The Riders hope they catch a break with Dakoda Shepley

At some point in time, Dakoda Shepley could be just what the doctor ordered for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Saskatchewan selected Shepley — an offensive lineman from the UBC Thunderbirds — with its first-round selection (fifth overall) in Thursday’s CFL draft, even though he already had signed a free-agent contract with the NFL’s New York Jets.

The Roughriders feel Shepley will be worth the wait, based primarily on his character, his athletic ability and his on-field aggressiveness. And if/when he shows up in the CFL, the Roughriders may want to send a thank-you card to the doctor in Windsor, Ont., who sent Shepley down the path he’s currently on.

“I was a hockey player for 9 ½ years,” the 23-year-old Windsor product said during a conference call with the Regina media after he was selected. “I ended up breaking my hand fighting in hockey in Grade 10 and the surgeon I went to go see to assess my hand gave me a 30-minute spiel on why I should be playing football.

“My mom was there. (The doctor) let me know the opportunities in college to get a scholarship and the potential of playing professionally and making a career out of it. My mom was really eating that up, so I started the recruiting process for college ball.”

(Rich Lam/UBC Athletics Photo)

As a result of that conversation, Shepley decided to give up hockey and concentrate full-time on football. He went to UBC on a recruiting visit, liked what he saw and committed to the T-Birds.

He played with them for five seasons and eventually realized he had a shot at a pro career, but not in the sport he originally envisioned.

“Like most guys in Ontario — especially Windsor, with the (OHL’s) Windsor Spitfires so close — I wanted to be a professional hockey player,” Shepley said. “(Being) so close to Detroit as well, I grew up a Detroit Red Wings fan and I still am today.

“Having them so close and being so involved in the hockey community, I thought that I was going to go (that route). But it turns out that not a lot of 6-foot-3, 265-pound 14-year-olds are destined for hockey.”

The Roughriders hope he’ll soon be destined for Saskatchewan.

John Murphy, the Roughriders’ assistant vice-president of football operations and player personnel, said Thursday that the team had contacted the Jets to get their thoughts on Shepley’s NFL prospects.

After getting the Jets’ input, the Roughriders made the decision to take the 6-foot-4, 306-pound O-lineman — well aware that he could stick with New York. His ability to play any position on the line, his physical style of play, his testing numbers at the CFL’s national combine and his character combined to put him at the top of their list.

“At that point (in the draft), you’re deciding whether it’s worth the wait or if you take a guy you can get right now,” said Jeremy O’Day, the Roughriders’ assistant vice-president of football operations and administration. “We decided to take the best player that we thought was available.”

“The NFL has a chance to get the best players in the world,” Murphy added. “If he turns out to be one of them, God bless and terrific. But if you start letting that affect your draft and you let other teams draft better players and we select lesser guys who can’t go to the NFL, we’re not going to be here too often.”

Shepley said the NFL first entered his mind after he met with his agent, Ray Haija, in October. Haija said he saw NFL potential in Shepley and the agent suggested he could get his client in front of some NFL scouts.

Shepley subsequently participated in a pro day at Eastern Michigan University in March, when more than 20 NFL teams reportedly saw him work out. A stellar showing at the CFL combine in Winnipeg a week later rocketed him up the final pre-draft rankings to No. 3.

“It was a weird situation for me going into the CFL combine,” said Shepley, who’s an aspiring actor. “I had just come out of the Eastern Michigan pro day I had taken part in and no one knew who I was there, of course. I kind of had the same feeling going into the CFL combine.

“I had no idea that I would be the big-name guy at the CFL combine going in. I just knew that I needed to do what I had practised, compete in the workouts and do my best — and it turned out that I’m now a household name in the CFL as far as this draft class goes.

“It all caught me by surprise.”

Shepley flew to New Jersey on Thursday and is to participate in the Jets’ rookie mini-camp this weekend. Organized team activities and training camp will follow, so — unless he gets cut along the way — Shepley won’t be in Saskatoon when the Roughriders open training camp May 20.

While he noted that being selected by Saskatchewan was “a huge honour,” he plans to exhaust all of his options in the NFL before heading north.

“The way I operate is one thing at a time (and I) don’t get too ahead of myself,” Shepley said. “What I have on my plate, that’s what I eat first. Right now, that’s the NFL with the New York Jets.

“I’m going to take it as it comes and if it doesn’t work out for me, it doesn’t work out. But just by nature, I have to give it my all and hope that I do stick here.”