Cressona native Joey Zelinsky has signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.
The team made the signing official on Monday and Zelinsky, a 2020 Blue Mountain High School graduate, has been added to the Redblacks practice squad.
“I love the climb, let’s do it,” Zelinsky told Coal Region Canary in a recent text message.
After getting passed over in the NFL Draft this past Spring, Zelinsky spent time at minicamps for two NFL teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers. He’d moved to California until getting a call from Ottawa.
The Redblacks are struggling in the 2026 season, sitting at 0-14 with 4 games remaining on their schedule. On Saturday, Ottawa came up short, 45-31, against the Calgary Stampeders.
Earlier this year, prior to the NFL Draft, Coal Region Canary spoke with Zelinsky about his inspirational journey to reach that point in his football career, which led him from the field in Orwigsburg, to Eastern Michigan University, and eventually to the University of Pittsburgh.
Check out the link below to learn about this Schuylkill County native’s truly unique path to becoming a professional football player:
What’s a Redblack?
Ottawa’s unusual nickname has a rather simple explanation. The Redblacks franchise began playing in 2014 and was named to honor older Ottawa football teams that wore red and black.
The sawblade logo is meant to honor the Canadian capital’s logging industry.
Photo: Shared with permission from University of Pittsburgh Athletics
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