The CFL 2.0 initiative continued Thursday with the league’s first ever European Draft. Each of the nine teams selected one of the 18 eligible players who attended last month’s CFL National Combine in Toronto. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had the second pick and chose German Linebacker Thiadric Hansen.
The 26-year-old native of the northern port community of Flensburg began his professional career with the Baltic Hurricanes of Kiel in the German Football League and now he’s a member of the Postdam Royals.
Hansen, who is 6-2 and 240 pounds, was one of 18 Euro players who were invited to last month’s CFL National Combine in Toronto. He told Chris O’Leary of CFL.ca that while German teams try to be as professional as they can, he was amazed at how well the players were treated and how organized the CFL was.
Hansen will be invited to the Blue Bombers rookie camp, which starts on May 15th and GM Kyle Walters is looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the mix.
“Physically, he’s a very impressive young man,” said Walters via email. “He seems to possess the aggressiveness and willingness to compete at this level, and definitely showed some toughness during one-on-ones. Furthermore, he was a team captain and that speaks to his character, which is always important to this organization.”