New dad Nic Demski in his chat with the media on Friday in Edmonton; photos by Cameron Bartlett
EDMONTON — Nic Demski stepped in front of a small group of reporters at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hotel here in the Alberta capital Friday afternoon and the wattage from his smile could have powered downtown Edmonton for hours.
Little wonder, as the veteran Blue Bombers receiver and his partner Vanessa — along with two-year-old Raia — welcomed Cade to the world on Wednesday, with the newest member of the Demski family weighing in at a healthy eight pounds, eight ounces.
Demski’s arrival in Edmonton to be with his teammates for today’s matchup with the Elks was touch and go for most of the week, with the first depth chart released on Friday featuring a ‘GTD’ — game-time decision — before a second was issued not long before the team’s plane was wheel’s up and westward bound.
“It’s been a roller-coaster but I’m here and I’m ready to go,” began Demski in his media session. “This week was a whirlwind. A lot happened… we were in and out of the hospital. It was nice because (Vanessa) got to spend the first part of it at home in comfort and then Wednesday was a long day but it’s a blessing, so we’re happy.
“Everybody’s healthy. Everybody’s happy. No complaints.”
That’s massive news on a couple of fronts — first, for the Demski fam and, second, for the Blue Bombers fam as the veteran pass catcher has been the team’s most dangerous and consistent receiving threat all season. Demski is just four yards shy of posting his third consecutive 1,000-yard season, and his 66 receptions for 996 yards leads the club in both categories and are just shy of the career bests he posted last year of 76 catches for 1,030 yards.
Credit Demski for this: in a stressful week he’s still been dialled in both at home and at work.
“The coaches were awesome about it,” he said. “They didn’t put any pressure — the whole organization didn’t put any pressure — and made sure I had the resources there so I was watching film and staying engaged with all the plays and all the scouting while I could.
“I’m just a guy that stays engaged. Even when I’m away from the stadium I’m still watching film most of the time. I didn’t treat it any different. I always would ask for permission — ‘Hey, could I dip in here?’ and if she’d give me the green light, I’d do it. Honestly, it was good. She was super-supportive of what I do. The respect is mutual.”
Demski’s daughter Raia was born in July of 2023 not long after the Blue Bombers had knocked off the Alouettes in Montreal. He was a GTD for that game, too, but babies don’t always arrive on their parents planned schedules.
“It was a long one,” said Demski of Raia’s birth. “Zach (Collaros) and I were talking about it on the way here. The process started in the morning before the Montreal game and they went out played the game, came home and we still hadn’t had the baby. But everything happens for a reason. My two-year-old is happy and thriving. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
And the early scouting report on Cade?
“I think looks like an athlete, but that’s just me,” Demski said with a chuckle. “His hands and feet are big so hopefully he can put them to good use. We’ll see.”
ICYMI, here is our Game Preview from yesterday:
And follow along here as we present a collection of notes/quotes/anecdotes to help get Blue Bombers fans up to speed for today’s matchup with the Elks in this week’s GAME DAY HQ…
B-I-I-I-G NUMBERS
Zach Collaros is the last guy in Bomberland who will step up on a soap box, thump his chest and spend even a nanosecond boasting of his accomplishments.
So, we’ll do it for him.
We mentioned in our Game Preview that the Blue Bombers have won 13 straight games against Edmonton dating back to 2019 and, not surprisingly, the fingerprints of the club’s QB1 are all over those wins. In fact, Collaros was the starting QB in 10 of those 13 wins and three of his last four games against the Elks have been among his best. He was 25-of-30 for 334 yards with three TDs and no picks in the win over Edmonton earlier this year, was 21-of-26 for 432 yards and whopping six touchdowns in a victory last September and was 20-of-24 for 308 yards with two scores and a pick in one of two victories in 2023.
“They’re very talented in the back end and they do a great job with their front four of getting a push up front and rushing the passer,” said Collaros when asked about the Elks defence. “We’re all pros, so I expect a great effort. They have a lot of great effort guys. We can’t really be too worried about what they’re going to be motivated by (an Edmonton loss would eliminate them from the playoffs). We have to go out there and execute our game plan. We feel like we have a good plan and if we go out there and execute, we have a good chance.”
PARKER, JR. GETS THE CALL
Just one lineup change for the Blue Bombers this week with cornerback Jamal Parker, Jr. replacing Demerio Houston, who missed the first couple of days of practice this week after dealing with a family emergency during the bye week.
Head coach Mike O’Shea on that move: “Demerio ended up missing a few days and this just made more sense.”
Parker, Jr. will slide in beside halfback Evan Holm after starting the first six games at safety. This will also be his third start this season at corner in a testament to his versatility.
“We’ve got a lot of smart guys back there and Park is certainly one of them,” said O’Shea of the secondary. “Holmie, Deatrick (Nichols), Redha (Kramdi)… those guys are all highly intelligent, high football IQ guys.
“You could put me in with those guys — as long as you didn’t ask me to move — and they would put me in the right spot. They would tell me where to go and where to stand… and probably tell me not to move.”
NOTABLE
- The Blue Bombers are just 3-5 (.375 winning percentage) versus their West Division rivals in 2025. That compares to a 35-7 (.833 mark) across the 2021 to 2024 seasons. Winnipeg has this one and next week’s game against Saskatchewan left against the West before hosting Montreal in the regular-season finale.
- Brady Oliveira ranks fourth in rushing with 971 yards needing 29 more for his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season. In doing so, he would become only the second Canadian in CFL history to rush for 1,000+ yards in four consecutive seasons after Normie Kwong did it from 1955-1958.
- From the CFL stats dept.: in the win over Hamilton Winnipeg recorded the fewest possessions in any game since the CFL began compiling this data back in 2006. They had the ball only seven times scoring a TD or Field Goal on six of them. Meanwhile, the defence limited Hamilton to just three points on their nine drives.
ICYMI
Links from earlier this week:
–48-Hr Primer — Brady Oliveira and Nic Demski chasing third consecutive 1K seasons together.
–Willie Jefferson on the Blue Bombers defence — “This is the time of year when you really have to bite down on that mouthpiece.”
–Dillon Mitchell on scoring his first TD as a Blue Bomber and returning to Winnipeg — “I felt like I could feel all the energy, especially from the fans.”
–Need to Know — The vibes from the Blue Bombers return to practice on Monday.
