THE CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTON — It’s that time of year again, when CFL coaches and GMs gather in select cities across the country, looking for the best Canadian talent to draft in the spring.
Young draft hopefuls from the area are put through a series of grueling tests to measure speed, strength, agility and football sense in smaller regional combines.
Those players who impress the gallery of scouts and football staff will then receive an invite to the much bigger CFL national combine held annually in Toronto.
For Dexter Janke of the Calgary Stampeders, his path to becoming a fifth-round selection in the 2015 Canadian draft began at the regional combine in Edmonton.
Now, entering his sophomore season with the Red and White, Janke finds himself back at the same combine, supporting former teammates from his Okanagan Sun teammates trying to follow in his footsteps.
“It was definitely an exciting moment,” recalls Janke. “Honestly, I want to go through it again. Just the competitor in me wants to go down and participate.”
A particular event sticks out in the second-year player’s mind, the one in which he was able to really make his mark and catch the attention of his future defensive backs coach in Calgary, Kahlil Carter.
“We were worried because historically, and even this year, the 40-(yard dash) times are slower at the Edmonton combine,” says Janke. “The fact that myself and Kahlen Branning could run fast times was a big moment.
“Coach Carter came up to me and told me ‘your draft stock just went right up,’” remembers Janke. “At that moment, I knew it was going to be a good day.”
Janke’s Stamps teammate Will Langlais had a similar experience when he attended the regional combine in Montreal.
The Sherbrooke product was drafted in the third round of the 2015 Canadian draft and became a staple on special teams for the Stamps in his rookie campaign.
“After the one-on-ones and the special-teams drills, coach Mark Kilam talked to me a bit and he seemed like he was interested,” says Langlais.
It was a great feeling for Langlais after having spent countless hours in the gym and prepping for what he would encounter in the combine, where countless eyes would be on his every move.
He was grateful for the help from former Sherbrooke teammates who had gone through the paces the year before and were able to get him mentally prepared for what was ahead.
“I was confident,” says Langlais. “I have always been a fast guy.
“I gave it my all in the weight room and the training room and I thought ‘I am just going to do my best and see how it goes from there.’ I went to the regional and it went pretty good. I got my invite to the national combine in Toronto.”
Langlais admits, the combine tests don’t necessarily reflect what a player may experience in a CFL game but it was good preparation for the way he would need to act as a professional player.
“It’s an opportunity to compete against all the best prospects in the country.”
Now going into his second year and looking to further cement his position as a special-teams standout, Langlais says the combine taught him how important it is to perform when you are called on because you may only get that one shot.
“It prepares you to train and give it all at a certain amount of time because, like in a game, no matter what you did before, you have to ball out now, you have to prove it now,” says Langlais.
Back in Edmonton, Janke was offering the same advice to his former Okanagan Sun teammates Kyle Kawamoto and Brennan Van Nistelrooy as they hoped to earn an opportunity to get to the national combine in Toronto. Ultimately, Van Nistlerooy did get the call.
“The mentality is that you have to compete with every rep that you’re out there in the combine,” says Janke. “In everything that you do, how you answer every question, the way you carry yourself during the drill, between the drills and after the drill — all these things matter.”
“It’s the opportunity to compete against all the best prospects in the country,” says Langlais. “You can really see where you’re at and the whole experience is awesome.”
