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It may still reach a point where Emmanuel Arceneaux will be pontificating on his Twitter account one day in his rocking chair, and the only memorable moment of his career is the last game he played for the B.C. Lions. It would never define him as a person, he said, but he was also determined not to make his highlight-reel catch near the end of the Lions’ 2010 road playoff loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders his only noteworthy achievement, either.

An hour before the Lions’ entourage arrives, the parking lot at Rainier Beach High School is almost completely full, including five cabs and one towncar full of players, and none of them are prepared for what Neil McEvoy is thinking. “I have two spots open,” he says, thinking about the current composition of the club’s training camp roster.

The push and pull of contract negotiations between agents and management have been ongoing longer than the team has been around, so it was perfectly natural starting the B.C. Lions’ 60th season that Wally Buono would acknowledge of the protracted talks involving Kirby Fabien will go on even longer. No longer is a desire to play another season at the University of Calgary keeping the CFL team from claiming one of its 2012 first-round picks from the Canadian college draft. Neither is the 22-year-old offensive lineman’s tryout with the NFL’s New York Giants last week, as he didn’t get invited to continue.

There has always been an optimistic tone at the practice facility of the B.C. Lions this winter regarding the health of Jon Hameister-Ries, primarily due to the sight of the giant offensive lineman working out to extend his career. The cheering was led by Wally Buono, who tried to sound convincing when he said that despite six procedures on his right knee and off-season back surgery to repair a herniated disc, Hameister-Ries would be ready for training camp.

The exchanges are brief, as required in the world of text messaging which Wally Buono has recently discovered, but they are descriptive enough for the general manager of the B.C. Lions to think he might have a shot yet with Emmanuel Arceneaux. “We go back and forth. We talk more like coach/player,” Buono said. “I give him thoughts. I tried to pick him up (emotionally) a couple of times when he got released. Most of the time he initiates the talk. I always say ‘you know we’re here’.”

It was a case of taking a player who might be available next year or one of a handful who might not be available until even later, so the B.C. Lions went off the pre-draft consensus and took redshirt junior Hunter Steward with their first pick of the CFL Canadian college draft.

The lingering mainstream problem with the CFL Canadian college draft can be identified in the name of Jay Prepchuk’s skill development camps. Three decades ago, the football coach at Handsworth secondary started a quarterback camp which has spread across B.C. and Alberta, but to address a trend, it later became the Prepchuk quarterback and receiver camp.

TORONTO — The CFL has expanded its annual draft from six to seven rounds.

TORONTO — The CFL has expanded its annual draft from six to seven rounds.

There may not be a press conference this time until there’s a signed contract, but chances are much better that Kirby Fabien will wear the uniform set aside by the B.C. Lions just under a year ago. Funny how things change when the reality of the NFL draft plays out.