The 2019 CFL European draft took place on April 11, 2019. Nine players were chosen from a pool of 18 European players who attended the 2019 CFL Combine.
Background
In October 2018, Canadian Football League (CFL) commissioner Randy Ambrosie outlined a plan to grow the CFL's presence, which he dubbed CFL 2.0, including growth internationally.3 As part of this expansion the CFL held a special draft in January 2019 with the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), the top-level pro American football league in Mexico. Players selected there were not signed to teams but rather had their rights held by their selecting teams. In March 2019, 18 players from teams in Italy, Germany, France, Finland, and Denmark attended the 2019 CFL Combine alongside Canadian players eligible for the normal CFL draft; all players came from top club leagues in Europe, with the exception of two French players coming from Canadian university football and one Italian player from American junior college football.4 Only those that attended the combine were eligible to be drafted in the CFL European draft. Players selected in these drafts filled a new classification of CFL players called "global players" (in contrast to "National" Canadian players and "International" players which mostly consist of Americans); Ambrosie was initially seeking for each CFL team to have two roster spots for these new global players but, after negotiations with the CFLPA, it formally decided on one roster spot and two practice roster spots.5
Selection order
Unlike the normal CFL draft, which sets selection order based on a team's record the previous season (similar to the NFL draft), the preceding CFL–LFA draft instead used a weighted lottery system where teams received an increased chance at a higher draft priority (similar to the NBA draft) but not a guarantee. Unlike either the 3-round CFL–LFA draft or the 8-round CFL draft, this draft only consisted of a single round. Similarly, the European draft also used a lottery system, with a draft order set on April 4.67
Selections
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | University/College | Club team | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Valentin Gnahoua | DL | McGill | Berlin Rebels | France |
| 2 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Thiadric Hansen | LB | — | Potsdam Royals | Germany |
| 3 | Montreal Alouettes | Asnnel Robo | RB | Montreal | — | France |
| 4 | Edmonton Eskimos | Maxime Rouyer | LB | McGill | — | France |
| 5 | Toronto Argonauts | Marc Hor | DL | Diablo Valley CC | Frankfurt Universe | Germany |
| 6 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Max Zimmermann | WR | — | Potsdam Royals | Germany |
| 7 | BC Lions | Benjamin Plu | WR | McGill | Thonon Black Panthers | France |
| 8 | Ottawa Redblacks | Jordan Bouah | WR | Saddleback CC | — | Italy |
| 9 | Calgary Stampeders | Roni Salonen | LB | — | New Yorker Lions | Finland |
See also
References
"CFL to hold European lottery and draft in April". 3downnation.com. April 3, 2019. https://3downnation.com/2019/04/03/cfl-to-hold-european-lottery-and-draft-in-april/ ↩
"Full results from the first ever European draft". fl.ca. April 11, 2019. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/04/11/first-cfl-european-draft-take-place-1-p-m-et/ ↩
"Randy's Word: Talking CFL 2.0". cfl.ca. 3 October 2018. https://www.cfl.ca/2018/10/03/randys-word-talking-cfl-2-0/ ↩
Staff, 3Down. "CFL invites 18 players from international countries to national combine - 3DownNation".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) https://3downnation.com/2019/03/14/cfl-invites-18-players-from-international-countries-to-national-combine/ ↩
"CFL to hold European lottery and draft in April". 3downnation.com. April 3, 2019. https://3downnation.com/2019/04/03/cfl-to-hold-european-lottery-and-draft-in-april/ ↩
"CFL to hold European lottery and draft in April". 3downnation.com. April 3, 2019. https://3downnation.com/2019/04/03/cfl-to-hold-european-lottery-and-draft-in-april/ ↩
"CFL unveils plan and draft order for first ever European draft". 4 April 2019. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/04/04/cfl-unveils-plan-draft-order-first-ever-european-draft/ ↩