European rinks a threat in women's curling

Jennifer Jones did not have an Olympic hangover in 2015. After she and her Winnipeg rink won gold for Canada at the Sochi Olympics, the foursome had a serious discussion on whether or not they wanted to stay together for another four-year run. The answer was a resounding "yes" and the first season back after coming down from the highest of highs was a major success. Jones won her fifth career Scotties championship and first with Kaitlyn Lawes as her vice, beating Val Sweeting in the final from Moose Jaw.

Despite losing to Switzerland’s Alina Patz in the finals of the world championships, 2014-15 was another very successful winter for the 41-year-old. Alternate Jennifer Clark-Rouire will fill in as the team's lead to start this season as regular lead off lady Dawn McEwen gave birth to a baby girl late in the summer. This will be the sixth consecutive season this group has been together and should once again be a top contender for the Canadian championship.

Rachel Homan and her rink from the nation's capital had a very interesting year in 2014-15. The 26-year-old was looking to become just the fourth skip in curling history to win three consecutive Scotties titles. The foursome had a good run in the round robin, but fell to hometown girl Stefanie Lawton and her Saskatchewan rink in the 3 vs. 4 game. Homan would get her revenge on Lawton in the bronze-medal game with a 7-5 victory. Despite winning just one event on the WCT (the Pomeroy Inn & Suites Prairie Showdown), Homan still managed to finish first on the money list on the strength of losing in four finals. They also took home $52,000 after winning the Pinty's All-Star Curling Skins Game from Banff, AB.

Second Joanne Courtney will play her second season with Homan, so the girls from Ottawa should continue to grow as a collective group in 2015-16. Homan has already won the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and made the final of the Tour Challenge, the first Grand Slam on the schedule, this year.  Team Homan will have to play in the Ontario provincials this year for the first time since 2013. The Ontario Scotties is always a tough field, with the likes of Julie Hastings (last year's champ), Sherry Middaugh and Allison Flaxey fighting for their right to qualify. Homan will surely be the favourite, but is definitely not a lock.

Alberta's Val Sweeting had the best season of her curling career in 2014-15. Not only did she win her two first events, two major events in fact, with the Grand Slam Masters of Curling and Canada Cup, but she also made it to her second consecutive Scotties final. This time she lost to the legend Jennifer Jones, but proved once again that her rink is the real deal. The 28-year-old skip lost third Joanne Courtney to Team Rachel Homan last summer, but picked up Lori Olson-Johns and found instant success, getting a little revenge over Homan in the Canada Cup final. Sweeting should be one of the favourites to win the national championship again this season as her full team will return to action. Will Sweeting's foursome finally get over the hump and win a Canadian championship? 

Eve Muirhead should be a thorn in the sides of Canadian curlers once again this season. The 2013 world champion and the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist won four events on Tour last season, including the European Masters, Players' Championship and Canadian Open. Muirhead's rink lost to Russia's Anna Sidorova in the 3 vs. 4 game at the Worlds in Japan.

The 25-year-old skipper from Stirling, Scotland has led one of the most consistent teams in women's curling over the past few seasons and should be in the mix every week on the WCT again in 2015-16.

Alina Patz and her Swiss rink will look to defend their world champion from a season ago in 2015-16. The foursome from Zurich defeated Canadian champ Jennifer Jones in the final from Japan, giving Switzerland its third world women's title in four years. Team Patz had a pretty good year on the WCT as well, winning the Red Deer Curling Classic and International Bernese Ladies Cup. They will make their first appearance at the Continental Cup from Las Vegas in early 2016 as a member of Team World, looking to help beat the Canadians for the first time since 2012. All four members will return this season and if they're able to make it back to the Worlds, these girls will be one of the favourites to win it all again.

Team Anna Sidorova is one of the most up-and-coming rinks in the women's game and will look to make another step forward in 2015-16. The 24-year-old from Moscow, Russia has won the bronze medal at the world championships the past two seasons and captured two wins on tour in 2014-15 for a second consecutive year. The foursome have proven they can compete with the elite rinks in the game as they beat Scotland's Eve Muirhead twice (3 vs. 4 and bronze) in the playoffs at the Worlds last season. Alina Kovaleva will replace long-time lead Ekaterina Galkina for the time being as she is taking a break from the sport. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Team Sidorova was left off Team World for the 2016 Continental Cup. Could this exclusion light a fire under these Russian ladies? Only time will tell.

For the second straight season, 30-year-old Chelsea Carey will be in charge of an entirely new squad. Out are young guns Laura Crocker, Taylor McDonald and Jen Gates; in come 37-year-old vice Amy Nixon, 21-year-old second Jocelyn Peterman and 45-year-old lead Laine Peters. Carey is taking over the Calgary rink previously skipped by Heather Nedohin who decided to take a break from curling to spend more time with her family. Nedohin and Peters won the Scotties together in 2012 in Red Deer, then a bronze at the Worlds shortly after. Carey, originally from Winnipeg, won two events on the WCT in 2014-15 despite the surprising year-end split up for the rink who looked as though they were gunning for Olympic qualification in 2018. Carey won bronze for Team Manitoba at the 2014 Scotties, her one any only appearance at the national championship. It's not going to be easy for Carey to get her second as she'll have to go through the very talented Val Sweeting at the Alberta provincials. It will be interesting to see how this version of Team Carey pans out in 2015-16.

Saskatchewan skip Stefanie Lawton replaced long-time vice Sherry Anderson with 25-year-old Trish Paulsen this summer in hopes getting younger might improve the team's chances at Pyeongchang 2018. Paulsen won the 2011 national junior championship as a skip. Lawton missed most of the season prior to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last year due to the birth of her son in October. Her rink fell to Ottawa's Rachel Homan in the bronze medal game. You should see Team Lawton much more on the WCT this season and will be the favourites to win Saskatchewan. Lawton could make some noise in 2015-16.

Coldwater, Ont.'s Sherry Middaugh will enter her sixth curling season with the same rink. The 48-year-old had a pretty good year in 2014-15, finishing in the top 10 on the WCT Money List and positioning herself fourth on the CTRS rankings. Middaugh lost in the finals of the Ontario Scotties to Julie Hastings, denying her eighth appearance at the national championship. The 2013 Canadian Olympic Trails runner-up will be in the mix again this year, but will have to beat Rachel Homan at provincials to make it back to the Scotties for the first time since 2011.

If there was ever a team that was built for future success, the rink led by Edmonton's Kelsey Rocque would be it. The two-time world junior champion (2014 and 2015) will skip a team that played under Chelsea Carey last year after Carey joined the rink that had previously been skipped by Heather Nedohin. The 21-year-old Rocque, who became the first Canadian woman to win back-to-back world junior titles, as well as Laura Crocker, 24, Taylor McDonald, 22, and Jen Gates, 25, make up one of the youngest squads on the WCT. Rocque still might be a little green to lead this group to a national championship, but this is a rink to watch out for over the next few years. Games between Team Rocque and Team Carey should be interesting as the two sides will likely cross paths both on the WCT and Alberta Scotties. 

Julie Hastings had a career year in 2014-15. Not only did she win two events on the WCT, the Stroud Sleeman Cash Spiel and KW Classic, but she also made her first appearance at the Canadian championship after beating Sherry Middaugh in the Ontario Scotties final. Making it to the nationals in Grande Prairie, AB. this season will be especially tough as the 40-year-old will have to go through Rachel Homan, but Team Hastings should be fairly competitive on Tour. 

Sudbury's Tracy Fleury had a solid year in 2014-15, capturing two titles on Tour and also qualified for her second career Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The foursome put together a 6-5 record, just barely missing the playoff round. They had to first defeat teams from Northwest Territories and Yukon in the qualification round as it was the first Scotties a team from Northern Ontario was represented. The 29-year-old added Crystal Webster to the team as an alternate this summer. One of the more energetic groups on Tour, Team Fleury is back for a sixth consecutive season and should once again be the favourites to come out of Northern Ontario.

This will be the second consecutive year for Winnipeg's Kristy McDonald in the skip position after she had played under Chelsea Carey from 2010-2014. The 36-year-old won the Mother Club Fall Curling Classic last season, but lost the 3 vs. 4 game in the Manitoba Scotties. With the Manitoba field made thinner because of Jennifer Jones’ automatic qualification to nationals as Team Canada, the province is up for the taking and McDonald might be the one to do it if everything goes to plan.