2015 Tim Hortons Brier Preview

John Morris will make his third straight Brier appearance this year and for the third straight time, he'll have a different team. In 2013, Morris played vice for Kevin Martin for the final time at the Brier before he left the 2010 Olympic champions at season's end. Last year, Morris made it to the Brier final in Kamloops as the skip of British Columbia where he lost to Kevin Koe. Koe created his own team in the off-season, hoping for a better shot at Olympic glory in 2018, and Morris quickly filled the much-needed void at the fourth position. Since third Pat Simmons, second Carter Rycroft and lead Nolan Thiessen make up 75 per cent of last year's national champions, they will represent Team Canada at the Brier for the for first time in history. Team Morris has only played in three Grand Slam events on the World Curling Tour as well as the Canada Cup this season and has failed to advance passed the quarterfinal round. It looks like the rink is still trying to find its way, but Morris has a knack for bringing his A-game with new teams in big tournaments. Last year, he made it to the Canadian Curling Trials final (lost to Brad Jacobs) as well as the Brier final with a squad he had only been with for a few months. Morris and his crew will be playing in front of their home crowd in Calgary as Team Canada and sharing the Alberta limelight with the Koe rink.

Brad Jacobs was unable to defend his Brier championship of 2013 last season because he was too busy winning gold with his Sault Ste. Marie rink at the Sochi Olympics. Well Jacobs is back after beating Al Hackner (yes, that Al Hackner) in the finals of the Northern Ontario Tankard. There's been no Olympic hangover for this foursome as they've reach four finals on the WCT, winning the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in September. They also took home $65,500 at the TSN Skins Game in Banff, Alberta. To top it off, the 29-year-old Jacobs and his wife Shawna welcomed their first child to the world in January. Jacobs should be a lock to make the playoff round and nobody will be surprised if he's celebrating a second Canadian championship at week's end.

A reunion of sorts has proven to be very beneficial for Brad Gushue in 2014-15. Gushue brought back third Mark Nichols after a three year split in hopes they could rekindle some of the success they had in 2006 when they won Olympic gold in Torino. So far it has. Team Gushue has won three tournaments on the WCT this season, including the Canadian Open and the Masters of Curling Grand Slam events to put them in second place on the money list. The 34-year-old Gushue completed a three-game sweep of Gary Wensman in the provincial championship in Labrador City to punch his eighth straight and 12th overall ticket to the Brier. Despite a dozen appearances in the Canadian championship, Gushue has never won. His best finish was at the 2007 Brier in Hamilton where he lost in the final to Ontario's Glenn Howard. With Gushue and Nichols coming together as well as a young, powerful front end duo of Geoff Walker and Brett Gallant, this could finally be the year for the St. John's skip. 

As previously mentioned, Kevin Koe left his Brier-winning team after last season and assembled an entirely new rink hoping to qualify for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The 40-year-old Koe brought in Ben Hebert and Marc Kennedy from the disbanded Kevin Martin squad as well as Brent Laing from Team Glenn Howard. So far the foursome has had a fairly good year, making three finals on the WCT, including wins at the Direct Horizontal Drilling Fall Classic in Edmonton and the Karuizawa International in Japan. Koe downed Brendan Bottcher in the Alberta provincial final, 7-4. Just like John Morris, Koe will play in his front of the hometown crowd at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. The two-time national and one-time world champion will most definitely be in the mix at the 2015 Brier.

Saskatoon skip Steve Laycock is having a very solid year, reaching five finals on the WCT including wins at the U.S. Open of Curling and Weatherford Curling Classic. He lost to Brad Gushue in the finals of December’s Canadian Open Grand Slam event in his hometown of Yorkton. The strong play has positioned the foursome fourth on the money list. Laycock won a nail biter over Jason Jacobson 8-7 in the Saskatchewan provincial final to book his trip to Calgary. The 32-year-old skip finished with a 6-5 record at the Brier in Kamloops last year, one spot out of the playoffs. Team Laycock is another rink who could find themselves in the top four by the end of the round robin with solid play and a little luck.

Welcome back, Cotter. The 40-year-old skip from Vernon made it to the Brier last year with John Morris skipping and will return this year, this time in charge of his own rink. Cotter defeated Dean Joanisse, 7-6 in the provincial final to qualify for Calgary. The foursome has played in five events on the WCT this season with their best finish coming at the Canadian Open Grand Slam in December where they were eliminated by Steve Laycock in the quarters. Team Cotter is not quite the same team without Morris, but they should still find themselves in the playoff hunt if everything goes to plan.    

Reid Carruthers is back throwing skip stones for his Manitoba rink this year after spending the previous five seasons playing front end for Jeff Stoughton.  Carruthers beat the hottest team on the planet in Team Mike McEwen in the Manitoba provincial final to secure his fifth appearance at the Canadian championship and first as a skip. The 30-year-old Winnipegger won the 2011 Brier in London as Stoughton’s second and the foursome would win gold a few weeks later at the world championships in Regina. Team Carruthers is having a pretty good year on the WCT, winning at the StuSells Toronto Tankard where they went undefeated and beat Brad Jacobs in the final. Carruthers might be able to upset some rinks in Calgary.

Quebec's Jean-Michel Ménard went a perfect 9-0 at provincials to punch his third straight and eighth overall ticket to the Brier. In the 2006 Brier from Regina, the 39-year-old from Amos, Que. became the first Francophone skip to win the national championship and would later earn silver at the world championships in Lowell, Massachusetts. Menard won the Challenge Casino de Charlevoix in November, his only win on the WCT this season. 

Innerkip, Ontario's Mark Kean will make his first Brier appearance in 2015 at the young age of 26. Kean is actually the most senior player on his team with everyone else being under the age of 25. The Ontario rink edged John Epping, 7-6 in the provincial final, scoring a single in the 10th and final end. Kean had lost to Epping in the 1vs2 page playoff a day earlier. The team's lead, Scott Howard, is the son of legendary curler Glenn Howard. Team Kean's best finish this season on the WCT was a pair of semifinal losses at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and the CookstownCash. Kean should get his feet wet in Calgary and could be a major contender a few years down the road.

Yellowknife's Jamie Koe, brother of Alberta's Kevin, will appear in his fifth straight and ninth overall Brier in Calgary. Koe's best finish in the Brier came in 2012 in Saskatoon where he finished with a 7-4 record, good enough for a spot in the playoff round. He would lose to his brother in the 3vs4 page playoff game before falling to Rob Fowler in the bronze medal game. Koe beat Stephen Moss in the Northwest Territories final, 5-4. The 37-year-old has played in only one event on the WCT this year and failed to win a game. 

Saint John's Jeremy Mallais will make his Brier debut in Calgary. The foursome upset 11-time New Brunswick champ James Grattan in the final of the playdowns in Fredericton and were the second team to qualify for the Brier after Team Canada. Mallais made it to the final of the Jim Sullivan Curling Classic earlier this season on the WCT, but fell to Wayne Tallon.

Adam Casey has appeared in the past three Briers as a member of Brad Gushue's Newfoundland and Labrador rink. In his first year in charge of his own squad, the 25-year-old Casey will appear in the national championship. That is, if he wins the pre-qualifier draw. The skip out of the Charlottetown Curling Club will have to better both Team Yukon and Team Nova Scotia to earn a spot in the main draw, but he should be the favourite. The foursome has played a very busy schedule on the WCT, appearing in 12 events. They made three finals this season and lost each time. 

Glen MacLeod can make it to a Canadian championship for the second time in his career if he wins the qualifying draw. MacLeod grabbed his second provincial final, and first as a skip, when he beat reigning champ Jamie Murphy in the finals. Vice Peter Burgess actually throws skip stones for this foursome while MacLeod calls the game and throws third rocks. Team MacLeod have appeared in four events on the WCT this season and has yet to reach a final.

Whitehorse’s Bob Smallwood went a perfect 5-0 in the round robin portion of Yukon's playdowns and beat George Hilderman, 7-6 in an 11-end final. Smallwood played in the 1994 and 1995 Briers and could make a third appearance if he can find a way to upset Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.