EDMONTON – It’s taken a while but Elks linebacker Joel Dublanko is ready to make the most out of this opportunity.
Edmonton’s first-overall pick in 2024 arrived into Canadian Football with plenty of promise, and a storybook background to boot. Dublanko ties to the Green and Gold ran deep, with his grandparents watching an Esks game at Clarke Field for their first ever date. His cousin Curtis Dublanko also played a season for the Green and Gold, and despite growing up in the United States, he had visited Edmonton plenty of times as a child.
Surrounded by family, Joel was announced as the first pick in the CFL draft while inside the Elks President’s office. Despite all the hype and excitement, the emergence of CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie Nick Anderson in training camp put Dublanko’s storybook beginning on pause. The top pick did play in every game last season, contributing mostly on special teams with 10 total tackles (only two on defence).
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The plan was for 2025 to be different. The Elks new regime had already committed to seeing what the Cincinnati Bearcats graduate could bring to the table, creating packages just so the talented linebacker could see the field. An injury last week to the same player in Anderson that relegated Dublanko to the sidelines against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, has given the top pick an opportunity. After a brief taste last week, the 27-year-old is ready to make it official his first CFL start against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“I think I was a little amped up to be in there, I was excited,” Dublanko said about taking over the weakside linebacker reigns. “I’m just excited to get in every play, but we’ve got to make sure I’m doing my job first. I thought I had some good drops, but there’s some things to clean up that I’m looking forward to putting on tape. I’m really excited for the opportunity.”
From the perspective of a player like Dublanko, he wasn’t your typical CFL draft pick coming straight out of university, striving and biding his time to get his first taste of professional football. The linebacker had already attended an NFL training camp and showed off his talents in XFL and USFL prior to the heading North. To sit and wait after having already proven himself at a high level was a tough pill to swallow.
“It’s been really challenging.” Dublanko said. “Especially in the first year, mentally coming in thinking I was going to get more of an opportunity and everything, but recognizing that I just need to learn a little bit and just be where my feet are.”
“This year has been a lot better and just seeing some of that light at the end of the tunnel and then getting an opportunity this week, it’s really excited and I’m just looking forward to making the most of it.”
The Elks need the linebacker to step up against the red-hot Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who come in riding high on a five-game win streak. Edmonton’s defence is coming off their best performance of the season — allowing the fewest points and yards they have all season – and Dublanko was a major contributor with four tackles in his limited game time.
With the former top pick being given the reigns on Saturday, the belief among the Elks brass is that Dublanko is ready to step up and be the guy that teams thought the linebacker could be when he entered the draft with so much fanfare.
“Joel brings leadership to the club, always has a smile on his face, and always does things at a million miles an hour,” Head Coach Mark Kilam said. “He works tremendously hard. He’s one of the last people in the building every day. I know he’s been getting more and more opportunities on defense and the sky’s the limit for that guy.”