Get Set For The CFL Labour Day Classics

By Chris Lawton

The 2025 CFL Draft is in the books, and it was all kicked off by the Calgary Stampeders who selected WR Damien Alford out of Utah (and formerly Syracuse) at number one overall. Although he was with the Utes last year, he did not register any stats in 2024, so most of the tape the Stamps will have been looking at would have been from his four years with Syracuse where he had 67 receptions for 1,291 yards and seven touchdowns. They may also have liked his speed as the Montreal native posted a 4.46 second 40-yard dash at the Big-12 conference pro day back in March.

Embed from Getty Images

Alford has already accepted an invitation to the Kansas City Chiefs minicamp, but clearly the Stamps were willing to gamble on him not catching on there and heading North to add to the arsenal for banner offseason signing QB Vernon Adams Jr.

Calgary does not have a strong recent history of taking receivers in this position as the last time they had the first overall pick (2014) they too OL Pierre Lavertu. Prior to that they took DL Miguel Robede first overall in 2005 and OL Steven Morley in 2003.

The Stampeders had ten selections in the Draft this year and they were also the only team with two first round selections, picking up OL Christopher Fortin of Connecticut with the 8th overall selection.  You can see a full list of who selected who here.

The steal of the first round probably came when the Blue Bombers selected Wyoming LB Connor Shay at six who for some analysts was ranked as a potential top pick. Not only that but he will fill a ratio need for the Bombers at linebacker and give a great addition to special teams.

Of course, this being the CFL Draft you always get an intriguing mixture of picks. From those that teams will want to see in training camp, to others that are ‘futures picks’ for players that might chance their arm at the NFL but ultimately head to the CFL. For those players sometimes having their draft rights can prove a valuable asset to teams down the line.

The Global Draft

The Stampeders had the first overall pick in the 2025 CFL Global Draft too. Historically the global draft has been associated more than anything else with teams looking to pick up a punter to put in a global roster spot. The Stamps certainly stayed with that approach, selecting Aussie punter Fraser Masin from Ole Miss at the top of the global selections. Just to put an exclamation point on this the Stamps picked another Aussie punter with the 10th pick (first overall second round), opting for Mark Vassett out of Colorado.

Of interest to UK based CFL fans would be the pick Winnipeg made at number 2 in the Global Draft after trading with Hamilton. That’s because they took Birmingham (UK) born Defensive End Kemari Munier-Bailey who has come to the CFL via two seasons with Idaho (2021-2), a season with Fresno State (2023) and spent a senior season with Weber State (2024) where he earned All-America honours as he was named to the FCS Central All-America Third Team. In 12 games he had 50 tackles and had at least one sack in half of the games.

CHRIS LAWTON

CFL ANALYST

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK

5/5