From Hamilton fields to CFL training camps
When opportunity knocks, you don’t ask, “Who’s there?”
So, the three Hamilton-raised players selected in the 2018 CFL draft head to training camp next week, determined to make the rosters of the teams which called their names.
One is a former Lion hoping to become one again, the other two both played for Cardinal Newman and McMaster.
Marauders’ middle linebacker Eric Mezzalira was selected in the second round, 17th overall, by the Calgary Stampeders and teammate Daniel Petermann, the record-breaking receiver, was taken in the third round, 26th overall, by Winnipeg.
“As a running back and linebacker at Newman, Eric was a beast who could run the ball and prevent the other team from moving the chains,” Cardinals’ coach Anthony Macaluso said on the school’s website. “Daniel was always a phenomenal athlete. He was a standout on the football field, on the basketball court, and on the soccer pitch.”
Former Sir Allan McNabb Lion Isaiah Guzylak-Messam was a fourth rounder, going 34th overall to the B.C. Lions from Wilfrid Laurier. The defensive back was a key member of 2016 Golden Hawks that won the Yates Cup over Western with a stunning 21-point fourth-quarter comeback.
The local player selected the highest — offensive lineman Darius Ciraco of Burlington, to the Tiger-Cats at sixth overall — played for Assumption Crusaders before heading to the University of Calgary. He’ll join the deep next-wave of Ticat homebrew offensive linemen.
Meanwhile, given the needs and trends of their respective drafting teams, the Hamilton trio is headed toward potentially fertile landing ground.
And, the special-teams thread runs boldly through their selection positions, as it always has with the bulk of CFL’s draftees.
“I think I got drafted as high as I did because of specials,” says Mezzalira, whose preferred team was the Stampeders, for their history of successful player development.
“I played as many special teams as I could all the years at Mac. It gave me a different appreciation of the game and I’ve always realized special teams are the ticket in, especially as a Canadian.”
Additionally, the Stamps are committed to a Canadian middle linebacker with the league’s top defensive player, Alex Singleton, installed as a colossal ratio-breaker for at least one more season. They need solid Canadian depth behind him, so Mezzalira likely makes the roster.
Petermann is also a good bet to be on the roster when the regular season begins but concedes he was chosen lower than anticipated — given his university career and superlative test results at the CFL combine — because some teams were looking for players with more special-teams history. But he might turn into one of the real steals in this draft.
“Winnipeg is a good opportunity for me,” says Petermann, who shattered Ryan Janzen’s Marauder career-receiving mark with 181 catches over his four years, and had the best results at the combine in both the 40-yard dash and vertical jump.
“They’ve got a good coaching staff and good people in the organization and they want to start two Canadian receivers.”
One will be free agent signee Nic Demski, but with former Ticat Matt Coates out with injury, possibly into the regular season, Petermann and the intriguing Rashaun Simonise, taken 12th overall, will see plenty of reps in training camp. Although Simonise has a high ceiling, Petermann is probably the more polished player at the moment.
Guzylak-Messam heads to a BC team which was the no-argument worst in the CFL West last year and needs a steady injection of new blood. The Lions start a Canadian at safety, so he’ll join a battle for game-day uniforms that includes current backup, veteran Matt Bucknor, who is also from Hamilton.
“It’s super exciting,” says the OUA second-team all-star, who was the league’s player of the week early last September.
“I think I can bring physicality and speed, and some versatility.”
At six-foot-two, and 205 pounds, Guzylak-Messam played both linebacker and defensive halfback for the Golden Hawks, and “all four years I played on special teams.”
He also recovered the fumble with 90 seconds remaining that led directly to the game-tying touchdown in the memorable Yates Cup comeback.