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2019 CFL Canadian college draft will include a pair of territorial selections

Apr 18, 2019 | 8:43 AM

TORONTO — The 2019 CFL draft will include two territorial picks.

The two teams with the highest waiver priority will be able to make one selection of a player born within their territorial limits to conclude the second round.

That means for this year’s draft, slated for May 2, both the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes will get territorial selections. The Argos will make the 10th pick of the second round with the Alouettes following at No. 11.

According to the CFL, the two selections were added following discussions by a committee of team presidents and GMs.

“CFL fans expressed a lot of support for CFL 2.0 and our international strategy when I hosted town halls across the country this past winter,” CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement. “At the same time, they told us they deeply value our Canadian players and they especially love seeing local kids become ‘hometown football heroes.’

“We’re listening to those fans with this change.”

The CFL will provide teams with a list of players eligible for selection with the territorial picks. The players will be from the existing list of draft-eligible players.

Teams may also choose to defer their territorial draft pick until the start of any other round after the third.

CFL teams had the right to pre-select two players from their regions from 1972-82 who were then exempted from the draft. That was reduced to one player from 1983-84 before the practice was terminated.

 

The Canadian Press