Ryan Hunter is enjoying a great week on and off the football field

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Ryan Hunter just had a week that any football player in this country would dream of having.

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The North Bay native was named the best offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League and Hunter’s Toronto Argonauts won their second Grey Cup as the blew a close game wide open in the fourth quarter beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 41-24 on Sunday in Vancouver.

When the Nugget spoke to Hunter on Tuesday he was getting ready to go the team’s celebratory party at Maple Leaf Square in Toronto.

Hunter says it was especially sweet to win as the Argos were big underdogs to another North Bay native Mike O’Shea and his Blue Bombers.

“We went into the game with nothing to lose, at the start of the week we were something like 14 point underdogs (actually 10 on Monday and 8.5 points by game day) so we were told that we didn’t have a chance to win,” says Hunter.  Winnipeg was playing their 5th straight Grey Cup they and needed that win to cement their legacy as a dynasty. We felt there was more pressure on them.”

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Another thing working against the Argonauts, at least in the eyes of the so-called experts, was the fact they had to use their backup quarterback. Well that worked out pretty well for Toronto.

Nick Arbuckle was the game’s most valuable player. Arbuckle was pressed into service after starting quarterback Chad Kelly suffered a gruesome leg injury versus Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final.

“We were thought to have no chance when we knew that Nick was going to be going in, so there (again) wasn’t as much pressure on us,” says Hunter.

Ryan Desbiens is the head coach of the Algonquin Barons junior and senior teams.  Desbiens has been doing that for years and coached Hunter for two years more than a decade ago. Desbiens says Hunter’s story shows everyone that hard work pays off.

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“Most people only see a person’s success because that’s what is on the surface. That success is the product of years of arduous work, dedication and sacrifice.  There is no one that I know that has worked as hard as Ryan for what he has earned,” says Desbiens. It is simply awesome to see it payoff and it is a lesson to young players to show them what is possible if you are willing to pay the price for success,” says the coach who worked with Hunter in grades 9 and 10 at Algonquin.

Hunter had found memories of the start of his football career and playing for Desbiens.

“It was really like the first time that I got to play full (team) 11 on 11 of 12 on 12 football.   This came after playing with the (North Bay) Bulldogs,” says Hunter adding that Desbiens’ tough love helped him grow as a player. “He was a no-nonsense coach, but very relatable. He was super hard on us, but also when we did well, he praised us. He showed us respect when we showed him respect and Ryan (Desbiens) was fair.”

Desbiens love of the game was catching.

“He helped grow my passion and made want me to be better, he pushed me to start training in the offseason. That training help me jump (in skill) from grade 9 to grade 10.  That’s because (coach Desbiens) stressed that I needed to work out,” says the CFL’s top offensive lineman.

Hunter now gets some time to spend with his growing family as he became a father in September.

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