The best Canadian men’s curlers from coast to coast are set to compete for the Tim Hortons Brier beginning Friday night in Lethbridge, Alta.
A total of 18 teams — 14 provincial and territorial association winners, three wild cards and the defending Brier champs — are set to compete for the right to represent Canada at next month’s world men’s curling championship in Las Vegas.
The format has changed slightly from last year. The field has been split into two pools for round-robin play as per usual, however, only the top three from each side make the cut for the championship round that then determines the final four teams for the page playoffs.
It’s identical to the format used at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last month and we can use the women’s championship as a barometer, with teams aiming for a 6-2 record or better to secure a place in the championship round while 5-3 should keep them in the mix for the final spots.
That’s the route to Vegas. Now who has a shot at hitting the high-stakes tables? Here’s a run through all the spicy storylines and teams to watch in Eight Ends:
First End: Brad Gushue’s team is a wild card in name only as they’re the odds-on favourite to win, at +140. Gushue would have entered provincial playdowns in Newfoundland and Labrador, and likely would have run the table, except his team was kind of busy last month at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Gushue had a solid run in the fall capturing a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s title at the Boost National plus winning the Olympic trials to earn the right to represent Canada once already this season. The only question mark is, how tired is the team after the Olympics? As Kevin Martin explained during a recent episode of the Inside Curling podcast, the Olympics can take a lot out of you, physically and mentally.
Gushue has won three of the previous five Brier tournaments and seeks a record-tying fourth Canadian men’s championship as a skip. That record is held by Ernie Richardson, Randy Ferbey, Kevin Martin and Kevin Koe (more on Koe in just a little bit).
No wild-card team has won the Brier since the concept was introduced in 2018 and Gushue looks to become the first.
Second End: Defending champion Brendan Bottcher (+600) is back in the Team Canada auto-berth spot but in case you’ve been living under a (curling) rock, we’ve got some drama to go over. Shortly after the Olympic trials in late November, Team Bottcher announced Darren Moulding was leaving due to “personal reasons,” which the former third later disputed. Moulding claimed he was cut, plain and simple. Alternate Pat Janssen has now slotted into third.
The good news for Team Bottcher is because they held the auto-berth, they didn’t have to play provincial playdowns. The bad news is they may have wanted to enter just to get some reps in as they haven’t played since the Olympic trials. That’s a long time without any competitive action and they could be ripe for an upset, especially if they need to work out any mechanics with Janssen newly minted at third.
Third End: Moulding also found his way back to the Brier linking up as the out-of-province import with New Brunswick’s James Grattan and winning their provincial playdowns. Grattan (+6600) makes his 14th appearance in the Brier and has won bronze medals in 1997 and 2002. Grattan had a strong start in last year’s Brier, picking up wins over the likes of Mike McEwen and Brad Jacobs, and will need some more stunners like that to advance. New Brunswick is in Pool A alongside … Bottcher. Oy, more curling drama.
Fourth End: While Gushue looks to tie the skip’s title record, Koe looks to do one better and take sole possession. Koe represents the home team Alberta and has favourable odds to win at +250. What’s remarkable is Koe has won all four of his previous titles with different vice skips. Although John Morris throws second stones, he holds the broom in the house when Koe delivers and they haven’t won the Brier together … yet? They came oh-so-close last year but lost to Bottcher in the final. Morris, a three-time Brier champion in his own right, is also coming off his third Olympic appearance competing for Canada in mixed doubles.
Fifth End: This could be the first time a wild-card team wins the Brier, but what if we weren’t talking about Gushue? Matt Dunstone and his Saskatchewan-based squad have earned bronze medals in the past two Brier tournaments. Dunstone is back at the Brier as Wild Card 2 after losing the provincial final to Colton Flasch. It’s been 42 years since a team from Saskatchewan has won the Brier and Dunstone has come closer to ending the drought than anyone in recent years. Dunstone (+850) also offers up enticing enough odds.
Sixth End: Brad Jacobs and his Northern Ontario team (+285) were on a roll pre-pandemic, winning three consecutive Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s titles, and looked like they returned to form in the fall, finishing runners-up to Gushue in the Olympic trials. They had a bit of a scare in playdowns, needing to rallying to win the final in an extra end. However, Marc Kennedy was away at the Winter Olympics as the alternate for Gushue, E.J. Harnden moved up to third and Jordan Chandler subbed at second. Overall, Jacobs has reached the final in six of seven tournaments this season, with one tour title victory in addition to the Northern Ontario championship. Like with the Olympic trials final, we could see another “Battle of the Brads” for the Brier.
Seventh End: Manitoba’s Mike McEwen (+1100) will be without lead Colin Hodgson due to a positive COVID-19 test and to recover from a nagging lower-body injury. Mixed doubles extraordinaire Colton Lott fills in at lead with Kyle Doering also available off the bench as an alternate. Team McEwen have had their ups and downs over the past four years together and not having Hodgson is a huge blow, but it may also mean they’ll play loose with nothing to lose.
Eighth End: Glenn Howard’s team, minus Glenn Howard, went on a miraculous run through the Brier last year with Wayne Middaugh subbing at skip. They topped Pool A with a 7-1 record but ultimately missed the playoffs, finishing 8-4. The wheels might have fallen off for the team last year during the championship pool — and they’re a bit of a longshot here at +2200 odds to win — but the format change could benefit them this time as another strong pool performance would guarantee them playoff spot. Glenn’s son Scott skipped the team to the Ontario Tankard title but the elder Howard should be back in action at his 19th Brier.
All odds courtesy of Sports Interaction.
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