No first-round pick, but high hopes in today’s draft
Not only did he join the party late, only hired in January, but Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia also knew his team didn’t have a first-round selection in each of the next two years.
And he doesn’t expect that to change before tonight’s (8 p.m., TSN) Canadian college draft, which will be held virtually because of the novel coronavirus. Maciocia will be sitting in the basement of his St.-léonard home.
“I don’t anticipate us having a first-round pick,” Maciocia said.
“Has there been a lot of activity over the phone? No, there’s hasn’t. Could there possibly be? Will the phone lines be a little more active? I’d say so. Does that mean we’ll get ourselves a first-round pick? I don’t know.”
The Als relinquished their firstround picks this year and next in what turned out being the ill-advised acquisition of quarterback Johnny Manziel from Hamilton.
Manziel spent 2018 with Montreal before being banished from the Canadian Football League last winter after he contravened the agreement that made him eligible to play.
The Als select 14th and 16th overall in the second round, have two more picks in the third round (22nd and 25th) and are scheduled for 10 total over the eight rounds.
“We think this is an interesting draft. I think we’re going to get ourselves a few good players,” Maciocia said.
The GM has one potential advantage heading into the draft — he spent nine years as the head coach of Université de Montréal before deciding to return to the CFL.
Not only was recruiting players one of his significant responsibilities, the Carabins enjoyed success under his guidance, winning one Vanier Cup and reaching the championship game twice more, including last season.
“I hope that’s the advantage,” Maciocia said. “These are kids we’ve been exposed to the last few years. We’ve had the benefit of coaching some, the benefit of recruiting some of them and the benefit of winning and getting out of conference and playing some of these other teams and watching some of these other players perform against us.”
While Maciocia has the final say, he’s getting assistance from his assistant GM, Tom Gamble, national scouting director Byron Archambault — who was part of the Carabins’ coaching staff — along with front office executives Éric Deslauriers and Brendan Taman. Taman is a former GM with both Edmonton and Saskatchewan.
More than 600 players are eligible for the draft, but the Als whittled their list down to slightly more than 70. As usual, the list of prospects is top heavy with potential at offensive and defensive line, along with receivers.
The pandemic forced the cancellations of a Montreal regional combine and a national one in Toronto. The Als have had to rely on game tape and conducted more than 50 Zoom interviews with prospects, each lasting close to 40 minutes.
“The fact you’re not able to see them live, on site, in person. They don’t sit across from you in interviews,” Maciocia said. “It’s been different, but it’s the case for every other team. I think we have enough information and data accumulated for us to make an educated selection.”