Einarson blanks Gim in Saville Shootout final for first win of season

Kerri Einarson and her rink from Gimli, Man., won the opening bonspiel of their 2025-26 season this weekend at the Saville Shootout in Edmonton. 

Einarson, joined by third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, new fulltime lead Karlee Burgess and alternate Krysten Karwacki, went 7-0 over the short three-day event and defeated South Korea's Team Eunji Gim, ranked sixth in the world, by a score of 7-0.

The dominating shutout victory saw Team Einarson, ranked fifth, score two in the first end with hammer before picking up consecutive steals of one, two, one and one, leading to early handshakes after just five ends of curling. They also defeated South Korea's Team Youbeen Park in the quarterfinal and Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States in the semifinal. 

Team Einarson, who won four straight Scotties Tournament of Hearts from 2020-2023, should be more secure with their lineup this season. The 2024-25 campaign saw a slew of different lineups as Team Einarson dealt with a season-long knee injury to Birchard and former lead Briane Harris being unavailable due to a suspension. 

Harris was suspended for testing positive for a banned substance ahead of the 2024 Scotties, but was eligible to return to competition in January 2025 after the Court of Arbitration for Sport stated Harris bore "no fault or negligence" for the violation. 

However, Team Einarson had already committed to Burgess ahead of the 2025 Scotties as she was permanently added this off-season. 

Harris competed with her new rink in Team Kate Cameron at the Saville Shootout, missing the playoffs with a 1-3 record. 

Team Kaitlyn Lawes were also at the event and made the playoffs before losing to Team Serena Gray-Withers in the quarters. 

On the men's side of the draw Victoria's Team Cameron de Jong hammered Vancouver's Team Matthew Blandford, 7-1, in the championship game.