The Canadian Football League and global scouting coordinator Lawrence Hopper continue their search for international talent as the CFL looks to continue to build its global program with new talent in 2023.
Earlier this month, Hopper and combine officials arrived at Uusimaa Areena in Porvoo, Finland to test eight athletes from Denmark, Serbia, Sweden, and Norway. These prospects hope to earn an invite to the CFL combine later this year in Edmonton on March 21-25, 2023. So far ten global players have already been invited, with approximately 10 more international spots available.
The CFL will hold another global combine in the United Kingdom in late February, which will feature another round of several players from around Europe.
Some of the standouts from the combine in Finland were two Serbian veterans on the European football scene as edge defender Dusan Novakovic and defensive back Goran Zec were the two top athletes when it came to testing.
Novakovic, a 6’3 pass rusher who has played for top European teams like the Wroclaw Panthers and Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns ran an impressive 4.71 40-yard dash and had 25 reps on the bench press, to go along with a 9’7 broad jump. The pass rusher spent part of last year training in the USA as part of All 22’s global combine training program with AIA, before joining the ELF in July.
Our friends of the @AIAFootball informed the top 3 performers on the bench press on the AIA Pro Day Showcase 2022: Dusan Novakovic, Tanner Galliart, and Anthony DiDonato pic.twitter.com/POB7XmVcof
— All 22 – The Global Scouting Network (@All22Global) April 18, 2022
The other Serbian talent, Goran Zec ran the fastest 40-yard dash at 4.58 and had the top vertical jump at 35 inches. Zec also brings perhaps the strongest on-field resume to the table, as he was top performer in the ELF last season for the Wroclaw Panthers as he amassed 88 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, eight pass break-ups and a league-leading six interceptions.
Zec and Novakovic at the CFL Combine in Finland – via SAAF
Swedish national team receiver and recent Barcelona Dragons signee Theodor Landstrom also had a strong performance running a 4.46 shuttle and claiming the top broad jump at 9’10. Berlin Thunder linebacker and fellow Swede Ludvig Myren also ran a strong 40-yard dash at 4.71. and had the top shuttle at 4.26.
Here are the complete testing results (via SAJL)
The results of the Porvoo combine
Players Measurements
| # | Name | NAT | POS | HT | WT | HAND | ARM | WING |
| 62 | OLAVUO, Aleksi | FIN | DL | 187 cm | 282.6 lbs | 9 inc | 76 cm | 189 cm |
| 87 | NOVAKOVIC, Dusan | SRB | DL | 190 cm | 228.8 lbs | 10.2 in | 82 cm | 192 cm |
| 4 | ZEC, Goran | SRB | DB | 179 cm | 192.2 lbs | 9.4 in | 83 cm | 186 cm |
| 71 | LANDSTROM, Theodor | SWE | WR | 193 cm | 211.6 lbs | 8.6 in | 83 cm | 190 cm |
| 19 | MYREN, Ludvig | SWE | LB | 184 cm | 208.4 lbs | 9.4 in | 77 cm | 182 cm |
| 18 | JOHNSEN, Jesper | NOR | QB | 193 cm | 226 lbs | 8.7 in | 81 cm | 196 cm |
| 38 | NILSEN, Rune | NOR | RB | 176 cm | 219 lbs | 7.4 in | 74 cm | 172 cm |
| 5 | KONATE, Michel | DEN | RB | 182 cm | 214.8 lbs | 9.7 in | 86 cm | 196 cm |
Athletic Performances
| # | Name | NAT | POS | Vertical jump | Broad junp | BENCH | 40y | Shuttle left | Shuttle rights | 3-CONE |
| 62 | OLAVUO, Aleksi | FIN | DL | 64 cm | 7ft 10.5in | 19 | 5.56 | 4.97 | 4.96 | 8,19 |
| 87 | NOVAKOVIC, Dusan | SRB | DL | 81 cm | 9ft 7in | 25 | 4.71 | 4.58 | 4.50 | 7.13 |
| 4 | ZEC, Goran | SRB | DB | 87 cm | 9ft 3in | 12 | 4.58 | 4.35 | 4.40 | 7.03 |
| 71 | LANDSTROM, Theodor | SWE | WR | 80 cm | 9ft 10in | 4 | 4.83 | 4.46 | 4.58 | 7.28 |
| 19 | MYREN, Ludvig | SWE | LB | 82 cm | 9ft 1.5in | DNP | 4.71 | 4.26 | 4.19 | 6.87 |
| 18 | JOHNSEN, Jesper | NOR | QB | 75 cm | 8ft 6.5in | 13 | 4.91 | 4.87 | 4.76 | 7.57 |
| 38 | NILSEN, Rune | NOR | RB | 74 cm | 8ft 8in | 19 | 4.96 | 4.66 | 4.75 | 7.53 |
| 5 | KONATE, Michel | DEN | RB | 84 cm | 9ft 5in | 15 | 4.82 | 4.59 | 4.56 | 7.50 |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33JgGQBArMc