Another Laval O-lineman on the way as Roy stands out at combine for 2017 CFL draft

MONTREAL – Jean-Simon Roy hopes to be the next Laval Rouge-et-Or offensive lineman to make a splash at the Canadian Football League draft.

The Stoneham, Que., native was among the standouts at a combine this week for Canadian university players who will be eligible for the 2017 draft. Roy tied for the lead in the bench press test with Sam Narkaj of Concordia, each with 36 reps.

On Tuesday night, Roy saw three fellow Rouge-et-Or offensive linemen go in the first round of this year’s draft — Philippe Gagnon second overall to the Montreal Alouettes; Charles Vaillancourt fifth overall to the B.C. Lions; and Jason Lauzon-Seguin seventh to the Ottawa Redblacks.

“We have a great coach, Carl Brennan, and it all comes from the teaching we get from him,” said Roy. “That’s a good path for me to follow, but I don’t put extra pressure on myself because of those three.

“For sure, with the way things have gone this week, we think more about the draft, but it is next season that is important for us.”

Players from every university football program in Canada are at McGill University this week for the combine and the annual East-West Game, also for 2017 draft eligibles, on Saturday.

Roy is not worried about the void that would be left if all three draftees are in the CFL next season. Laval has become a factory for the big men. Pierre Lavertu of the Calgary Stampeders, Danny Groulx of the Edmonton Eskimos and Luc Brodeur-Jordain of the Montreal Alouettes are among its alumni.

There are quality backups ready to step in and keep Laval in contention in the Quebec Conference.

“As I said, Carl Brennan works magic,” said Roy. “I’m not worried about the guys who will take over.”

The combine saw Harland Hastings, a Calgary native playing at Acadia University, top the vertical jump test at 38 inches, one more than Jonah Pataki of Queen’s and Orion Edwards of Guelph. Hastings also took the broad jump at 10 feet, five inches, an inch better than Jordan Hoover of Waterloo.

Calgary Dinos defensive back Robert Woodson had the best 40-yard dash at 4.52 seconds, edging Montreal Carabins kicker Felix Menard-Briere at 4.55.

Lewis Ward of Ottawa had the best shuttle run at 3.99 seconds, edging two Carabins — Samuel Drapeau and Sean Thomas-Erlington. Another agility test, the three-cone drill, went to Menard-Briere at 6.84 seconds, just ahead of Regina’s Mitchell Picton.

Hastings split time between football and gymnastics before enrolling at Acadia.

“Jumping’s always been one of my things,” he said. “I hope it shows the work I’ve put in over the years and that it translates into something in years to come.

“It’s a great opportunity to show yourself and to get together with the guys you’re potential getting drafted with next year. It was a fun experience and something I value highly. The best part of it is that you get to learn all sorts of techniques and, from that, you can pick and pull the techniques that you like and bring it back and make our defence better.”

The two coaches from the 2015 Vanier Cup finalists, Blake Nill of the champion UBC Thunderbirds and Danny Maciocia of the Carabins, will act as head coaches. Laval head coach Glen Constantin is coaching the East’s defensive line, while the West’s staff includes Saskatchewan’s Scott Flory on the O-line and Kevin Eiben of the Toronto Varsity Blues on the D-line.

Maciocia’s East team has players from the Maritimes, Quebec and the eastern part of Ontario while Blake’s West squad is pulled from the rest of Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia.