Courtesy Montreal Gazette:

They realized they required help on defence, especially at linebacker. And they knew they had lost one of their first-round draft choices.

All management of the Alouettes could do was sit and wait, nervously, while one lineman after another was selected in yesterday’s Canadian college draft. And then when their turn came, seventh overall in the opening-round, Montreal pounced on Shea Emry, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound middle linebacker from the University of British Columbia.

The Als, by all accounts, took the best linebacker available.

“He was the best linebacker in the draft,” assistant GM Marcel Desjardins said. “On our board, if he wasn’t 1A, he was 1B overall. We were happy he continued to drop.”

Montreal was scheduled to have a pair of first-round choices, but was stripped of the fourth overall selection on Monday by the Canadian Football League for a salary-cap violation. The Als acquired the seventh choice from Saskatchewan via a trade.

With their second-round choice (12th overall), the Alouettes selected Andrew Woodruff, a 6-foot-3, 328-pound offensive-tackle from Boise State.

The Alouettes traditionally have played imports at linebacker, but that could change should Emry blossom into the prospect anticipated. At the very least, he should crack the Als’ roster and contribute on special teams this season.

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