The Ticats and the 2010 CFL Canadian Draft

In addition to following the 2009 Grey Cup playoff run, the Ticats and their fans are also beginning to look toward next season. The 2010 CFL Canadian Draft is a part of that process. The following is a summary of the Ticats' draft situation in 2010.

First off, the Ticats finished tied with the Edmonton Eskimos for fourth place in the 2009 CFL standings with 18 points apiece. If they use 2009 head-to-head matchups to determine which tied team finished higher in the standings to also establish the teams' draft positions, then Ticats hold the edge via a 28-21 victory and a 31-30 loss against the Eskimos this year thereby finishing fourth and picking fifth in each round of the 2010 draft in which they have a pick.

The Ticats no longer have the following 2010 draft choices:
First Round- forfeited when they selected Zac Carlson in the 2009 CFL supplemental draft;
Second Round- traded to the Riders in the Dan Goodspeed trade;
Third Round- traded to the Argos in the Arland Bruce trade.

The Ticats did pick up the Riders' fifth round choice in the Goodspeed trade.

Therefore, unless I am missing something and barring any future trades, the Ticats appear to have only have four choices in the 2010 Canadian Draft and they are all late rounders:
Fourth Round (own choice-28th overall);
Fifth Round (own choice- 36th overall);
Fifth Round (Riders' choice- 38th overall);
Sixth Round (own choice- 44th overall).

In the meantime, here is a link to the "2010 Draft Rankings - Early Season Edition" by Duane Forde posted on the tsn.ca website back on Sep 16/09. While Forde will no doubt update these rankings as the draft approaches, it provides a starting point on potential top choices in the 2010 Canadian Draft. He identifies "The Top 20" then lists five more players to "Keep an Eye On" and five more players "Under the Radar...For Now". Therefore, even though the Ticats presently have a very weak draft position in 2010, at least one of the thirty players on Forde's list will be available by the time the Ticats make their fourth round selection.

http://tsn.ca/columnists/duane_forde/?id=291296

Although the Ticats have added good Canadian content to their roster over the past few years, it looks as though the Argos and Bombers will gain some ground on the Ticats in stocking their rosters with Canadian players at the 2010 Draft. Still, it will be interesting to see what Obie does to counter this. Will he make any trades to pick up some 2010 draft choices over the off-season or will he stand pat and do what he can with his late round picks? If Obie sought your opinion, what would you suggest?

The Ticats will make a Trade or two too add some picks.
Obie can we a Wheeler dealer when he has to be that how we got Bruce.

Barring any trades, we really won't have much of a draft this year.

Quite frankly, we have quite a bit of young Canadian talent on our team as a result of early draft choices and moves in recent year. I don't see the need to make a trade for any draft choices this year.

Technically we have done the equivalent of drafting Zac Carlson this year. Without the move we made last year, we would not have got a player of that talent this year.

Right now we have Rottier, Carlson, and Morency as future offensive lineman. A good crew of young Canadian talent, to say the least. We may still have Gagne-Marcoux, although this year there were signs that he was unhappy, and may not be back next year.

We also still have recent draftees Bauman and Barker, who appear to be positioned to make a bigger contribution next year. Other young Canadians like Yannick Carter, and Marc Beswick are showing a lot of future potential and both are good special teamers.

I would agree you can never have enough Canadian talent, and you can always look to get better, but I don't think we need to go out of our way to trade for a high draft choice unless the trade is done for a player who may be leaving or is not really being used.

With the late picks that we have, I would pick players in traditional Canadian positions (O-Lineman, receivers, linebackers, fullbacks), and players from Universtities in Southern Ontario. You could find a diamond in the rough in the late picks, but best to take a chance in the typical positions and someone from the area who will want to stay here.

If we were to move up in the draft and had a better choice, I would go after a bone-fide fullback. Of the traditional Canadian positions, this is the one area where we could improve.

PJ

Good posts. Thanks.

By the way, something to add to the mix is that two of the Ticats' NCAA (Division 1A) picks in the 2009 CFL Canadian draft will probably come to training camp in 2010:

  1. Ryan Hinds, defensive back, New Hampshire (2nd Round, 13th overall)

Hinds is having a fine senior year at New Hampshire in 2009 with 41 total tackles and 4 interceptions.

Here's what Duane Forde had to say about Hinds in one of his tsn.ca reports before the 2009 CFL Draft:

"Ryan Hinds (defensive back, New Hampshire, 6'1", 190 lbs.) - Hinds is following in the footsteps of current Montreal Alouette Etienne Boulay, starting at cornerback for the Wildcats. With CFL teams using non-imports to play the wide side cornerback position, or seeking free safeties who can cover receivers man-to-man, Hinds' coverage skills will be an asset at the next level. He is a redshirt junior and, therefore, has another year of NCAA eligibility remaining."

Perhaps Hinds can challenge for one of the cornerback positions at Ticat training camp in 2010.

  1. Bill McGrath, offensive lineman/tight end/long snapper, Indiana State (6th Round, 46th overall)

McGrath is on the Indiana State team roster but has not played a game in 2009.

Here's what Duane Forde had to say about McGrath in the same tsn.ca report before the 2009 CFL Draft:

"Bill McGrath (offensive lineman, Indiana State, 6'5", 275 lbs.) - McGrath began his NCAA career at Temple as a tight end, however, his quest for playing time led him to change both his school and his position. He earned a starting job at tackle for the Sycamores in '07, but injuries have hampered his progress this season. As a redshirt, he'll have another year of eligibility in which he could further establish himself but rumblings have him bypassing his final year for the right CFL opportunity. While the injuries and resulting lack of PT may work against him on Draft Day, the success of his older brother, Edmonton OT Joe McGrath, his willingness to turn pro immediately, and his ability to handle long snapping duties could be enough to temper that."

McGrath's versatility plus the weak 2010 draft position of the Ticats should get him an invitation to the 2010 training camp. Time will tell as to whether he can parlay that chance into a spot on the practice roster.

Matt Carter is another guy that may be able to contribute next year.

Guys, the sad truth is that if the CFL is successful in eliminating the designated import rule (as they are reported to be do trying to do), and the need for 7 Canadians to start, the CFL draft won't really matter much anymore. The days of a Canadian playing at a skilled position will be dead.

Teams will probably start their 4 Canadians at center, the guard positions, and probably at safety. The days of the Canadian receiver will be dead. I guess you still will need a lot of fast Canadian linebacker/safety types to play special teams. The Stalas, Fantuz's, Cahoons will all be gone!

Lets hope the CFL changes its mind and keeps the rules as is.

Well stated, MacCat.

I am willing to bet the CFL owners won't get their way.

The number of starting Canadians won't be reduced to 4.

I certainly can't see the league going from 7 down to 4 in one year. That would not be right.

As far as the import rule goes, the part that baffles me is the rule indicates that about half of the roster is Canadian, but only 7 must start. Essentially, the team is set up with a bunch of Canadian backups on the sidelines. I can see them make a bit of a reduction of the number of Canadians on the roster, as this causes issues when it comes to injuries. They can't change the starter rule very much without having a significant impact.

PJ

I can see it going down to 5 From 7
That is Reasonable…

I hope the Ti Cats look into drafting a Canadian kicker, I hear there are a few good ones out there.

That is because in 96 the owners managed to get that changed from 11 starters to 7 to accomodate the American players left out in the cold with the CFL retreating back to Canada. This was supposed to be temporarty and gradually returned to 11. Of course the owners lied and we are where we are today.

I think you reduce the number from 7 to 6 so that when/if Ottawa comes back, you will have the best Canadians playing.

The problems is that you only have so many Canadians to choose from and there are approx 10x more Americans out there. Adding another team means more Canadian talent stretched out.

If the Canadian grass roots football leagues and the Universities upped their talent and talent building for the future then the canadian content wouldn't be an issue ...
Cannot blame the owners for wanting to be able to field the best players they can find....
only way to eliminate that would be to make it a canadian citizen only league .. and only canadians can play and coach.
The owners want to win just as much as the fans want it ... if there was great talent in norway they would want to draft those guys too ....

I'm all for fair play tho .. If the Canadian Players don't like it ... well .... Get Better!!!!!

Judging by the Green Riders, I’d say Canadian players are getting much better. Bagg, Fantuz, Clairmont, and Getzlaf are pretty good receivers. Some players just need a little more time to develop. Bauman, Barker, Rottier, Carlson, and Morencie can be very productive Canadian players for the TiCats in the future. It takes time and patience to develop talent. Unfortunately we live in an instant gratification age. We don’t fix things anymore. We throw them away and buy new ones. Trust Obie and his plan to improve the roster depth with good young Canadian talent." Coach em up" and let the Canadian kids play our game. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:
Pat Lynch(the old guy in section 7)

Watching the Vanier Cup, heard Duane Forde mention that a Queen’s receiver who scored a TD early in the game “is on the Tiger-Cats’ Neg List.” Impressive stats for someone passed over in the draft.

[url=http://www.gogaelsgo.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1353&path=football]http://www.gogaelsgo.com/roster.aspx?rp ... h=football[/url]

We should consider drafting Jimmy Allen out of Queens, he is a very impressive returner.

He’ll be gone before we Pick

He is a little small might be over looked, might be another Wally Zatylny :roll:

Many early draft picks end up having short/poor CFL careers anyways, and some end up in the NFL, so the draft isn't exactly as important as it is in other leagues.