Draft Day set to dawn for CFL teams

There may be more than a few Canadian and US college football players, phoning home to Mom with some good news as the Sunday moves on.

The nature of those calls could be an update on how they fared as the eight member teams of the Canadian Football League gathered on Sunday morning to make their selections in the 2011 draft.

With six rounds of player selection, the draft provides an opportunity for each team to build up depth, or fill in missing pieces from the season past.

Winnipeg has the first pick of the day, while the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes will be selecting eighth in the first round.

Though finding the right Canadian players can sometimes be the difference between a winning a losing season, such is the currency of the Canadian player in the CFL these days.

TSN will provide live coverage of the morning's proceedings, (12:30 ET, 9:30 AM PT) another step in that networks comprehensive CFL coverage.  In years past the CFL draft has not gained much in attention, more of a conference call than anything else, but as the league's presence has grown on TSN, so has the focus on such things as the draft.

While not quite yet near the status of the NFL draft of last month, nor of the NHL's June extravaganza, the opportunity to start the CFL season off with a look at where each franchise feels it needs some help is just what Canadian Football fans need to kick start the upcoming season.

With training camps set to open later this month and the Canada Day weekend regular season kick off not too far off in the distance, the draft signals the unofficial start of another year of Canadian football.

The CFL home page has an outline of the draft day proceedings, including the latest list of potential picks for 2011,  as well as a tracker page for the days events.

The CIS has set up a page on their home page as well, eager to trumpet the success of their graduating class of football players for 2011.

The TSN home page also has a wide variety of draft day information.

Below some of the items of note we have come across regarding this years draft, our primer, or pre draft preview of sorts as to what may come to pass as the draft moves forward on Sunday.


May 7-- Anticipation mounts ahead of CFL draft
May 7-- Lure of NFL can play havoc on CFL draft
May 7-- What to look for in the CFL draft
May 7-- CFL's top prospect excited about pro football career
May 7-- Four Dinos could factor in CFL draft's first round
May 7-- To deal or not to deal?
May 7-- Esks, Stamps said to be discussing draft-day swap
May 7-- Tillman ponders his next move as draft approaches
May 7-- Ticats could pick a pass catcher in CFL draft
May 7-- Alouettes set sights on dual-purpose kicker Hugh O'Neill
May 7-- Mississauga school a football factory
May 6-- Bombers trade Glover and land another draft pick
May 6-- Prospect can't prove he's Canuck
May 6-- 2011 CFL draft order and Top 15 prospects
May 6-- Riders taking wait-and-see approach to CFL draft
May 6-- Plenty of options available for Eskimos as they near CFL Canadian draft
May 6-- Mahoney confident ahead of CFL draft
May 6-- Huskies alums top prospects at Canadian college draft
May 6-- Five intriguing players in the 2011 CFL draft
May 6-- Teammates took different routes to college draft
May 6-- Will it be all in the family for Lions, star CFL draft prospect Henoc Muamba?
May 5-- The risk of drafting Vaughn Martin
May 5-- CFL draft filled with intrigue
May 5-- Making a mockery of the CFL draft boards
May 5-- Bombers ready to pull trigger
May 5-- Canucks worth their weight in gold
May 5-- A 'win-win situation' for Rams' Marc Mueller heading into draft
May 5-- CFL Canadian Draft ready to unfold Sunday on TSN
May 5-- Dinos dot the top of CFL teams' draft boards
May 5-- Lions may take receiver with third pick overall
May 5-- Riders serious about Canadian content
May 5-- BYU Linebacker believes time right to try luck in CFL
May 5-- CFL teams rave about software
May 5-- CFL's draft a much trickier dance than NFL version
May 5-- CFL split on inexperienced intriguing prospect
May 4-- Computer software making Riders draft prep more efficient: Taman
May 4-- Calgary Dinos prospects could end up in Green and Gold
May 4-- Riders GM Brendan Taman hits the books leading up to CFL draft
April 29-- Stamps scour North America for talent
April 27-- League rules on NCAA players put stress on CFL teams picking Canadians
April 7-- CFL Scouting bureau gives a hoot for Owls' Mitchell
April 6-- U of C's Parker climbs to No. 2 on CFL prospects list
April 5-- CFL releases draft rankings
April 5-- Mitchell ranked No. 1 for CFL draft