The Hamilton Tiger-Cats bolstered their Canadian contingent in Tuesday night’s CFL Draft, highlighted by the team’s selection of Laval offensive lineman Nathaniel Dumoulin-Duguay in the first round.
Dumoulin-Duguay, who was selected seventh overall, suited up in 20 games with the Rouge et Or where he was named a U Sports All-Canadian twice.
The 24-year-old was a force at the CFL Combine where he led all offensive linemen in the 40-yard dash, shuttle, three-cone drill and broad jump.
Hamilton general manager Ed Hervey used the club’s second-round pick, 16th overall, to select Wilfrid Laurier University defensive lineman Luke Brubacher. He is expected to attend mini-camp with the National Football League’s New York Jets later this month.
The Ticats did not have a pick in the third round after they traded the 24th and 25th overall selections on Jan. 29 to the Toronto Argonauts in a larger deal that brought national linebacker Jordan Williams to Hamilton.
With their two picks in the 4th round, the Cats chose defensive back Daniel Bell from Mount Allison University 34th overall and running back Matthew Peterson from the University of Alberta 36th overall. Bell spent five seasons as a Mountie where he made 177 tackles and seven sacks, and six interceptions. In four seasons with the Golden Bears, Peterson collected 2,248 rushing yards and scored eight rushing touchdowns.
In round five, Hamilton grabbed linebacker Ryan Baker from the University of British Columbia 43rd overall. In five seasons with the Thunderbirds, Baker recorded 221 total tackles, 5.5 quarterback sacks, and an interception.
With the 52nd overall pick in the sixth round, the Ticats selected defensive back Jonathan Giustini who played four seasons at the University of Alberta. He made 106 tackles and six interceptions, and also kicked 67 field goals and punted for a total of 3,932 yards.
Hamilton took offensive lineman John Kourtis from the University of Saskatchewan in the seventh round and defensive lineman Mitchell Townsend from the University of British Columbia with their final pick in round eight. Kourtis spent one season with the Huskies after spending five years at Liberty University where he played centre and guard. Townsend picked up 130 tackles, six sacks and a TD over four seasons with the Thunderbirds.
The Edmonton Elks selected University of Cincinnati linebacker Joel Dublanko with the first overall selection.
In the Canadian Football League’s Global Draft on Tuesday morning Hamilton took two players from Australia, punter Nik Constantinou (first round, fifth overall) and tight end Thomas Yassmin (second round, 14th overall).
Constantinou played five seasons at Texas A&M University where he averaged 42.8 yards per punt. He was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award as the NCAA’s top punter in 2020.
Yassmin spent five years at the University of Utah where he made 22 receptions for 396 yards and seven touchdowns.