B.C. Lions Coaching Camp: Ben Hladik intends to carry onto beginning function in '23

Vernon’s Ben Hladik was pressed right into a beginning function due to an harm to Bo Lokombo, however his performances on the sphere have made him indispensable to the B.C. Lions.

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Ben Hladik’s low season has modified in type, however not operate.

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Gone are the Rocky IV-esque days of winter coaching, shovelling off 40 yards of snow on a frozen soccer area in Vernon so he might work on his 40 instances. Now it’s a treadmill in Langley or weight room at his alma mater, UBC.

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However there’s no dip in depth as a result of the B.C. Lions linebacker is aware of he can’t afford to. This yr, he’s anticipated to take the leap from harm fill-in to full-time starter with the Leos.

“I’m very lucky I’m on this spot; it’s an important alternative for me,” the Vernon native mentioned from coaching camp in Kamloops on Tuesday.

“Now I’ve to remain in that spot. Everybody’s working onerous, everybody’s making an attempt to get a beginning job, so I can’t simply say something’s assured. I gotta hold working like I all the time do and hold getting higher after I’m on the market.”

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Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Matthew Shiltz (18) is tackled by B.C. Lions’ Ben Hladik (46) and Tibo Debaillie (49) during the first half of CFL football game in Vancouver, on Thursday, July 21, 2022.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Matthew Shiltz (18) is tackled by B.C. Lions’ Ben Hladik (46) and Tibo Debaillie (49) in the course of the first half of CFL soccer recreation in Vancouver, on Thursday, July 21, 2022. Picture by DARRYL DYCK THE CANADIAN PRESS /THE CANADIAN PRESS

Camp has continued the place 2022 left off for Hladik. When Bo Lokombo went down with a ugly elbow harm final July, Hladik stepped in for the veteran linebacker, and put an ironclad grip on his beginning function even when Lokombo returned.

The composition of the linebacker core modified considerably with the commerce of main tackler Jordan Williams to the Toronto Argonauts within the low season, however on Day 2 at Hillside Stadium, when Hladik recorded the primary interception of Lions camp, the new-look defence confirmed it nonetheless has its claws.

“We obtained some measurement. We’re all tall,” Hladik mentioned, giving his impressions after the primary few days in Kamloops.

“We’ve some taller guys, plenty of some thicker guys. We’ve another guys too, like DQ. (DaQuaylyn Thomas) He’s a bit smaller … however he can transfer. What he lacks in measurement he makes up for — and his pace and athleticism.

“We’ll be filling up plenty of throwing lanes on the market,” he added of a defensive unit that ranked second general in interceptions in 2022 (19).

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Lokombo, who’s performed 107 CFL video games general since his first with B.C. in 2014, brings expertise to the linebackers, whereas Josh Woods and Hladik are anticipated to make huge jumps in manufacturing and tasks of their third years.

“It was nice to see guys emerge final yr, guys like Ben Hladik — he got here up huge final yr,” he mentioned. “Jordan Williams is gone now, however now we have plenty of guys who’ve proven that they’ll play. We’ve obtained Josh Woods, we’ve obtained one other vet like (Isaiah) Messam, we signed Jordan Herman-Reed, who’s obtained tons of expertise, after which we obtained some younger guys like Ryder (Varga), we obtained (Parker) Brooks, we introduced in some key guys. So general, now we have a fairly deep linebacker group.”

Hladik was drafted twenty second general within the 2021 CFL Draft, after not taking part in soccer the earlier season. He’s not prepared to color himself in veteran colors, like Lokombo and TJ Lee — two  gamers who helped mentor him — however is aware of he has his function to play.

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“I can’t say I’m established but. I nonetheless obtained to earn it, however I’m making an attempt to assist out younger guys after I can. I imply, the younger guys, they’re not a lot youthful than me,” mentioned the 24-year-old. “I got here after I was fairly younger to the CFL, so I obtained some good expertise. … However I’m making an attempt to assist out as a lot as I can, as a result of that’s what guys used to do for me. I’m simply making an attempt to maintain passing it down.”

The Lions are previous the rising pains they endured within the 2019 and 2021 seasons once they missed the playoffs, two younger groups that weren’t capable of finding their means regardless of being quarterbacked by veteran Michael Reilly. Final season, the groundwork laid the previous couple of seasons supplied a steady launching pad that put them into the playoffs once more, and B.C. gained simply its second post-season recreation within the final 10 seasons.

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“I feel this group is aware of itself a bit of higher. Final yr, we had been figuring ourselves out some,” mentioned head coach Rick Campbell. “We obtained a core group of veteran guys, the identical teaching workers, so there’s that aspect to it, but it surely’ll all the time have a unique persona as a result of there’s gonna be some new guys that take part and provides it a unique really feel.

“We all the time speak to that: each workforce has a shelf life. There’s all the time a particular to every professional sports activities workforce every season, however I feel we simply form of have a greater thought of who we’re and the way we practise and what we do.”

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Originally posted 2023-05-16 22:41:52.