Draft day can be somewhat of a happening.
When a group of Laval players and their families gathered in a Quebec City restaurant for the 2015 event, they knew one thing for sure.
One year earlier, former Laval teammate, offensive lineman, Pierre Lavertu was drafted first overall by the Calgary Stampeders.
The reputation of the CIS’s most successful program which had produced eight national titles and the need for home-grown offensive lineman meant this could be another good day for the university’s graduating players.
When the Edmonton Eskimos called out Danny Groulx’s name at seventh overall, the celebrations erupted for the first of two Laval first-rounders picked in the draft.
“That was an exciting day, for sure,” said Groulx, who appeared in 10 games in his rookie CFL season, drawing six starting assignments. “I was training all winter for that moment. I was with my family, my girlfriend and her parents, in a Quebec restaurant and we were with all the other guys from Laval. We were all there waiting to get drafted.”
Then, the moment came.
“When I got drafted, that was a hell of a moment.”
“It’s a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Every guy who was in the place came up to me and it was ‘congrats.’ Pierre Lavertu was the first to come up to me and say congrats. It was just a big celebration.”
About the only mystery before his name was called would be which team would choose him.
“Our goal was just to get drafted, so we were pretty happy about that,” said Groulx. “I have to say Laval is not only one of the best, but the best program in Canada.”
Just being a first-round draft choice places enough expectations from the outside, but Groulx’s expectations of his own elevation into the pro ranks were just as high as anybody else’s.
“After getting drafted, I was planning everything with the team that would draft me,” said Groulx. “I didn’t know what team I was going to. In Canada, you could be in Montreal or B.C., communities far apart. So, you could be anywhere in Canada. I was just waiting for that.”
Groulx appeared in four regular-season games for Laval, starting three at left tackle and one at right tackle. He was a member of Team East in the CIS East-West Bowl.
It took some time to sink in that he was headed west to a team that had shown great promise the previous year into a unit that was showing signs of gelling.
“When I got drafted by Edmonton, I had a lot of expectations for myself, what kind of player I was,” Groulx said.
Whatever apprehension about the expectations of others he had was quickly allayed after he met with Eskimos.
“Talking with Ed Hervey and (then-coach) Chris Jones, I knew what their plans were for me,” Groulx said. “I had a lot of expectations for myself in the first season, but they also knew I was a rookie. They wanted me to devote myself, do the best I could do and work hard. So, that’s what I did. Just go there and help the team as much as possible.”
All in all, even though he had limited playing time, Groulx believes he was able to make the most of the chances he was given to show what he could do.
“Yeah, I think I did some great things,” said Groulx, who played both guard positions. “You do some great things, some not-so-great things. You just need to work hard the whole year. I think I did everything in my power that first year to help the team.”
Groulx was selected by the Eskimos in the first round (7th overall) of the 2015 CFL Draft.
At the end, he was part of a rare group that could say they were part of a group that stuck together and win a championship title.
“We were able to go the whole year and win that Cup,” said Groulx. “That was kind of exciting. One of my expectations was to win a Cup. When you go to the Cup the first year, that’s pretty big.
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