Draft Day In Raider Land

June 16, 2009

The Vancouver Island Raiders, 2008 Canadian Bowl Champions, took a page out of the CFL ranks as they hosted their first ever "Coast Bastion Inn Draft a Raider". The program, a brainchild of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats sees corporate sponsors fill the role of General Manager for the night by associating their company and brand with a specific player for the course of the season.

Eleven businesses were in attendance (or represented by Raiders staff) as players of the VI Raiders bolstered for position and the bragging rights of being the first overall (and first ever) pick. Competition amongst the players was fierce as they ended up recruiting members of the coaching staff to be their "agents", arranging interviews, mingling with potential "GM's", all while trying to facilitate trades so that companies received the player(s) they wanted. The night started with twelve players available but ended up increasing to a total of sixteen with companies purchasing extra picks in the form of donations to the Raiders organization. A grand total of 23 trades were made in between the businesses.

A few major highlights of the evening included Nick Woznesensky being offered the potential of being the first overall pick in exchange for a song. "The Woz" delivered what can only be described as a moving rendition of "You Make Me Want to Shout!" (video will be made available on viraiders.ca shortly). The Stadium Pub purchased multiple picks and really dominated the evening in regards to player acquisitions. The "Transaction of the Night" award went to Reaction Sports who purchased an "off the board" pick and claiming BC Lions prospect Andrew Harris with the 15th overall pick (if the event that he return to the Raiders).

The finalized draft order and selections are listed below:
1. Mack Sales and Service - Jordan Yantz
2. The Stadium Pub - Josh Williams
3. Reaction Sports - Jared Ralko
4. Mazzei Electric - Lucas Desmet
5. Scott Parker Re/Max - Curtis Vizza
6. The Stadium Pub - Joe Holder
7. The Stadium Pub - Aaron Davies
8. Alloyd Fitness - Robin Medeiros
9. Dodd's Lumber - Tyson Buchannon
10. SupErb Contruction - Marc Migneault
11. V3 Mediaworks - Andrew Smith
12. BMO - Nick Woznesensky
13. Atlas Windows and Doors - Levar Hayden
14. Atlas Windows and Doors - Bronson Nichol
15. Reaction Sports - Andrew Harris
16. The Stadium Pub - Mark Mueller

The VI Raiders would like to thank the Coast Bastion Inn for another fantastic event, the sponsors for their support and participation, the players for their sportsmandship and everyone that helped make the "2009 Coast Bastion Inn Draft a Raider" a great success.