Ottawa: 2013 Expansion Draft

http://www.rodpedersen.com/

Just scroll down the page until you see how the draft will be set up for Ottawa to select players for their roster.

I'm actually surprised he is just talking about this now...it has been out for some time, or at least what I assumed was the official version, of which I see no differences jumping out at me. but I guess a mid season read on it is always a bonus.

I was looking at this earlier in the year and This is kinda what I have gotten out of it.

We are only going to lose 3 players in this draft, with it being 3 rounds and 8 players I a round I think they will likely have to pick one from each team. It looks as if we are able to keep all of our impact Import guys on the roster, however its looking like we are going to lose one good Canadian from our team. We can only protect 6 of them in round 2 and I am not sure who.

The ones who I think are a given to hold on to.

Heenan - far to young and talented and would absolutely be taken if he was there.
Labatte - Aside from Fulton he has been our most impressive O-lineman so far this year.
Butler - Guy is a monster can't let him slip through our grasp.

Those 3 are garuanteed keepers IMO.

From there I would say we protect

Hurl - Great young LB I think he could take over one of the starting spots now if we didn't have other great players there. Wish they would start him or Kromah at LB and move Brown back in to the secondary, getting frustrated with Turenne and Millers play.

Shologan - I think him and McCollough are the two longest lasting Riders on the team, as well as the fact that he is a very solid guy in the middle and always has been for us.

This is where I find it gets tricky.

Best, Hutchins, or Picard - Flip a coin and pick which one you want to keep around. IMO one of these three guys is going to be in an Ottawa uni come the start of next season. You can't put a price on great Canadian O-linemen.

Next round we will get to protect another 6 canadians which should cover Getz, Watman, Steinhauer, Bagg, Newman and whoever is left between Hutchins, Picard and Best. At least that is how I see it.

We will likely lose Foley and Either Best, Hutchins or Picard (Maybe Watman but not likely)

As far as the imports are concerned here is how I see things playing out. We get to keep 10 plus a QB.

QB - Durrant - Only way I see us not keeping him is if he goes out for the season and Willy absolutely owns and wins us the grey cup.

  1. Dressler - He needs to retire in green and white..
  2. Sheets - Duh
  3. Fulton - Gotta keep out O-line in tact the best we can.
  4. Chick
  5. Brackenridge
  6. Sanders
  7. Williams
  8. Harris
  9. Brown
  10. I really am not sure who else they would protect.. Anderson, Kromah, Russ, Thomas?

TBH I don't know who they would take from our team.. Willy is a possibility, Anderson, Kromah, Russ.. I really don't know.. Whoever it is I don't think we will be losing anyone of that much importance.. I can't see them taking Simon... To old not smart to bring in a guy like that to a team starting out.

It is a little tricky, for we don't know exact details on contracts. If you have 2 guys that you are back and forth on but 1 has 3 years on his contract, the other just 1...well...there you go. Then there are guys like Hurl, Who I don't think will stick around to be a special teams player. Then of course age is a factor...ie Picard...awesome talent, eldest linesman, followed by Best...of course this is all here and now...it will change in 5 months...players will have good/bad seasons, some may have injuries that make them less desirable to the RBs...I'm sure my list will change.

Round 1:
Harris, Macho
Chick, John
George, Tearrius
McElveen, Jermaine
Brackenridge, Tyron
Williams, Renauld
Durant, Darian
Sheets, Kory
Dressler, Weston
Fulton, Xavier
Sanders, Jock

Fringe players...
Schmitt, Ricky - hate o lose him...but if he is selected it is an extra NI that can be protected. Not sure who I would bump to protect him at this point though...
Anderson, Dwight
Turenne, Woodny - I put Turenne int there, but really, it is an undecided secondary guy.
Smith, Taj

Round 2
Shologan, Keith
Heenan, Ben
Watman, Corey
Butler, Craig
Getzlaf, Chris
Neufeld, Patrick

Round 3:
Foley, Ricky - Moves up a round if a QB or Kicker is selected
LaBatte, Brendon - Moves up a round if a QB is selected
Clark, Dan
Black, Tristan
Bagg, Rob
Hargreaves, Aaron

Steinhauer, Levi - moves up if a QB or kicker is selected, or if someone that was supposed to be protected in round 3 is chosen (which I assume will happen...likely Foley)
Hurl, Samuel - next to move up IF they think they can resign him

Fringe:
Evans, Zack
Milo, Chris
Best, Chris

likely going to lose a guard...it is the more replaceable spot for NIs, protect the youth first, because it is damned solid youth.

Notables:

  • Picard - I would hate to lose him, but as the elder linesman he may or may not get picked, especially as he is a higher salary. That said, Watman was drafted as a future replacement.
  • Anderson - Listed as fringe, probably even lower. Great DB, but again, age is a factor. As the anchor back there you hate to lose him, but they will have solid guys returning with a couple years experience.
  • Hurl - underutilized, why protect
  • Best - second oldest lineman and a rotational guy, which is amazing for how good he is.

finally someone else says it…thankyou

You think they'll protect Neufeld before LaBatte. Don't see that happening. Also don't see McElveen being protected at all. I would guess Taj will be protected before him, as would probaly Taylor and Kromah.

Why protect Kromah, unless he starts playing? Taj, I was definately back and forth on, hence why he is on my fringe list…how the season fairs out for him after 18 games will be a decider there for sure. I could see McElveen not fetting protected, and perhaps Harris, and others put in their spots…BUT…You are leaving some secondary guys unprotected already, so the point with Harris was to ensure a youthful vet is protected and returning. McElveen, again, yeah he is who I see as more fringe from being bumped…it is early in the season and all so…

as for Neufeld…Labatte is a top caliber OLman, but Neufeld is a tackle, so it is a matter for pondering so that he and Heenan can rotate. A gaurd, sorry, is easier to fill. Couldn’t fault either decision, just my spin on it.

Sheets would NOT be having the season he’s having if it wasn’t for Labatte anchoring that line. To me Guards are very underrated, they are always considered “just plug another one in” I guarantee you that if Labatte goes down this year or we don’t protect him next season you will see Sheets production drop. All the announcers talked about that last Hamilton game was about how well Labatte can pull from the guard spot and lead block for Sheets. We lose him, were done.

First off, for some reason I tend to call Neufield Hutchins.. I am not sure why..

@Depop

I'd like to second what Saskfan is saying about Labatte. He has been our best Lineman this year IMO. With protecting him and Heenan we have at least Fulton, Labatte, Heenan for sure. Then we will still have two of three of Picard, Neufield, or Best who will play.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I fully understand that logic, and fully appreciate that.

This is a 5 games into the year list...I am sure that the coaches and GM have a list of some sorts going that gets tweaked on a regular basis, likely at least once a week (I am guessing every Monday / day off). It is a smart approach to do it frequently so that you are rating it on a seasonal average as opposed to looking back at the end of it all.

I wish we knew contract lengths, as I know that would effect this big time. I also know my stance on at least a few players will change over the course of the season...Foley and LaBatte being on the fringe of round 2 ups means that they are likely candidates in my eyes.

I wonder if there are any safeguards in place regarding a player being picked and then deciding he would rather retire (to avoid going to the team) and then come back the following season. This happened to Sask years back with David Archer.

If you retire, then your contract remains valid until it expires. Obviously you don't count on the roster and you don't get paid, but let's say you sign a 3 year deal and after 1 year you retire. You sit out year 2 and then decide to come back year 3, that last year of your contract is revalidated and you'd have to report to the team that holds the contract.

That’s fine however there are not too many 3+ year contracts anymore. Most of them now are year and an option.

I would assume those are the dice one rolls in their selection. This is not a trade, this is taking...a little different.

What would be really funny is if you had the confidence and relationship with your players to do something like release anyone not protected. Then what do the RB's do? It is not Free agent season...you basically pass. Then go back and re-sign all of those players in free agency...I know I know...not realistic, but it would be super funny.

That doesn’t even make sense. A released player can be signed by another team at anytime. There is no period where free agents have to be signed. There is only the date of Feb 15th where the players contract expires. Signings can happen year round and by anyone.

I would rather hope that you got my point…release them to avoid draft then re-sign. You are really over-thinking something I already said was not realistic.

And FYI…once released…they are still Free Agents…they are simply Unrestricted Free Agents if released by whatever date, thus the ‘FA season’ does not apply…FA simply is a date in which Restricted FAs become available…so yes…they actually would be signing them from Free Agency.

I could really see Robb Bagg ending up in Ottawa.

I could see that as well, but as it stands, he is their only developed and proven NI WR at the moment, never mind big play WR.

I can’t if he stays healthy this year.

Rob will be protected. And after all the yers the team stood by him, I really hope he wants to be a Rider for the rest of his career.