LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Glenn Howard admits this hasn’t been his best Tim Hortons Brier.

Team Ontario picked up their second and third wins of the event Wednesday, 7-3 over Newfoundland and Labrador and 13-5 over Prince Edward Island, but won’t make the playoffs with a 3-4 record and one game remaining in the round robin.

Three close losses to heavyweights Brendan Bottcher, Matt Dunstone and Kevin Koe to start the event proved too big of a hole to dig out of.

The 59-year-old Howard says his game just hasn’t been where it needs to be in Lethbridge. He is shooting 78 per cent this week which is 10th among skips.

“You can’t have a skip playing average at this level,” Howard told TSN.ca.

To be fair, the four-time Canadian champion hasn’t been fully healthy. He’s still dealing with a nagging knee injury that forced him to miss last month’s Ontario Tankard.

“I truly believe if I had played to what I normally play, we’d definitely have a different record. I felt a couple of those games we would have won for sure in my mind. I missed some shots I shouldn’t miss,” explained Howard. “The knee is playing on me a little bit. It’s a little sore. I think about it a little too much in my delivery and it tweaked a bit. But then other times it hasn’t bothered me. I’m not using it as an excuse, I just haven’t played as well as I would have liked too.”

The Ontario Tankard might have been a glimpse of what Team Howard could look like in the future. With the elder Howard sidelined, his 31-year-old son, Scott, filled in at skip and performed admirably, leading the rink out the Penetanguishene Curling Club to a 7-1 record, including three wins over provincial John Epping to punch their ticket to the Brier.

The time calling shots piqued an interest in the younger Howard.

“It’s interesting. I felt very comfortable playing skip and it was a lot of fun. The boys played really well all week, so it made my job pretty easy,” said Scott. “I can definitely see something in the future for sure. I really enjoyed the position. I’d like to get back and maybe skipping one day. We’ll see what the next couple years say.”

Papa Howard had a front-row seat for show and knows it’s just a matter of time before Scott is leading his own curling rink on the elite-level circuit.

“That day is coming pretty soon. I was super impressed by him. I was really proud of him to step up and he embraced the position, he loved it, he had confidence,” said Glenn of his son. “You could tell he was comfortable and that’s not easy to do, just to jump into that. And in a big game. You’re in the provincials. You’re not playing for toasters at a bonspiel. I was really impressed by the kid. I think in the future you’re going to see him skipping.”

The Howards have been together since 2015 and have played in five national championships as teammates. Scott says he’s been soaking up every moment he’s had playing with his legendary curling dad.

“He’s one of the best in the game. I’ve been picking his brain as much as I can,” said Scott. “It’s been a pleasure playing third. I’ve learned so much about the game, just the way we call the game.”

Scott, who’s shooting a solid 85 per cent this week, played lead in his first three Briers and has served as vice in the past two.

“He really just improved at every position he’s played, and I think, as he’s moved up in the lineup he’s gotten better,” explained Glenn. “He concentrates a little more. He’s improved, which is really cool. That just tells me he’s meant to be a solid player in the future.”

Glenn is playing in his 18th Brier and has 225 career games under his belt. His 162 career wins is the best of all-time. He’ll also be 60 in July.

The same question always comes up at this time of year: Is this the season Glenn Howard retires? Howard showed no signs of slowing down in the spring, logging close to 50 games ahead of October’s Home Hardware Curling Pre-Trials

“If my knee holds up and my body holds up, I’m leaning towards playing another year,” said Glenn. “I always do it one year at a time. We haven’t talked to the boys. If the boys branch out and go somewhere else, then so be it. My gut tells me I think I might hang in there for another year, but we’ll assess that at the end of it.”

Ontario finishes off round-robin play against Prince Edward Island and Yukon.