By Nic Sgaggi
Stampeders.com

The 2014 Canadian Football League draft is set to take place tomorrow evening.

Brendan Mahoney has had his hands full as of late, but is confident that the Red and White is well-prepared heading into Tuesday’s draft.

“Our coaches have done an incredible job,” said Mahoney, the Stampeders’ Canadian Scout and Assistant Director of Football Operations. “We feel we have a good handle on (the draft) but we still have time to do some last-minute research. Right now, we feel very comfortable.”

Despite losing Kevin Glenn, J’Michael Deane and Eric Fraser to the Ottawa RedBlacks in the 2013 expansion draft, the Stamps will enter draft day with plenty of options for their first selection.

“I think our Canadian depth does give us that advantage to take the best athlete on the board,” said Mahoney. “We do have team needs. We lost some players in the expansion draft. We’ll look to fill those positions but, with our depth, we do have that luxury of looking for the best player available.”

The Stampeders will select seventh overall this year, leaving many people wondering if University of Manitoba defensive tackle Evan Gill will be the Red and White’s first-round choice.

Gill, one of only two Canadians selected to participate in the 2014 East-West Shrine Game, has impressed CFL scouts with his size and athletic ability.

“Evan is a very interesting player. He’s a very gifted athlete,” Mahoney said about the six-foot-two, 280-pounder. “He plays that interior defensive tackle spot. I can see why people would project that because we do play a non-import inside with Corey Mace and that could provide us with some depth, but we’ll have a couple different options there.”

Head coach and general manager John Hufnagel has been known to make draft-day deals but Mahoney says his club is happy with the picks they have going into the draft.

The Stampeders currently own eight total picks, including three third-rounders.