BC Lions All-Time Canadian Team

[Robbie]

With all the recent lists and threads about Lions games and players, ready for another one? Unlike the Canadian-headquartered NHL that doesn’t really have any special recognition to Canadians only, the CFL clearly recognizes its own ancestry by designating certain awards to Canadians only, specifically the Most Outstanding Canadian and Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian awards. And of course, there’s always the import/non-import ratio implemented to all the teams. There were exceptions of course when the CFL expanded to the USA and it was well remembered that the 1994 Baltimore team consisted of entirely Americans.

So as another twist to all the discussion about top Lions, let’s create a list of top CANADIAN BC Lions only. And for the sake of definitions, I will use the term “non-import” as the same meaning as a “Canadian citizen”. If you had to create the best Lions team composed of only Canadians, who would you select? In some cases, I cannot think of any Canadians that qualify, but here’s my list:

Offensive Linemen:
C – Al Wilson
OG – Jamie Taras, Kelly Bates
OT – Jim Mills, John Blain

Receivers:
SB - Jason Clermont, Matt Clark
WR - Jim Young, Paris Jackson

Running Backs:
FB – Sean Millington
RB – Mark Nohra

Defensive Lineman:
DT - Rick Klassen, Mike Cacic
DE - Brent Johnson, Nick Hebeler

Linebackers:
Glen Jackson, Kevin Konar, Norm Fieldgate

Defensive Backs:
Nelson Martin, Neal Beaumont
Can't think of any others

Special Teams:
Placekicker – Lui Passaglia
Kickoff Specialist - Bret Anderson
Can't think of any good Canadian kick returners

Staff:
Coach – Wally Buono
GM - Bob Ackles
Owner and President – David Braley

And obviously there’s a huge omission because it’s hard to think of any good Canadian Lion QB’s, let alone any Canadian QB's at all. But I finally managed to think of one:

Quarterback:
Pete Ohler

He attended Canadian college and while everyone remembers Joe Kapp as the starting QB for the 1964 Grey Cup game, who remembers Pete Ohler as the backup QB? And of course, he’s best remembered for the broken field goal play when Pete Ohler picked up the fumbled ball and threw to Carphin for a TD.

[David]

Defensive Ends:
Nelson Martin, Neal Beaumont
Can't think of any others

Does the name "Davis Sanchez" ring a bell? (and I think you mean defensive backs, not defensive ends).

Enough already with all the lists! It's a long off-season Robbie. We have to pace ourselves.

DH

[Toppy Vann]

Some good choices there. Terry Bailey, By Bailey (IIRC he was an American who became Canadian under the old rules).

The Canadian Rifle Eric Guthrie (QB) could be on that list.

[Rotor]

With all the recent lists and threads about Lions games and players, ready for another one? Unlike the Canadian-headquartered NHL that doesn’t really have any special recognition to Canadians only, the CFL clearly recognizes its own ancestry by designating certain awards to Canadians only, specifically the Most Outstanding Canadian and Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian awards. And of course, there’s always the import/non-import ratio implemented to all the teams. There were exceptions of course when the CFL expanded to the USA and it was well remembered that the 1994 Baltimore team consisted of entirely Americans.

So as another twist to all the discussion about top Lions, let’s create a list of top CANADIAN BC Lions only. And for the sake of definitions, I will use the term “non-import” as the same meaning as a “Canadian citizen”. If you had to create the best Lions team composed of only Canadians, who would you select? In some cases, I cannot think of any Canadians that qualify, but here’s my list:

Offensive Linemen:
C – Al Wilson
OG – Jamie Taras, Kelly Bates
OT – Jim Mills, John Blain

Receivers:
SB - Jason Clermont, Matt Clark
WR - Jim Young, Paris Jackson

Running Backs:
FB – Sean Millington
RB – Mark Nohra

Defensive Lineman:
DT - Rick Klassen, Mike Cacic
DE - Brent Johnson, Nick Hebeler

Linebackers:
Glen Jackson, Kevin Konar, Norm Fieldgate

Defensive Backs:
Nelson Martin, Neal Beaumont
Can't think of any others

Special Teams:
Placekicker – Lui Passaglia
Kickoff Specialist - Bret Anderson
Can't think of any good Canadian kick returners

Staff:
Coach – Wally Buono
GM - Bob Ackles
Owner and President – David Braley

And obviously there’s a huge omission because it’s hard to think of any good Canadian Lion QB’s, let alone any Canadian QB's at all. But I finally managed to think of one:

Quarterback:
Pete Ohler

He attended Canadian college and while everyone remembers Joe Kapp as the starting QB for the 1964 Grey Cup game, who remembers Pete Ohler as the backup QB? And of course, he’s best remembered for the broken field goal play when Pete Ohler picked up the fumbled ball and threw to Carphin for a TD.

Nice list - good attempt