Before suffering a broken foot in the Labour Day Classic, Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Nic Demski was on pace for a career year. The 6th overall pick of the 2015 draft was well on his way to surpassing his season high in receiving yards (338), and likely would have blown by his single-season receiving touchdown total (2), too. The Winnipeg native has also established himself as a solid punt returner, averaging an impressive 9.9 yards/per return in the 2017 campaign.
Demski’s injury is expected to sideline him for the next several weeks, so we had the opportunity to discuss the New Mosaic Stadium, his warmup routine, and former days as a hockey player during his recovery period.
Jesse Pollock: Growing up in Winnipeg, you must have watched a lot of Blue Bombers games as a kid. What was it initially like being drafted by their rival team, and what's it liker playing for them now?
Nic Demski: It wasn't too bad because I actually wasn't the biggest Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan growing up. I definitely went to the games and knew about the rivalry on Labour Day and with the Banjo Bowl, but at the end of the day, the fans and the people in the city have been amazing to me, have treated me with respect and took me in, so it was an easy transition. Any time you go from Winnipeg to Regina there's definitely still a little tension there, though.
JP: A notable former Bomber is now your teammate. What has it been like playing with Kevin Glenn, what kind of mentorship has he offered you, and what kind of leader is he like in the locker room?
ND: KG is the "OG" (laughs). He's the oldest dude in the CFL, but at the same time he's still bringing it. He’s playing his best football right now, and is a great guy to have in the locker room. He's great to me. he's great to all of the receivers, he gets along with everybody, he's always looking out for his players, and he was in Saskatchewan during my rookie year as well, so I kind of new KG before. And then when he came back, he was ready to go, so we had that connection already. KG is a great guy to have in your locker room.
JP: The far younger rookie Brandon Bridge stepped in and had a very impressive debut. Can you comment on him so far as a quarterback? What's his work ethic like and where do you see his career going?
ND: Brandon really put on for Canadians, especially Canadian quarterbacks. For him to come out and play the way that he did, and winning that game, It's pretty impressive. Brandon works hard, he's serious about his craft, and I really think he's going to be a starter in the CFL by the time it's all said and done.
JP: He looked unreal, and I'm sure a lot of CFL fantasy owners were impressed by the performance. Speaking of which... TSN CFL fantasy has become quite big in Canada, as players are asked to select a team with a $40,000 salary cap. As an athlete, do you ever get an earful from fantasy owners on Twitter? And if so, how do you deal with it?
ND: You're always going to get those fans who think they know more than you about football, but at the end of the day, it's outside opinion, and stuff like that you just need to laugh it off or ignore it. There are certain players like Duron Carter who are gong to retaliate because he likes to speak his mind a bit, but for the most part you just have to let it be. I don't let those guys get to my head because they're a fan of ours and the league.
JP: Let's turn our attention to the New Mosaic Stadium. Can you touch on what it's been like playing there this season?
ND: It’s a night and day change going from the ‘Old Mosaic’ to the ‘New Mosaic’. The stadium that we were playing in was probably a play away from falling down on us (laughs). It’s good to move into new digs. It’s state of the art, a world-class facility. I would probably rank it amongst NFL stadiums to be honest, that’s how nice and crazy it is in there. It’s really brought the team together as well. There’s film rooms, tubs, a therapy room, huge weight room, huge locker room, so I mean, if you have everything in one place, it makes the world a lot easier for us football players to do our work.
JP: What’s Nic Demski’s pre-game routine, from the time he wakes up until kickoff?
ND: Right after I wake up I’ll put on some music. I’ll be blasting either Migos, Future, 2 Chainz, something like that, Young Thug, anything that gets me going. I’ll usually eat chicken or pasta, nothing to special, and then get to the stadium and hop in the tub. Then I’ll blast some more music, put on some Migos and I’m ready to go.
JP: Superstitions are pretty common in sports. For whatever reason, certain athletes have to do things a certain way before they hit the playing surface. Do you have any yourself?
ND: I’m not the most superstitious guy, but there’s one thing I always do. I always put on my left sock before my right sock, and my left cleat before my right cleat. That’s just something that I’ve always done. Other than that, nothing really.
JP: It’s funny, because that same habit is common with hockey players when they put on their equipment. You used to play yourself, most notably for Winnipeg’s Oak Park High School’s Raiders. Do you still get a chance to play at all in Saskatchewan?
ND: Yeah, in the offseason I was out in Regina for two months, and Chris Getzlaf actually connected me with some guys that he knows, so I was playing a bit of recreational hockey with them. I played on another team with Getzlaf as well. It hasn’t left my blood yet, but I definitely don’t play as much as I used to.
JP: How does Getz compare to his brother Ryan?
ND: Chris has got some moves. He’s fast and has a good shot, but, you know, I’m not gonna put him in that category with Ryan just yet (laughs).
JP: But he’s obviously got some way better flow than him, because I’ve seen more hair on a peach than Ryan’s head (laughs).
ND: (Laughs) Chris definitely has a little bit more hair than him.
JP: Do you follow the Winnipeg Jets at all?
ND: I do a little bit. With the limited time that I have during football season, It’s kind of tough. During the offseason when I’m back in Winnipeg I’ll go to a couple of games and I’ll follow them a little bit more.
JP: Winnipeg and Regina are two of the colder places in Canada come November time. Which city has a more dreadful cold?
ND: They’re both dreadful, but I give Regina the go-ahead against Winnipeg in November. It’s a different type of cold out here. It’s more dry, and I just don’t like the type of cold (laughs).
JP: You’ve been in the league for a couple of years, and are apart of a very high-octane offence consisting of some great receivers. How do you plan on taking your game to the next level when you return from your injury (broken foot)?
ND: Something I’ve always taken pride in is that I’m a dangerous man when the ball is in my hands. That’s something that I’m always going to take pride in and always want to offer to teams. But to take my game to the next level, I need to be a consistent receiver. That’s something every receiver wants to do, just going out there everyday and catching every ball that comes to them. Something I take pride in is catching the ball every time it comes to me, and that’s something that I need to do in order to be a great receiver.
JP: Can you go BarDown?
ND: I always go BarDown.
