Roman Grozman was thankful to have been drafted by the Stampeders with the 33rd overall pick in Tuesday’s CFL Draft. But that’s not all he’s grateful for.

Spending the first 10 years of his life in Netanya, Israel, Grozman lived through circumstances few will ever relate to. Faced with constant violence and ongoing fear, he never takes for granted the opportunity he was given to pursue a better life in Canada.

“It was a war when I grew up in Israel so it was kind of difficult times always hearing the sirens and this and that,” Grozman explained. “Once I moved to Canada, I kind of got an outside look at the war and I think a reason why I’m good at football is because living in Israel, I was always in danger all the time. I think living there helped me with playing football and being aggressive and once I get my hands on someone, I want to put them on the ground. That’s just my mentality and I feel like that came from my upbringing in Israel.”

While the transition was tough, Grozman overcame the adversity. Moving to a new country at the age of 10, he had much more important things on his mind than football, a sport he didn’t begin playing until Grade 9.

“It took me a while – probably four or five years,” offered Calgary’s fourth-round selection. “When I came, I didn’t speak a word of English. In Israel we learned English, but I wasn’t able to speak it – I knew a few words here and there but I was never able to speak the language. When I came to Canada, it was just a different culture and it was very eye-opening when I came here.”

Now looking forward to pursuing his passion at the professional level, Grozman will likely lean on a pair of former teammates with whom he will soon be reunited.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” the former Concordia offensive lineman declared about joining the Stamps. “I’m very, very happy that I got drafted to the Stampeders. (There are) a couple players (there) that I’ve played with – one of my best friends, Quinn Smith, called me and told me how excited he was (that I was coming). And Max Caron as well is one of my very, very good friends as well and he played at Concordia.”

Feeling safe and secure while surrounded by loved ones on Tuesday night, the six-foot-four, 310-lb. tackle will never forget the moment he had long been waiting for.

“It was kind of surreal, honestly,” admitted the 2015 East West Bowl-invitee as a top prospect at the CIS level. “I got the phone call from the (Stampeders) offensive line coach, Pat DelMonaco, and I got very excited right away. We were watching it on the live stream on the computer and my parents just started screaming and yelling. My father, my mother, and my sister, we hugged each other and it was just a very, very happy moment.”