The defending B.C. champs have brought in a ton more football talent for the season ahead.
Nanaimo’s V.I. Raiders announced player additions at all positions on the Canadian Junior Football League’s national signing day, June 1.
“Our goal today was to be better tonight than we were this morning and with the guys that we’ve signed, we are better now than we were this morning,” said Doug Hocking, Raiders coach. “And it’s an everyday process.”
The Raiders held a special signing event and barbecue at Nanaimo Chrysler, with half a dozen newcomers attending, and the team also announced player signings from across Canada.
“We added depth to our offensive and defensive lines, which we wanted to do, and our skill positions, which means we’re going to be a very competitive team going into training camp, which means that everybody gets better,” Hocking said. “So a very exciting day for this football club.”
The most high-profile signing was receiver Mike West, a former CJFL all-star receiver with the Chilliwack Huskers. Another former Husker, offensive lineman Zachary Kirkness, comes by way of The Pas, Man. Brett Ablitt, a slot receiver who played last season with the Kamloops Broncos, has opted to play in his hometown this season.
The Raiders added some higher-tier talent with offensive lineman Sebastian Finlayson from Acadia University, quarterback Gabe Olivares from UBC and linebacker Justice Kremler, who was at SFU and played high school football with the powerhouse Mt. Douglas program.
V.I. also signed three standouts from spring camp, with defensive back Isaiah Johns of London, Ont., fullback Jason Henderson of Winnipeg and defensive lineman Nils Haeni of Didsbury, Alta. all choosing the Raiders program.
Terel Belanger, a tailback who played academy football in Ontario last season, and Eli Nelms-Horton, a receiver from Belmont in Victoria, are some other additions that the Raiders are excited about.
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“It feels like a family atmosphere. As soon as I came in, it was very open arms, welcoming, I felt right at home, so it feels like a good fit,” Belanger said.
He said he thinks the Raiders and the B.C. Football Conference will be good for his development as a football player, but mentioned team goals first.
“What helped my consideration to come [to] the Raiders is the tradition and the fact they’ve won, and continue that tradition on for the years that I’m here,” he said.
Linebacker Andrew Ranftal carries on a line of Barsby Bulldogs standouts choosing their hometown team.
“I know a lot of the people who’ve gone on and are playing for the Raiders and I know the coaches, so it was kind of an easy decision,” Ranftal said.
Ablitt said the Broncos allowed his transfer to be “painless” and he is glad to be back playing in Nanaimo around “a lot of good guys.”
“I wanted to come home and play with some of the guys that I played with in high school and compete for a national championship,” he said.
Hocking said team building is a year-round thing and said the Raiders will make all the newcomers feel like “part of the family” right away.
“It’s a long season and as much as it’s a cliché, it’s war out there,” the coach said. “You want to feel like the guy beside me and the guys that I’m in the locker room with are going to have my back no matter what. It starts in training camp, but it starts right now, today, with our signing day.”
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