Grandy adds Swedish star Edin to B.C. bench; Einarson, Jones look to make history at Scotties

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Clancy Grandy and her squad from Vancouver have added some Swedish star power to their side as they prepare to be the hometown rink at this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

To the surprise of some, Niklas Edin was at Sandman Centre Friday morning during the practice session wearing Team B.C. colours.

That’s right, the Swedish skip, who has won six world titles, including the last four, and the gold-medal at the 2022 Olympics, is taking his talents to the Scotties and will serve as Team Grandy’s coach this week.

“It’s a no brainer,” Edin said of his reaction when he was asked to coach Team B.C. at the Canadian women’s curling championship.

Grandy and Edin have known each other for a few years from the Grand Slam circuit and Grandy’s time coaching in the Netherlands.

“He is the best at what he does in the game in my opinion,” said the 32-year-old Grandy. “We were looking for some specific help and we feel he’s the person that can bring that help to our team.”

Edin has been sidelined with a torn meniscus for a portion of this season and says the timing was right to give coaching a try.

“It felt like a good opportunity and a fun challenge,” Edin said.

Katie Witt is also a coach on Team Grandy.

Grandy, a native of Burlington, Ont., moved out West to take over skip duties of this rink after they lost in the provincial final last year. She’ll make her Scotties debut in Kamloops after serving as an alternate for Chelsea Carey at the 2021 Scotties inside the Calgary bubble.

“This is why I came out here,” she said. “To specifically play with this group of athletes and I’m really happy with my decision.”

And it hasn’t taken long for the skip to find chemistry with her new team of Scotties rookies, including third Kayla MacMillan, second Lindsay Dubue and lead Sarah Loken.

The foursome has played a loaded schedule in 2022-23, posting a total record of 52-27 with three event wins, highlighted by a dramatic BC final over Team Corryn Brown.

Grandy says one of their keys to success this season has been spending time and effort to deal with the mental aspects of the game.

“We spent a lot of time before we even hit the ice with our coach Katie [Witt] and she has background in sports physiology and team dynamics.,” explained Grandy.

“So, we did a lot of work off the ice in how we were going to trust each other, how we were going to talk to each other. I think that is what really has paid off to start off this year.”

The addition of Edin, who has a curling resume longer than a sheet of ice, will only add to the strong mental state the team is in, said Grandy.

“We feel that his personality meshes well with our team,” said Grandy. “He has the really calm demeanour and that’s something we thought would work really well with our group.”

The 37-year-old Edin, who will look to win a fifth consecutive World Men’s Curling Championship in April, says he can bring tactical experience and calmness to Team Grandy.

“I’ve been at these events a lot of times before, so maybe look into details around tactics and how to approach the game, especially early in the event," he said. 

“I don’t stress too often, so it’s a very good match I feel. This team is very calm and collected and so am I. I like that approach on the ice.”

Edin, who says he was surprised to be asked to coach by Team Grandy, believes his experience at the Tournament of Hearts will help his men’s team as well.

“For myself, it’s also gaining experience. Standing on this side of the bench you do a lot of analyzing which I normally do on the ice,” explained Edin. “I feel you see details a little bit differently. You can look into communication and stuff on the ice a lot better. Definitely I can pick up stuff that I can bring to my own team as well.”

British Columbia is ranked fifth heading into the Scotties and will battle in Pool A.

Einarson, Jones looking to make Scotties history

There’s a decent chance history is made one way or another at this year’s Tournament of Hearts.

Kerri Einarson and the three-time defending Canadian champions out of the Gimli Curling Club will look to join Colleen Jones and her famed Halifax rink as the only teams to win four straight Scotties titles.

“Yes, it would be amazing to win four in a row, but it’s not going to be easy. We don’t want to put that added pressure on us,” she told the media on Friday ahead of Team Canada’s opener against Quebec.

Jennifer Jones, now skipping the Manitoba champs from a season ago, can pass Colleen Jones and former teammate Jill Officer for the most Scotties titles of all-time with seven.

“I’ve never been one to look at records,” said Jones. “Maybe when you’re done you look back and reflect, but just to win again. It’s just so fun to win and be Team Canada.”

After a long run with her former team, the 48-year-old Jones joined a promising young squad who were fresh off winning the World Junior Curling Championship in 2020 and making back-to-back Scotties appearances in 2021 and 2022.

The five-player team of Jones, third Karlee Burgess, second Mackenzie Zacharias and leads Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine have played more than 80 games this season (53-27) and qualified in 11 of 13 events, including three event victories.

Jones says she’s been impressed with the quick progression of the team.

“The team dynamics so great. They’re super supportive of each other and me. We’ve really come together as a team which is super fun to be apart of. We’ve grown on things we wanted to do better in the game itself,” explained Jones. “We’ve had some goals and we’ve worked really hard and I feel like we’ve achieved those goals and now we’re setting new ones. So, definitely trending in the right direction.”

This will be Jones’ 17th appearance at the Tournament of Hearts and she’s looking to teach as many lessons as she can to her younger teammates.

“I’m trying to give them all the experience I’ve gained through the past few years and trying to shorten their learning curve a little bit,” Jones said. “My experience definitely helps, but their youthful experience helps me, too.”

Jones last won the Scotties in 2018 in Penticton, the most recent time the event was held in British Columbia.

This year’s field is the best the Scotties has seen in a while and both skips know it’s going to be a tall task to reach the top of the podium.

“It’s anyone’s week if a team gets hot with a little bit of luck on your side. And I hope that’s us,” said Einarson. “We feel ready and we’ve had quite a bit of rest. We’ve also been practising a lot. We’re feeling good going into this week.”

Inspired from the mind of their fifth Krysten Karwacki, Team Einarson belted out Celine Dion’s “It’s all coming back to me now” in a social media post as part of their jersey reveal on Thursday.

Einarson says they’re hoping to use that laid back attitude to their benefit this week in Kamloops.

“We had some fun with it," she said. "It was just something different that got a little out of our comfort zone.”