Stamps keeping Canadian contingent in the fold
Re-signing season has begun at McMahon Stadium.
The Calgary Stampeders have reupped five of their national players to contracts: long-snapper PierreLuc Caron, punter Rob Maver, fullback Ante Milanovic-Litre, kicker Rene Paredes and fullback Charlie Power.
The five players boast a combined 28 years of experience with the Stampeders and all five were key members of Stamps’ special teams during the 2018 Grey Cup season.
Caron had three special teams tackles during the regular season and one special teams tackle in the Grey Cup. The Laval University product has played 53 career games for the Red and White, as well as six post-season contests.
Maver, a nine-year veteran, finished second in the league last season with a net punting average of 38 yards. He was also second in the CFL with 12 punts inside opponents’ 10-yard line.
Maver has played 145 career regular-season contests for the Stamps and ranks second to Tony Martino in all of the franchise’s significant career punting categories.
Milanovic-Litre, a 24-year-old Vancouver native, had 10 special teams tackles as well as 33 rushing yards on five carries. He added one special teams tackle in the Stamps’ Grey Cup victory. Milanovic-Litre has appeared in 28 career regularseason and post-season games for Calgary.
Veteran kicker Paredes has played eight seasons with the Stamps and in 2018 achieved a 91.1 per cent success rate on field goals (41 for 45). Paredes is the first player in CFL history to have four different seasons with a field-goal success rate of at least 90 per cent. With 353 field goals and 1,415 points, he trails only Mark McLoughlin on the Stamps’ alltime list in those categories.
Power, an Okotoks product, ranked third on the team with a dozen special-teams tackles and also had a blocked punt. In the Grey Cup game, he recorded three special teams tackles. Power has played a combined 75 regular-season and post-season games with the Stampeders.