Music: {allcanada} CFL West Division training camp preview

With training camps set to begin this Sunday in the 2012 Canadian Football League, Sportsnet.ca continues its previews, this time with the West Divisions. Come the start of the regular season on July 1, Sportsnet.ca will provide another look with predictions about the teams, players and Grey Cup winner.

B.C. LIONS

REGULAR SEASON RECORD LAST YEAR: 11-7, First in East

PLAYOFF FINISH: Won the Grey Cup

GENERAL MANAGER: Wally Buono

HEAD COACH: Mike Benevides

PROJECTED STARTING QUARTERBACK: Travis Lulay

WHO'S NEW: DB Lin-J Shell, CB Byron Parker, DB Sam Pope, RB Stu Foord, DL Jabar Westerman, DL Maurice Evans, RB Taylor Atwood, RB Nic Grigsby, RB Anthony Stewart, LB Beau Bell, DB Gerard Lawson, QB Thomas DeMarco

WHO'S GONE: LB Solomon Elimimian, DT Aaron Hunt, QB Jarious Jackson, DE Brent Johnson, CB Davis Sanchez, RB Jamal Robertson

THE SKINNY: Mike Benevides inherits the coaching reins from veteran Wally Buono, who capped off his coaching career with a Grey Cup win. Benevides has been around the organization forever and has Buono there as a mentor.

Training camp will be big for Benevides and his staff, some of whom are inherited from Buono's group. Rich Stubler comes over from Edmonton to become defensive co-ordinator, which Benevides has abdicated. This team doesn't require a lot of tinkering, but finding a replacement for middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who has gone to the NFL, will be tough; The guy was a stud. But the Lions have lost guys before and have managed quite well.

With Lulay, the team has the best young pivot in the league, and maybe the best overall, and the supporting cast there is reason to see this team repeating as Cup winners.

Camp and pre-season will be about finding a new defensive tackle to replace Aaron Hunt, who signed in Montreal, and rush end Brent Johnson, a future Hall of Famer. The team also needs a new fullback. Lin-J Shell comes over from Toronto and should inherit an opening at defensive back.

Byron Parker also moves over from Toronto, and it will be interesting to see whom he replaces. Then again, he is versatile and can play the corner or safety. He may supplant Stanley Franks, who is coming off a horrific injury.

While Canadian Andrew Harris will start at running back, there will be plenty of competition for the backup import spot. With Jarious Jackson gone to Toronto, there will be competition for the backup quarterback spot.

EDMONTON ESKIMOS

REGULAR SEASON RECORD LAST YEAR: 11-7, Second in West

PLAYOFF FINISH: Lost in semi-finals

GENERAL MANAGER: Eric Tillman

HEAD COACH: Kavis Reed

PROJECTED STARTING QUARTERBACK: Steven Jyles

WHO'S NEW: QB Steven Jyles, QB Jeremiah Masoli, QB Brandon Summers, OL Simeon Rottier, DE Rashad Jeanty, P/K Grant Shaw, WE Greg Carr, P Burke Dales, LB Derek Domino, OL Mitch Erickson, WR Yamon Figurs, DL Steven Friday, OL Joe Gibbs, RB Cory Ross, WR Syndric Steptoe, LB Eric Gordon, RB Brett Haenni, LB Merrill Johnson, LB Simoni Lawrence, WR Montez Billings, FB Reed Anderson, CB Joe Burnett, DB Ricardo Colclough, LB Harry Coleman,

WHO'S GONE: QB Ricky Ray, WR Jason Barnes, OL Patrick Kabongo, KR Jason Armstead, RB Jerome Messam, LB Rod Davis, DE Greg Peach, WR Andrew Nowacki, OT Chris Patrick, PK Damon Duval, CB Jykine Bradley

THE SKINNY: First off, is there any general manager better than Eric Tillman at finding players with obscure names? Syndric Steptoe? Yamon Figurs? Derek Domino? Simoni Lawrence?

Tillman's major move in the off-season saw Ricky Ray traded to Argos in a multi-player deal with Steven Jyles coming over in return. Jyles will battle veteran Kerry Joseph, who is well past his prime but still competitive. But this will be a situation that will be watched throughout the year. The Eskimos have also loaded up on some new quarterback prospects.

Losing power running back Jerome Messam is huge. He was a load when healthy. That means the Eskimos will likely go with an import running back to start, the most obvious one being veteran Hugh Charles, although there will be plenty of competition at camp. Canadian Calvin McCarty can also handle the job in certain situations when healthy.

With Jason Barnes gone to Toronto and Andrew Nowacki released, two receiver spots are open. The Eskimos have compiled some young Canadian receivers and will likely give Nate Coehoorne a shot to replace Nowacki.

Changes will likely be in the back end, notably at one of the corner spots.

Signing free agent punter Burke Dales from Calgary will provide some stability, along with punter/kicker Grant Shaw, acquired from Toronto in the Ray deal. The Eskimos clearly need more consistent place kicking, which was a huge issue last year.

CALGARY STAMPEDERS

REGULAR SEASON RECORD LAST YEAR: 11-7 Third in West

PLAYOFF FINISH: Lost in division semi-final

GENERAL MANAGER/HEAD COACH: John Hufnagel

PROJECTED STARTING QUARTERBACK: Drew Tate

WHO'S NEW: QB Kevin Glenn, QB Bo Levi Mitchell, WR Chris Bauman, LB Joe Lobendahn, DL Ameet Pall, RB Matt Walter RB Bryson Tucker, DB Jason Teague, P Scott Crough, DB Antareis Bryan, LB Marvin White, OL Mike Filer, OL Na'Shan Goddard, R Joe West, DL Jordan Spence, FL Renard Williams, LB Deron Mayo, DL Cody Brown, R Curtis Walls, DL Chase Vaughn, DL K.C. Asiodu.

WHO'S GONE: QB Henry Burris, RB Joffrey Reynolds, P Burke Dales, DB Brandon Isaac.

THE SKINNY: It's a new era in Calgary with Drew Tate listed as the starter following the trade of Henry Burris to Hamilton.

Additionally, LaMarcus Coker inherits the full-time import running back spot after the release of veteran Joffrey Reynolds. That said, Canadian Jon Cornish is the starter and might be one of those players to consider if you're doing a fantasy draft or thinking who might be the Most Outstanding Canadian in the league.

Defensive lineman Ameet Pall, one of the Stamps' prize 2012 draft picks, will likely be inserted slowly into the rotation.

It will be interesting to see if the Stamps stay with their veteran receiving corps, which was once the best in the league but has incurred injury issues and is getting older. It wouldn't be surprising if training camp and pre-season are used to identify some new, young talent.

With the decision not to re-sign veteran punter Burke Dales, there will be competition. Rob Maver, an excellent kicker in his rookie season but injured early last year, is listed on the depth chart along with Scott Crough, who had several unsuccessful tryouts in the NFL and has experience in some obscure leagues.

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

REGULAR SEASON RECORD LAST YEAR: 5-13 Last in West

PLAYOFF FINISH: Did not qualify

GENERAL MANAGER: Brendan Taman

HEAD COACH: Corey Chamblin

PROJECTED STARTING QUARTERBACK: Darian Durant

WHO'S NEW: OL Ben Heenan, G Brendan LaBatte, C Dominic Picard, DE Odell Willis, CB Paul Woldu, QB Colt Brennan, QB Levi Brown, QB Asher Hastings, QB Drew Willy, QB T.J. O'Sullivan, RB Cory Sheets, RB DeShawn Wynn, LB Daniel Sheffield, WR Taj Smith, WR Dwayne Jarrett, WR Sinorice Moss, OL Johan Asiata, WR Ismael Bamba, PK Chris Bodnar, WR Jason Chery, OL Dan Clark, WR Clayton Cooke, RB Demetrius Crawford, DL Chris Ellis, LB Chris Francis, OL Xavier Fulton, DE Curtis Gatewood, WR Justin Harper, DB Macho Harris, LB Samuel Hurl, DB Talmadge Jackson, WR Dwayne Jarrett, DB Jalil Johnson, LB Abraham Kromah, OL Nerraw McCormack, LB Kevin Regimbald-Gagne, DT Boo Robinson, DB T.J. Rushing, WR Jock Sanders, LB Daren Stone, DE David Veikune, LB Jamar Williams, DL Mick Williams

WHO'S GONE: QB Ryan Dinwiddie, QB Cole Bergquist, LT Alexandre Gauthier, C Marc Parenteau, RB Stu Foord, DT Dario Romero, LB Barrin Simpson, LB Sean Lucas, LB Jerrell Freeman, RB Wes Cates, OL Gene Makowsky, SB Andy Fantuz, SB Jason Clermont

THE SKINNY: Where to start? The quarterbacking has basically been overhauled, with only starter Darian Durant coming back.

Five new quarterbacks will begin training camp, which will keep quarterbacks coach Khari Jones, who comes over from Hamilton, busy teaching on the fly. If Durant has another off year, who will be the backup and third-stringer?

Not sure why the Riders didn't sign a pivot with CFL experience as a backup, if only to provide Durant with competition from the get-go in training camp. It's always playing Russian roulette to bring in quarterbacks with little to no CFL experience.

The offensive line has been rebuilt with sometime big time additions, including 2012 first overall pick Ben Heenan, guard Brendan LaBatte and centre Dominic Picard, both of whom were picked up in free agency. Veteran Gene Makowsky is gone after 19 years. The left tackle spot is open for grabs.

With veteran receivers Andy Fantuz (signed away as a free agent) and Jason Clermont (retired) gone, competition will be keen for the non-import vacancy and backup.

Rob Bagg lost a season through injury, but he'll obviously get a chance to reclaim his spot. Jordan Sisco may be ready to be a starter, too. With the emphasis on signing Canadian free agents, the Riders may look to change the ratio of their receiving corps with more imports.

Rookie head coach Corey Chamblin will likely have some input on the defensive side of the ball, even though Richie Hall is the co-ordinator.

Frankly, the Riders did well to weed out some veterans who were getting old and slow, which will allow for healthy competition.

The loss of stud linebacker Jerrell Freeman to the NFL is huge. He might be good enough to play down south for a long time. At least there appears to be some hope at the defensive end spots with incumbents Tearrius and Kenny (Death) Rowe. If Brent Hawkins can somehow stay healthy, he is a major plus. Rush end Odell Willis comes over from Winnipeg in a trade, but he has to play with more consistency.