With the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials quickly approaching, TSN.ca will profile one men’s team and one women’s team each day before the first rocks fly on Nov. 22 at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
Team Mike McEwen
Lineup
Skip: Mike McEwen (Age 45)
Third: Colton Flasch (34)
Second/Vice-Skip: Kevin Marsh (37)
Lead: Dan Marsh (37)
Alternate: Brent Laing (46)
Coach: Pat Simmons
Curling Club: Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon
2025-26 Season
Events: 5 Record: 14-11 World Ranking: 8th
Highlights: Team McEwen lost the ATB Okotoks Classic semifinal to Team John Shuster, 5-4. They’ve also had some tough luck at the Grand Slams this season, dropping playoff tiebreakers to Brad Jacobs and Brad Gushue at the Masters and Tour Challenge, respectively, before losing in the quarterfinal to Team Bruce Mouat at the recent Lake Tahoe event.
How They Qualified
Qualified via their two-year total (2023-25) on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS).
Trials Schedule
Nov. 22 – Jordon McDonald
Nov. 23 – John Epping
Nov. 24 – Brad Jacobs, Kevin Koe
Nov. 25 – Rylan Kleiter
Nov. 26 – Brad Gushue, Matt Dunstone
Expert Analysis from TSN’s Russ Howard
Team McEwen will have a successful week at the Canadian Curling Trials if...
“They have a great attitude. Colton and Mike need to find the magic from their 2024 Brier run in Regina.”
Team Story
Mike McEwen is still looking to win the big game.
The 45-year-old veteran skip has been close over the years but hasn’t reached the top of the Canadian curling mountain.
As a 20-year-old in 2001, McEwen and his Manitoba-based team lost the final of the Canadian Junior Curling Championship to Brad Gushue’s rink.
Sixteen years later he was a win away from representing Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics but was halted by another legendary skip in Kevin Koe in the Trials final from the nation’s capital.
Gushue got the better of McEwen again in the 2024 Brier final, winning his sixth career Canadian men’s championship in front of a pro-Saskatchewan crowd in Regina who were desperate to end the province’s long Tankard draught.
McEwen’s team, who are in their third season together, are coming off a solid 2024-25 season which included making the Brier playoffs following a 7-1 round robin.
They haven’t made a final over five events this season and made one playoff appearance across three Grand Slams.
Team McEwen is 5-5 against Trials teams this year with three of those wins coming against Team Rylan Kleiter. They’ll wrap round-robin play with a two-game day against Brad Gushue and Matt Dunstone, a tough endeavor if they’re in must-win territory to make the final three.
Still one of the best in the game, McEwen enters the Halifax Trials with a chance to be in the playoff mix against a very tough field.
