By Stampeders.com staff

On Tuesday night, moments after being selected in the first round of the CFL draft by the Calgary Stampeders, Karl Lavoie received a present from his old friend Pierre Lavertu.

Both big men were all smiles as Lavertu put a Stampeders cap on Lavoie’s head and gave him a hug. It was a big moment as the former Universite de Laval teammates were being reunited — one year ago, Lavertu was the Stamps’ first selection.

As a matter of fact, Lavertu was the first overall selection of the 2014 draft as the Stamps acquired the pick in a trade with Ottawa.

“I knew there was a chance I could get picked No. 1, but I preferred not to think about it too much,” Lavertu said in a recent interview with LCF.ca. “If it wouldn’t have happened, it wouldn’t have bothered me. The draft is just one day. Once you get to training camp, every one is on the same level.”

Lavertu was a centre at Laval but with Brett Jones manning that position in Calgary, he made the transition to guard and served primarily as a backup.

“There was a period of adjustment,” Lavertu conceded. “I wish I could have played centre, but I was looking to Brett Jones, and I knew he was a step ahead of me.”

With Jones going on to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award, Lavertu recognized an opportunity to learn.

“For my development, playing behind Jones was a good thing for me. I was able to learn a lot from him. And I know some guys who got thrown into the fire right away and things didn’t necessarily work out as well for them as they would have liked. So for my personal development, I can really see the benefit of how things went last year.”

With Jones now trying his luck south of the border with the NFL’s New York Giants, Lavertu has a golden opportunity to claim the centre position.

“There’s no doubt that with Brett leaving for the NFL, there’s a door open for me,” said Lavertu. “At the same time, no matter what the coaches tell me before camp starts, I’m going to show up ready to compete and try to earn a starter’s job. I’m hoping that I’ll be on the field a lot more in 2015.”