The CFL Draft was held Tuesday night, and to mark the occasion, the Saskatchewan Roughriders held a draft night that saw hundreds of die-hard fans attend.

The night saw the Harvard Media Sportscage broadcast live from the CKRM lounge in Mosaic Stadium, featuring Jeremy O’Day and Darian Durant. Once the draft began, prizes were handed out, and fans had a chance to meet some of the Riders’ players.

Dave Thomas, the play-by-play announcer for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, said the event felt more like a family reunion than a draft party.

“Rider Nation is a family, so it’s like a big family reunion. Season ticket holders are saying hi to one another.”

“It’s just been a fantastic event,” Thomas added. “Fans are engaged. They can consume football and knowledge in more opportunities and ways than ever before, and we’re seeing evidence of that here where the fans are engaged and want to know what’s going on with their football team.”

Ryan and Brett LeBlonde attended the event and said it was something they hope to see the Riders do again.

“I think it was great. You get that atmosphere, and every Rider fan gets together and cheers on the pick, the future of the team. We got to take that NFL experience and try to do a little bit of that here,” Ryan said.

“Just another and different way to engage fans, something new, something different,” Brett added.

Overall, the fans 620 CKRM talked to were very excited about the Roughriders’ draft pick, offensive lineman Kyle Hergel, and hope to see him in the green and white soon.