You don’t reach five consecutive Grey Cups without people like Ted Goveia.
The faces of a franchise, such as quarterback and head coach, are usually the ones showered in praise when the wins are piling up, but consistent success isn’t possible without those who work tirelessly to find the hidden gems who could be the final piece to a championship calibre roster.
For a decade in Winnipeg, that was Goveia’s duty — and he did it extremely well. The Burlington, Ont., product held down the assistant general manager and director of player personnel gig from 2014-24 until his hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cats hired him in December to make him their GM.
THE CANADIAN PRESS / CFL
Hamilton Tiger-Cats general manager Ted Goveia.
“He was a pillar in the organization that helped us get to where we wanted to get to,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea after Wednesday’s closed practice.
“I’d turn on the tape to watch U Sports players and invariably I’d see Ted on the sideline walking up and down. And that always made me feel good that when he gave us information, there was always going to be a nugget that somebody else didn’t have because he was going to be right there within earshot when a guy made a play or didn’t make a play and he was going to hear the conversation that the kid had with his coach or teammates.
“There’s still Ted’s fingerprints all over our roster.”
The Bombers (6-6) will reunite with Goveia in Hamilton on Friday night (6 p.m. CT kickoff) to take on the Tigers-Cats (7-5). The Tabbies have labelled it the “Team Ted Game” as they’re planning to celebrate his five decades of contributions to Canadian football, while also showing support for Goveia who was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer in the spring.
The Ticats, as well as others across the league, have been sporting “Team Ted” shirts all season.
“You wish you’d never have to have a game like this but it’s a great tribute,” said O’Shea.
“Ted means a lot to Canadian football. He’s donated time, money and effort to things we don’t even know to make sure Canadian kids have opportunities. Ted’s always been wired that way, and it didn’t matter what level… He takes his job so seriously and understands that getting kids opportunities and opening doors for kids that might’ve been closed is pretty powerful.”
Goveia opened one of those doors for centre Chris Kolankowski. The offensive lineman’s career was hanging on by a thread when the Toronto Argonauts released him prior to training camp in 2019. It got to a point where those close to him advised that it might be time to hang up the pads as there wasn’t a single team that had reached out to obtain his services. Months went by until Kolankowski got a call from Goveia urging him to drive down to Cincinnati from his home in Etobicoke, Ont., to show the Bombers what he could do at a free agent camp.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Kolankowski made 15 starts for an injured Michael Couture in 2022 before becoming the Blue and Gold’s full-time starter in 2023.
“He won’t take the credit, but Ted means a lot to me. I might get emotional thinking about it,” admitted Kolankowski.
“That connection we had with him saying, “Hey, you should come to this workout’ is pretty much the only reason why I’m here. I was a sixth man, a PR (practice roster) guy in Toronto. I started in Winnipeg as a PR guy, but it was an opportunity to keep working. But honestly at that moment, I didn’t think I’d still be playing at 33. I was hoping to get a little more time in the league, but the way its gone has been amazing and Ted’s the one that gave me that opportunity. My career might’ve been dead in the water if it wasn’t for that.”
There are others in the locker room with similar stories.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS files
Blue Bombers centre Chris Kolankowski credits Ticats’ GM Ted Goveia with reviving his career after Kolankowski was released by the Toronto Argonauts.
“There’s a lot of guys on this team that have the same feeling that I have,” said Kolankowski.
“Me and another player the other day I was like ‘Oh, are you a Ted guy?’ And he was like ‘Yeah, I was a Ted guy.’”
Goveia wasted no time bringing some of his guys to Hamilton with him. The Ticats feature 15 former Bombers on the roster, with notable names such as receivers Kenny Lawler and Drew Wolitarsky, offensive lineman Liam Dobson, running back Johnny Augustine, defensive lineman Miles Fox, and linebacker Brian Cole II being among those who signed this past off-season.
“We’ve got a lot of ex-teammates over there, so it’ll be a cool moment before the game. But once the ball is snapped, all that goes away,” said Kolankowski.
“But in pregame, post-game, whenever it happens, I hope I get a chance to shake Ted’s hand and give him a hug. It’s nice to go back there, that’s been something in the back of our mind to go see Ted.”
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
COLLAROS UPDATE
Quarterback Zach Collaros (head) is officially ruled out for Friday night. Chris Streveler will start for the Bombers.
O’Shea was asked if Collaros — who was in the locker room with teammates and working out in the weight room on Wednesday — will play again this season.
“Yeah, I would assume so,” was O’Shea’s response.
taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca
Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
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