Since John Hufnagel’s return to the Stampeders in 2008, the Red and White have held an off-season free-agent camp in the U.S.

Although other CFL clubs have veterans at their mini-camps, the Stamps’ session in Bradenton, Florida – which was run over two days this past Sunday and Monday – is a low-key affair populated almost exclusively by free agents with zero experience north of the border.

For some teams, the off-season camp provides an opportunity for players and coaches to become acquainted with each other. But the Stamps are in a different position. With their entire coaching staff from 2016 returning, not to mention a couple dozen players who made starts for Calgary a year ago and virtually all of the key members of the special-teams units, the Stamps are instead focusing on identifying newcomers worthy of an invite to main camp later this month.

“When we started doing our camps in 2008, the other kind of camp (with veteran players) didn’t even exist in the CFL,” says Hufnagel. “If they did, we probably would have done it that way, too. But the camp started as just a way for us to find new players and because we’ve had continuity with our coaches and returning players over the years, we’ve just kept doing it that way.”

While the occasional player with CFL experience shows up – such as return man Roy Finch, who had played briefly for Ottawa prior to attending the Stamps’ 2016 free-agent camp – most of the attendees are diamonds in the rough and talented but undiscovered players just looking for an opportunity.

“It’s incredibly valuable,” Stamps director of Canadian scouting Brendan Mahoney says of the free-agent camp. “It gives you an idea of where these players are at physically, but also how quickly they can pick up things scheme-wise in a short period of time.

“You also see some leadership qualities and you get to sit down and talk to the various players. For us, it’s very valuable, but at the same time, it’s also very valuable for the player to give them a leg up coming into training camp.”

While they’re virtual unknowns in Canada heading into the Stamps’ free-agent camp, some of the campers emerge into big-time performers. Charleston Hughes, Brandon Smith and Deron Mayo, just to name a few, are some of the current Calgary mainstays who came to the Stamps via the Florida camp.

Then there’s Finch, who was at the Florida camp in 2016 after a one-year absence from the CFL and eventually became a record-breaking returner in his first season with the Stamps.

The free-agent camp is the culmination of a months-long talent search that sees the Stamps stage open tryouts across the U.S. The best performers from those tryouts get invited to Florida which in turn potentially leads to an invitation to main training camp.

That’s when the real work begins – two-a-days, competition against the returning vets and pre-season games in the hopes of earning a roster spot or at least a place on the practice roster.