed to the NFL — he didn’t take part in the CFL combine or a conference call with top prospects and reporters this week — and there’s no way Taman is going to blow a first-overall pick on a guy who’s unlikely to ever set foot on a Canadian field.

But Taman’s other problem is Heenan is also not nearly as good a fit for Saskatchewan right now as he might appear on the surface. The Riders already spent big money this winter on non-import offensive linemen in aquiring Dominic Picard and Brendon LaBatte, who is also from Saskatchewan.

Does Taman really want to spend even more money right now on yet another Canadian offensive lineman? Probably not, which is why he’s made no secret in talks with reporters in Saskatchewan that he’d be willing to deal the top pick if the price is right.

Having lost LaBatte to Taman in the off-season, Mack could certainly use a blue-chip non-import replacement like Heenan to bolster his offensive line. But in an interview earlier this month, Mack sounded like he wasn’t eager to make a deal with Taman to take on another Saskatchewan-born lineman and have happen with Heenan what happened with LaBatte, who elected to leave the Bombers in the off-season to be closer to his pregnant girlfriend in Saskatchewan.

“I’d always be willing to listen. It would depend what (Taman) wanted of course,” said Mack. “I think Heenan is a very good football player and we had a real good conversation with him at the combine… But just putting two and two together, I think he’s from a fourth-generation farming family, he’s from Saskatchewan and I think he’s very dedicated to his family and to their business.

“So to me, it would make perfect sense for Saskatchewan to take a good player that probably wants to be there for a long time. That would seem to be the logical choice.”

In a conference call with reporters earlier this week, Heenan acknowledged the elephant in the room, but said he’s open to landing anywhere in the CFL.

“Obviously, being from Saskatchewan and where they select in the draft is something that crosses your mind quite a bit,” said Heenan, “but you can’t really isolate one team. You have to be ready for any situation and any scenario.”