Stacked field set to race for Tankard at Lethbridge Brier

The excitement, elation and heartbreak of the Olympics has finally passed as a new journey to the pinnacle of the curling mountain at the 2026 Milan Games is set to begin.

But, for now, there’s still plenty of high-stakes curling to be played this season.

For the second year in a row, 18 of Canada’s best male curling rinks will compete at the Tim Hortons Brier in pursuit of the prestigious Tankard. The event runs from March 4-13 at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, Alta.

The storylines may even be juicer this year as this could be the last major event for some top teams with the potential of lineup changes a real possibility. Of course, all curling fans will have their eyes on Darren Moulding, now with New Brunswick’s James Grattan, taking on his former teammate in Brendan Bottcher and the defending champs who curl out of Edmonton.

Like last month’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the format sees the top three teams in each pool advance to a six-team playoff which will be dwindled down to a regular four-team page playoff to determine the 2022 Canadian men’s curling champions. 

The pools and seeding are based on the Canadian Team Ranking System.

 

You can watch every draw throughout the week on TSN, TSN Direct and the TSN App.

The winner will represent Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championship, slated to take place in Las Vegas from April 2-10.

Let’s take a closer look at the teams competing in Lethbridge.

 

Pool A

 

Team Kevin Koe (Alberta)

2021-22 Record: 37-15
Curling Club: The Glencoe Club in Calgary

Lineup

Skip: Kevin Koe
Third: BJ Neufeld
Second: John Morris
Lead: Ben Hebert
Alternate: Carter Rycroft
Coach: John Dunn

The Lethbridge Brier could be the swan song for this version of Team Kevin Koe as all signs point towards the Calgary foursome disbanding at the conclusion of the season.

Koe picked up two-time Olympic gold-medallist John Morris at the end of the 2019-20 season, hoping he could be the final piece of the puzzle to get them to the Beijing Olympics. They made a decent run at the Tim Hortons Curling Trials in November but would end up getting hammered by Team Brad Jacobs in the semi-final.

Morris still wore the Maple Leaf at the Olympics alongside mixed-doubles partner Rachel Homan. The twosome just missed the playoffs after losing a heartbreaker to the eventual champions from Italy in the round-robin finale.

Morris may not be interested in another four-year run, so this is likely the last time we see this group on the ice together at the Brier.

Team Koe are having a solid season overall, highlighted by a dominating performance at provincials and two additional wins on Tour. 

Koe, 47, will play in his 10th Canadian championship and will attempt to win his fifth career Tankard which would set a new record among skips. 

 

Team Glenn Howard (Ontario)

2021-22 Record: 46-20
Curling Club: Penetanguishene Curling Club

Lineup

Skip: Glenn Howard
Third: Scott Howard 
Second: David Mathers
Lead: Tim March
Alternate: Adam Spencer

Glenn Howard missed last year’s Brier inside the Calgary bubble after breaking several ribs in a snowmobile accident shortly before the start of the tournament.

Now, a year later, the veteran curling legend’s status is once again up in the air after missing the Ontario Tankard with knee problems.

However, with Dad on the sidelines, regular third Scott Howard filled in at skip and was impressive to say the least. They lost once to Team John Epping in the preliminary round and then beat their provincial rival in the 1 vs. 2-page playoff and again in the championship tilt. So, it appears the younger Howard is fully capable of keeping Ontario competitive if Glenn can’t go.

In Calgary last year, Wayne Middaugh stepped in after a long absence in pro curling to lead Team Howard to a spot in the championship pool.

Howard and company had a jammed-packed fall schedule in an attempt to secure their spot in the Olympic Trials. They were one win away from accomplishing that feat but fell to Team Tanner Horgan in the last qualifier at the Pre-Trials in Liverpool.

Team Howard reached three finals on Tour this season, winning the Oakville Fall Classic in late August.

If the elder Howard can’t go, it will be interesting to see how far his son can take this squad in Lethbridge.

 

Team Matt Dunstone (Wild Card 2)

2021-22 Record: 26-18
Curling Club: The Highland Curling in Regina

Lineup

Skip: Matt Dunstone
Third: Braeden Moskowy
Second: Kirk Muyres
Lead: Dustin Kidby
Coach: Adam Kingsbury

Team Matt Dunstone fell to Colton’s Flasch rink in the Saskatchewan final but earned the second wild-card spot thank to their strong ranking on the CTRS.

Dunstone and company posted a 3-5 record at the Tim Hortons Curling Trials in November. Moskowy missed the Trials due to “personal reasons” but returned for playdowns and he’ll be with the team in Lethbridge.

The Regina rink has had plenty of success as well as heartbreak at the Canadian curling championship over the past two years. They lost to Brad Gushue in the 2020 semifinals, then dropped last year’s semis to Brendan Bottcher on an all-world last shot winner. Gushue and Bottcher would both go on to capture the Tankard in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Aside from provincials, Dunstone hasn’t made a final this season, getting as far as the semifinals at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard way back in September.

Can the 26-year-old sharp-shooting skip know as “The Sheriff” turn his season around and get Team Dunstone into the playoffs for a third straight year?

 

Team Colton Flasch (Saskatchewan)

2021-22 Record: 30-21
Curling Club: Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon

Lineup

Skip: Colton Flasch
Third: Catlin Schneider
Second: Kevin Marsh
Lead: Daniel Marsh
Alternate: Pat Simmons
Coach: Jamie Schneider

This will be Colton Flasch’s sixth career appearance at the Brier and first as a skip.

The 31-year-old helped capture the Brandon Brier in 2019 as a second for Kevin Koe, but then was cut from the team shortly after the 2020 national championship in favour of John Morris.

Flasch decided to build his own Saskatchewan-based rink, adding Catlin Schneider to play vice – after he was let go by Matt Dunstone – as well as the Marsh brothers to play front end.

Their first season together in 2020-21 was more or less a wash due to COVID-19. This season they’ve played in nine events, highlighted by an appearance in the Vesta Energy Curling Classic final and a win over Dunstone in the provincial championship last month. They also went 4-2 at the Home Hardware Curling Pre-Trials.

Flasch will have plenty of motivation to show what he can do as a skip and should be in contention for a playoff spot in Pool A.

 

Team Brendan Bottcher (Canada)

2021-22 Record: 22-15
Curling Club: Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton

Lineup

Skip: Brendan Bottcher
Third: Pat Janssen
Second: Brad Thiessen
Lead: Karrick Martin
Alternate: Aaron Sluchinski
Coach: Don Bartlett

The defending Canadian champs have had a weird season to say the least.

After a bit of a slow start, Team Brendan Bottcher went a disappointing 3-5 at the Tim Hortons Curling Trials in Saskatoon, ending their hopes of representing Canada at the Olympics in Beijing.

Then a few weeks later, the four-time Brier finalists shocked the curling world by parting ways with long-time third Darren Moulding. The story got even more interesting later that night after Moulding took issue with the team’s phrasing of the announcement which said he made the decision to leave due to “personal reasons.”

Over the next 48 hours, Moulding told his side of the story, painting a picture of a team that was hampered by numerous off-ice issues which eventually led to his dismissal from the team. In a news conference, Bottcher didn’t dive too deep into the issues brought up by Moulding but said the team had lost its chemistry with its current lineup.

Curling lineup changes happen all the time, but not to a team that is about to wear the Maple Leaf at the Brier. Especially in the very public way it unfolded.

Team Bottcher eventually announced their replacement for Moulding, moving alternate Patrick Janssen to the vice position.

It appeared the majority of curling fans on social media took the side of Moulding during their messy breakup so it will be interesting to see how much of that carries over in Lethbridge when Team Bottcher takes on their former teammate, now playing with James Grattan in New Brunswick, on the first Saturday night of the Brier.

Bottcher has made the last four Brier finals. Getting to a fifth straight amid the controversy might be his toughest task yet.

 

Team Nathan Young (Newfoundland and Labrador)

2021-22 Record: 21-8
Curling Club: St. John’s Curling Club/Remax Center

Lineup

Skip: Nathan Young
Third: Sam Follett
Second: Nathan Locke
Lead: Ben Stringer
Alternate: Nicholas Codner
Coach: Toby McDonald

With Brad Gushue representing Canada at the Winter Olympics, The Rock was wide open for the taking in 2022.

Team Nathan Young ran the table with a 9-0 record in St. John’s, highlighted by an 8-4 win over two-time provincial champion Greg Smith in the final.

Young, who won mixed doubles gold at the 2020 World Youth Olympic Games, will be the youngest skip in Lethbridge.

The 2022 Brier should be a great experience for Team Young and it will be fun to watch what the future of Newfoundland curling has in store.

 

Team James Grattan (New Brunswick)

2021-22 Record: 15-6
Curling Club: Gage Golf & Curling Club in Oromocto

Lineup

Skip: James Grattan
Third: Darren Moulding
Second: Paul Dobson
Lead: Andy McCann
Alternate: Jamie Brannen

Darren Moulding’s level of motivation going into this year’s Brier might be at an all-time high.

The 39-year-old has always worn his heart on his sleeve and has been more than willing to speak his mind. That didn’t change following the breakup with Team Bottcher. It was apparent Moulding was not happy with how things were going in the lead up to his departure from the 2021 national champions, saying he was extremely determined to find a new team and play against his former teammates under the bright lights at the Brier.

Moulding will get his wish after capturing the New Brunswick Tankard last month in his first event with Team James Grattan.

This will be Grattan’s 14th Canadian championship, winning bronze in his first two appearances in 1997 and 2002. The 47-year-old always seems to be in the mix – just missing the championship pool last year with a 4-4 record – but can never seem to get over the hump.

With the added energy of Moulding, Team Grattan could be the dark horse of Lethbridge.

If Moulding doesn’t let Bottcher become too much of a distraction, a playoff spot could be in store for New Brunswick just as Andrea Crawford did for the Maritime province at last month’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

 

Team Tyler Smith (Prince Edward Island) 

 

 

 

 

2021-22 Record: 1-3
Curling Club: Crapaud Community Curling Club

Lineup

Skip: Tyler Smith
Third: Adams Cocks
Second: Ed White
Lead: Ryan Lowery
Alternate: Christopher Gallant

Team Tyler Smith has only played in one bonspiel this season but were selected by the province after PEI playdowns got the axe due to COVID-19 protocols.

Smith played third for Eddie Mackenzie at last year’s Brier in Calgary. The Islanders finished with one win and seven losses.

Playing against a stack field, Team Smith could find a couple wins in Lethbridge, but aren’t playoff contenders.

 

Team Thomas Scoffin (Yukon)

 

 

 

 

2021-22 Record: 0-0
Curling Club: Whitehorse Curling Club

Lineup

Skip: Thomas Scoffin
Third: Trygg Jensen
Second: Joe Wallingham
Lead: Evan Latos
Coach: Wade Scoffin

Thomas Scoffin, 27, skipped Yukon at the 2020 Brier, finishing with an 0-7 record.

He skipped Canada to bronze in mixed curling at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics and won the 2008 Arctic Games. Scoffin was a finalist at the 2013 Canadian Junior Curling Championships as a skip for Alberta.

Yukon went winless at last year’s Brier and Scoffin will look to change that pace for the Territory.

 

Pool B

 

Team Brad Gushue (Wild Card 1)

2021-22 Record: 30-7
Curling Club: St. John’s Curling Club/Remax Centre

Lineup

Skip: Brad Gushue
Third: Mark Nichols
Second: Brett Gallant
Lead: Geoff Walker
Alternate: Jeff Thomas
Coach: Jules Owchar

Brad Gushue and the B’ys from St. John’s won’t get much time to decompress after a bronze medal performance at the Beijing Olympics, earning the first wild card spot at the Lethbridge Brier thanks to their No. 1 ranking in Canada.

Team Gushue didn’t come home with the medal they wanted but left China with their heads held high.

"I think our team fought through and grinded and came away with a bronze medal," Gushue said after beating the Americans in the third-place game. "It was quite clear to any curling fan that we weren't at our best this week.

"I'm quite proud to get on the podium."

Gushue and Mark Nichols won gold 16 years ago in Turin.

"I'm obviously disappointed it's not a gold, but it could also be nothing," Nichols said. "The bronze medal is going to look really nice next to the gold medal.

"And there's not many people in the world that can say they've got two of them."

Team Gushue's expectations for the Brier might be lower compared to previous years as it will be less than a month since the end of their wild Olympic ride when the first rocks fly in the Lethbridge.

Also, the future of the Gushue foursome is most definitely up in the air. Will they commit to another quadrennial? If not, the 2022 Brier could be their last national championship as a team.

Gushue and company have won three Tankards together. In 2021-22, they hold a 30-7 record with a pair of Tour wins, including the National on the Grand Slam circuit. 

Finding a way to battle through the exhaustion of Beijing and win a fourth title would be a tremendous feat for Team Gushue. 

 

Team Brad Jacobs (Northern Ontario)

2021-22 Record: 31-9
Curling Club: Community First Curling Centre in Sault Ste. Marie

Lineup

Skip: Brad Jacobs
Third: Marc Kennedy
Second: EJ Harnden
Lead: Ryan Harnden
Alternate: Jordan Chandler
Coach: Caleb Flaxey

Team Brad Jacobs made the finals in four straight bonspiels to start the Tour season, losing three of them, including once to Kevin Koe and twice to Bruce Mouat.

The Northern Ontario rink also fell to Team Gushue in the final of the Tim Hortons Curling Trials after a very strong week in Saskatoon. 

Marc Kennedy served as Gushue’s alternate at the Olympics and is back with Team Jacobs after missing provincials. Jordan Chandler filled in at playdowns and will be Jacobs’ alternate in Lethbridge.

All in all, Team Jacobs have been one of the best rinks in curling this season and will be major contenders at the Brier. Jacobs missed the Brier playoffs last year for the first time since 2013.

Jacobs, 36, hasn’t won the Brier since 2013 and might be primed to capture his second career national title in 2022.

 

Team Mike McEwen (Manitoba)

2021-22 Record: 30-21
Curling Club: West St. Paul Curling Club

Lineup

Skip: Mike McEwen
Third: Reid Carruthers
Second: Derek Samagalski
Lead: Colton Lott
Alternate: Kyle Doering 
Coach: Rob Meakin

Mike McEwen will wear the Buffalo at the Canadian championship for the first time since 2019 after representing Team Wild Card the past two years.

The West St. Paul rink grinded out a provincial win last month, beating Colton Lott in the final, 8-3.

Lead Colin Hodgson will be replaced by Colton Lott due to a "last-minute pre-travel positive COVID test as well as a nagging lower-body injury." Hodgson, 31, missed two games at Manitoba provincials with a leg injury and played through pain during the playoffs to help Team McEwen earn their berth to the Brier.

This will be Lott's first Brier appearance. The 26-year-old played third for Team Matt Dunstone at November's Tim Hortons Curling Trials with Braeden Moskowy missing the event due to personal reasons. 

Aside from Manitoba provincials, McEwen hasn’t made a final on Tour this season, posting a 4-4 record at the Trials and a 4-6 record at two Grand Slams.

The 41-year-old McEwen hasn’t made the Brier playoffs since 2017 in St. John’s when he finished third with his old team. Can this current version of Team McEwen find a way to the top three in Pool B?

 

Team Jason Gunnlaugson (Wild Card 3)

2021-22 Record: 26-26
Curling Club: Morris Curling Club

Lineup

Skip: Jason Gunnlaugson
Third: Adam Casey
Second: Matt Wozniak
Lead: Connor Njegovan

The two-time defending Manitoba champions went 2-3 at provincials in February, missing the playoffs.

Team Jason Gunnlaugson are ranked seventh in Canada, which gives them the third and final wild-card spot for the Brier.

Gunnlaugson made the championship pool at the past two nationals but wasn’t in the mix for the page playoffs. 

The foursome has split their 52 games this season, going 2-6 at the Trials and 3-6 at two Grand Slams. In early December, they had a strong showing at a bonspiel played at their home club in Morris, beating Karsten Sturmay in the final to win the DEKALB Superspiel.

Team Gunnlaugson will be a bubble playoff team in Lethbridge and will need to play their best curling of the season to earn a spot in the top three.

 

Team Michael Fournier (Quebec)

 

 

 

 

2021-22 Record: 24-12
Curling Club: Glenmore Curling Club and Dollard-des-Ormeaux

Lineup

Skip: Michael Fournier
Third: Martin Crête
Second: Felix Asselin
Lead: Jean-Francois Trepanier
Alternate: Steven Munroe
Coach: Benoit Forget

Earlier this season, 50-year-old Michael Fournier announced he would be stepping away from competitive curling at the conclusion of the Trials.

However, after the province of Quebec was forced to cancel its playdowns for a second straight year, Fournier’s rink was nominated for the Brier just like they were in 2021, keeping Fournier on the pebbled ice for at least one more major event.

Team Fournier reached three straight finals on Tour after going 3-3 at October’s Pre-Trials. They defeated Nova Scotia’s Paul Flemming in the final of the Challenge Casino de Charlevoix for their lone bonspiel win this season.

Fournier went 4-4 inside the bubble last season and is joined once again by Martin Crete, who will play in his 10th career Brier in Lethbridge. This will be Fournier's third Brier. 

 

Team Paul Flemming (Nova Scotia)

 

 

 

 

2021-22 Record: 20-14
Curling Club: Halifax Curling Club

Lineup

Skip: Paul Flemming
Third: Scott Saccary
Second: Ryan Abraham
Lead: Philip Crowell
Alternate: Kevin Ouellette

Lethbridge will be Brier No. 11 for 53-year-old Paul Flemming and just the third as a skip.

Flemming skipped Nova Scotia in his first two Brier appearances in 1998 and 1999, posting 5-6 and 7-4 records, respectively. In 1999, Flemming lost to New Brunswick’s Russ Howard in a tiebreaker to get into the page playoffs. 

In 2021-22, Team Flemming won the Mayflower Cashspiel in Halifax and lost to Michael Fournier in the final of the Challenge Casino de Charlevoix in Clermont. They also went 4-4 at the Pre-Trials.

At last year’s bubble Brier, Flemming played vice for import Scott McDonald, missing the championship pool with a 4-4 record.

With only three playoff spots available, Nova Scotia will be in tough to advance to the final six from Pool B.

 

Team Brent Pierce (British Columbia)

2021-22 Record: 15-9
Curling Club: Royal City Curling Club in New Westminster

Lineup

Skip: Brent Pierce
Third: Jeff Richard
Second: Jared Kolomaya
Lead: Nicholas Meister
Alternate: Corey Chester
Coach: Steve Gould

Younger curling fans may not recognize the name Brent Pierce, but the native of New Westminster, B.C., has had plenty of success on the pebbled ice.

At the 1998 Brier, Pierce played third for Greg McAulay, posting a 7-4 record before falling to Saskatchewan in a tiebreaker. Two years later, McAulay and Pierce led the western province to the top of the table after round-robin play with a 9-2 record, eventually beating New Brunswick’s Russ Howard to capture the Tankard. A few weeks later, Pierce and Team McAulay were world champions after a 9-4 victory over the great Peter Lindholm of Sweden in the final.

Pierce’s most recent Brier came in 2009, going 6-5 as third for Sean Geall.

Now 22 years since standing atop the podium as a world champion, the 52-year-old Pierce is skipping British Columbia at the Brier after defeating Paul Cseke in the provincial final, 11-8, to punch his fourth career ticket to the Canadian championship.

Jeff Richard plays vice on this squad and has made two prior appearances at the world-famous Brier, never making the playoffs.

British Columbia hasn’t won a Brier since Pierce’s run in 2000. They won’t be title contenders in Lethbridge, but Pierce should bring out the nostalgia for B.C. curling fans.

 

Team Jamie Koe (Northwest Territories)

 

 

 

 

2021-22 Record: 8-3
Curling Club: Yellowknife Curling Club

Lineup

Skip: Jamie Koe
Third: Glen Kennedy
Second: Cole Parsons
Lead: Shadrach McLeod
Alternate: Robert Borden

Death, taxes and Jamie Koe competing in the Tim Hortons Brier.

The 44-year-old government worker will step on Brier ice for a 15th time in Lethbridge. With more than 140 career games at the Canadian championship, Koe has a record of 47-102. His best performance came in 2012, when he finished the round robin with a 7-4 record before losing to brother Kevin Koe, 10-6, in the 3 vs. 4-page playoff.

Northwest Territories was skipped by Greg Skauge at last year’s Brier in Calgary, the first time Koe didn’t lead the way since 2008.

The north is coming into the Brier on a curling high after Jamie’s sister, Kerry Galusha, skipped the territory to its first playoff appearance at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in decades.

Will there be any polar power left in Lethbridge?

 

Team Peter Mackey (Nunavut)

 

 

 

 

2021-22 Record: 0-0
Curling Club: Iqaluit Curling Club

Lineup

Skip: Peter Mackey
Third: Mark Pillsworth
Second: Jeff Nadeau
Lead: Greg Howard
Alternate: Peter Van Strien

Team Peter Mackey went 0-8 at last year’s Brier in Calgary. Mark Pillsworth is the new face on the team, and he will throw third stones.

Nunavut is still looking for its first win at the Brier.