With the 2015 CFL Draft set to go Tuesday at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, CFL analyst Duane Forde previews each team heading into the big day. Forde takes a look at the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in this edition.
Current National Roster - Nationals Under Contract (as of May 7, 2015): 34
| NAME | POS | HT | WT | DOB | COLLEGE/JUNIOR TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyakowski, Peter | OL | 6'5" | 325 | 4/19/1984 | Louisiana State |
| Filer, Mike | OL | 6'2" | 300 | 5/6/1990 | Mount Allison |
| O'Neill, Tim | OL | 6'3" | 305 | 10/17/1979 | Calgary |
| Reinders, Joel | OL | 6'8" | 312 | 10/2/1987 | Waterloo |
| Rice, Landon | OL | 6'6" | 315 | 2/28/1988 | Manitoba |
| Rockhill, Carson | OL | 6'6" | 284 | 6/30/1990 | Calgary |
| Aprile, Giovanni | REC | 6'3" | 220 | 6/12/1989 | Queen's |
| Coates, Matt | REC | 6'3" | 197 | 7/15/1991 | Hamilton Hurricanes (Jr.) |
| Fantuz, Andy | REC | 6'4" | 220 | 12/18/1983 | Western |
| Haidara, Seydou Junior | REC | 6'1" | 215 | 3/5/1989 | Laval |
| Watt, Spencer | REC | 6'0" | 180 | 12/15/1988 | Simon Fraser |
| Woodson, Anthony | RB | 6'0" | 215 | 1/7/1988 | Calgary |
| Primé, Carl-Olivier | FB | 6'1" | 255 | 9/29/1989 | Wagner College |
| Atkinson, Michael | DL | 6'0" | 312 | 3/5/1989 | Boise State |
| Bulcke, Brian | DL | 6'4" | 281 | 4/27/1987 | Stanford |
| Gascon-Nadon, Arnaud | DL | 6'3" | 250 | 7/10/1988 | Laval |
| Gaydosh, Linden | DL | 6'4" | 305 | 1/4/1991 | Calgary |
| Girard, Matthieu | DL | 6'3" | 295 | 5/17/1991 | Montreal |
| Hazime, Hasan | DL | 6'5" | 260 | 12/23/1987 | Wake Forest |
| Laurent, Ted | DL | 6'1" | 303 | 1/1/1988 | Mississippi |
| Mawa, Stephen | DL | 6'4" | 275 | 5/2/1990 | UBC |
| Pesek, Martin | DL | 6'3" | 250 | 2/23/1990 | Acadia |
| Williams, Everton | DL | 6'6" | 285 | 2/10/2015 | Toronto |
| Beswick, Marc | LB | 6'1" | 198 | 1/23/1983 | Saint Mary's |
| Johnson, Christopher | LB | 5'11" | 220 | 4/10/1991 | Toronto |
| Kruba, Pawel | LB | 5'11" | 210 | 3/21/1990 | Western |
| Landry, Beau | LB | 5'11" | 201 | 9/24/1991 | Western |
| Plesius, Frédéric | LB | 6'1" | 240 | 2/10/1988 | Laval |
| Butler, Craig | DB | 6'2" | 196 | 12/19/1988 | Western |
| Daly, Mike | DB | 6'1" | 182 | 5/30/1990 | McMaster |
| King, Neil | DB | 6'0" | 195 | 9/10/1988 | Saint Mary's |
| Miller, Kyle | DB | 5'10" | 190 | 1/11/1990 | Simon Fraser |
| Stephen, Courtney | DB | 6'0" | 194 | 10/27/1989 | Northern Illinois |
| Crawford, Aaron | LS | 6'4" | 250 | 9/23/1986 | Saint Mary's |
How They Were Acquired
Drafted by Tiger-Cats: 14
Signed as Undrafted Free Agents: 4
Free Agents with CFL/NFL Experience: 12
Signed from CJFL: 1
Acquired via Trade: 3
Five-Year Draft History (2010-2014)
| YEAR | OVERALL | NAME | POS | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 8 | Beau Landry | LB | Western Ontario |
| 2014 | 9 | Evan Gill | DL | Manitoba |
| 2014 | 44 | Christopher Johnson | LB | Toronto |
| 2014 | 52 | Mathieu Girard | DL | Montreal |
| 2014 | 53 | Stephen Mawa | DL | British Columbia |
| 2014 | 62 | Martin Pesek | DL | Acadia |
| 2013 | 1 | Linden Gaydosh | DT | Calgary |
| 2013 | 15 | Brent Urban | DL | Virginia |
| 2013 | 19 | Carl-Olivier Prime | LB | Wagner |
| 2013 | 35 | Simon Le Marquand | WR | Ottawa |
| 2013 | 37 | Isaac Dell | FB | Wilfrid Laurier |
| 2013 | 43 | Neil King | DB | Saint Mary's |
| 2013 | 45 | Michael Daly | DB | McMaster |
| 2013 | 53 | Brett Lauther | PK | Saint Mary's |
| 2012 | 8 | Courtney Stephen | DB | Northern Illinois |
| 2012 | 10 | Frédéric Plesius | LB | Laval |
| 2012 | 13 | Carson Rockhill | OL | Calgary |
| 2012 | 17 | Arnaud Gascon-Nadon | DE | Laval |
| 2012 | 20 | Michael Atkinson | DL | Boise State |
| 2012 | 25 | Simon Charbonneau-Campeau | WR | Sherbrooke |
| 2012 | 33 | Bo Palmer | RB | Simon Fraser |
| 2011 | 10 | Moe Petrus | OL | Connecticut |
| 2011 | 13 | Maurice Forbes | DL | Concordia |
| 2011 | 20 | Marc-Antoine Fortin | DL | Laval |
| 2011 | 21 | Pascal Baillargeon | OL | Laval |
| 2011 | 33 | Patrick Jean-Mary | LB | Howard |
| 2011 | 36 | Tyrell Francisco | TE | Weber State |
| 2011 | 44 | Jadon Wagner | LB | BYU |
| 2010 | 1st round | Zac Carlson (2009 Supp. Draft) | OL | Weber State |
| 2010 | 19 | Samuel Fournier | RB | Laval |
| 2010 | 22 | Eddie Steele | DT | Manitoba |
| 2010 | 27 | Chris Rwabukamba | DB | Duke |
| 2010 | 36 | Justin Palardy | K/P | Saint Mary's |
Canadians to Watch
- Michael Atkinson: Knee injuries kept him on the sidelines for the first season and a half of his CFL career but, with fellow Canadian defensive tackle Linden Gaydosh out for the year, Atkinson will be counted on to play a bigger role in the rotation in 2015.
- Anthony Woodson: At least twice last season, the Tiger-Cats had to limit their playbook after injuries to their American tailbacks forced fullback C.O. Prime to play out of position. That should no longer be an issue after the signing of the versatile Woodson, a Canadian backup, whose natural position is RB.
- Peter Dyakowski: After missing almost the entire 2014 season due to a knee injury suffered in the 2013 Grey Cup game, Dyakowski finally appears to be back to 100%...which is great news for a team that was frequently forced to start three International O-Linemen in his absence.
In the Pipeline
DT Brent Urban (Baltimore Ravens)
DT Evan Gill (University of Manitoba, unsigned 2014 draftee)
Picks in 2015 CFL Draft
8 selections
8th, 17th, 20th, 24th, 29th, 51st, 52nd, and 61st overall
Random Thought
Since Kent Austin arrived in Hamilton in 2013, the Tiger-Cats have signed 2012 draftee Mike Atkinson, traded for Hasan Hazime, inked free agents Brian Bulcke and Ted Laurent, and drafted Linden Gaydosh, Brent Urban, Evan Gill, Martin Girard, and Steven Mawa – all defensive tackles. While Girard is expected to move to O-Line, the Tiger-Cats are the only team in the CFL that hasn’t actually drafted an offensive lineman since 2012. The depth of this year’s OL class and the ratio limitations associated with playing three Americans up front may force Hamilton to reverse their recent trend.
