As the Canada Cup draws near, TSN’s Bob Weeks decided it was time to get up close and personal with the workhorses of curling teams – the leads and seconds. Rather than the skips and thirds, who get most of the attention, Weeks chatted with the front-enders as they prepare for one of the year's biggest events. First up, Colin Hodgson of Team Carruthers.

WEEKS: So where does the Canada Cup fit in the hierarchy of curling for you?

HODGSON: For me, it’s probably one of the biggest events I’ve ever played in. Obviously my first Brier at home in Calgary was incredible, but there was a little less on the line there as far as an event like the Canada Cup with the Trials berth there. I’m really looking forward to playing in a really high-pressure situation against really great Canadian teams.

WEEKS: How fine a line is it these days between the world’s best teams? At the Canada Cup will it be one or two shots that decides who wins?

HODGSON: Absolutely every shot is very important. Pretty much every game is decided by one shot or two shots, or how well you sweep a rock. So every team there is pretty much on par; it’s not like one team is heads and shoulders above another one. Every game is very important. There’s no free bingo space at the Canada Cup for sure.

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WEEKS: OK, you’re in charge of the world of curling for a day – what is the first thing you’d do?

HODGSON: I would change every single event to be men’s and women’s combined so those events are a lot more fun. And a lot more in the offering for me.

WEEKS: I noticed you went to a French high school – what’s your French like?

HODGSON: There was an option to take French immersion. I unfortunately did not learn to speak French and I regret it.

WEEKS: Have any ink?

HODGSON: I do have one tattoo. It’s a Maple Leaf, on my shoulder and it’s about being from Alberta. I’m working on doing my whole back up in the near future. I just have to pick the right time so it won’t affect me for curling. It doesn’t hurt – just the itching and irritating and if we’re working out and trying to train, it's probably not the best thing to have.

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Colin Hodgson after winning the Ford Hot Shots at last year's Brier.

WEEKS: What’s the strangest song or artist I’d find on your iPod?

HODGSON: I think the one most people think is strange is Frank Sinatra. I love Sinatra, some Sammy Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong – a lot of stuff from before my time. I don’t need to get pumped up any more. I’m a little bit of a chihuahua sometimes when I’m on the ice so I need all the help I can to be calm and collected.

WEEKS: So when you say chihuahua you mean high strung?

HODGSON: I’ve always been really into it so I’ve been working the last few years to try and stay calm and collected and being a better influence for the guys around me because when I’m that way the guys seem to respond pretty well.

WEEKS: So when I see you on the boards before the game with the headphones in you might be listening to Strangers in the Night or Candyman?

HODGSON: I think more like New York, New York.'

WEEKS: I saw that your middle name is Sterling-Wyatt. What’s the story there?

HODGSON: Oh that’s a good one. Sterling is actually one of my mother’s ex-boyfriends. She’s going to kill me that I said that but, no, Sterling is a good family friend and my parents just liked the name Wyatt.

WEEKS: Every team has a practical joker. Who is it on Team Carruthers?

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HODGSON: It’s definitely Reid. He likes to play little jokes on me all the time and sometimes try to Catfish me. He’s pretty good at it so I’m always on alert. I have to always be thinking ‘what is he doing?’ because it’s probably not going to be good for me.

WEEKS: Can you give us any stories?

HODGSON: Not that you can print.

WEEKS: When you won the Ford Hot Shots, was that really a win for leads everywhere?

HODGSON: Actually I think leads have a huge advantage in that. We tend to win it lots. Most people don’t know but it’s a crazy grind to do the first round. You have to sweep rocks back-to-back-to-back for every player so the leads have it good – they have the freshest sweepers. But when the thirds and skips play, the sweepers are absolutely bagged so that’s the reason why leads have done well.

WEEKS: I noticed on another blog that your skip said he could take you in a fight? Care to respond?

HODGSON: Oh it’s on. I’ll be working really hard in the gym this off-season and we’re going to set up a big Battle Royale. It will be like the news team fight-off in Anchorman where you can’t touch faces or hair. I really like my pretty face and pretty hair so we really have to keep that off limits but everything else is fair game.

WEEKS: So is it true as the lead, you have to carry the brooms?

HODGSON: Ya, the brooms are my duty all the time – have to carry it to the rink. But Reid is the big dog and he has Elite status [on Air Canada] so he has to check the brooms in when we travel otherwise it would cost me too much.