Courtesy Hamilton Spectator:

Talk about a dynamite one-two punch.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats feel they scored a real knockout by securing University of Saskatchewan free safety Dylan Barker with the top pick and University of Sherbrooke receiver Samuel Giguere with their eighth selection in the Canadian college draft yesterday.

The combination of those two blue-chip prospects, with the acquisition of B.C. Lions’ defensive back Markeith Knowlton for the ninth overall pick, had the Ticat brass cracking wide smiles. They believe Knowlton will start at strong-side linebacker this season.

They also added Queen’s fullback Mike Giffen with the No. 17 selection before bagging 6-foot-3, 207-pound Laval receiver Laurent Lavigne-Masse 33rd overall. The club traded their final pick (No. 41) to Saskatchewan for a player on the Roughriders negotiation list. The player is an unidentified defensive lineman playing in the National Football League.

“I have a smile on my face because I’m ecstatic,” said Hamilton president Scott Mitchell. “I think it was an absolute wonderful 24 hours for the organization. We got the two top players in the draft and if you had asked us a week ago if we felt we could get Giguere and Barker together, people would have said we were crazy.”

Read More…