Team Matt Dunstone, the bronze medalists at last year's Tim Hortons Brier in Kingston, Ont., announced the creation of new men's curling event on Monday in an effort to get Saskatchewan's best curlers on the ice as soon as possible in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The inaugural Saskatchewan Men's Super Series will run from Oct. 16-18 at the Highland Curling Club in Regina, Sask. The bonspiel will feature Team Dunstone and four other prominent rinks competing in a round-robin style tournament with the top three squads advancing to the playoffs.

"All of the top teams across Canada have been looking for ways and working to create unique opportunities to get back on the ice," Dunstone said in a release. "We went to work and sought out a small group of Saskatchewan teams to give us the taste and feel of high-level competition that we need to prepare and ultimately help us accomplish our goals this season, as well as stay safe as we return to play. We are pumped that all the teams we approached said 'yes' and very thankful to Vaderstad and Calidon Leasing for helping make this possible."

Other skips in the field include Colton Flasch, Kody Hartung, Rylan Kleiter and Shawn Meachem.

This will be the first event for the new-look Team Dunstone after adding former skip Kirk Muyres to throw second stones this off-season.

"To say it's been a long wait would be an understatement. We're no different than every other team just itching to get back out on the ice to compete," Dunstone said. "And with Kirk coming aboard, we could hardly wait another day. This is going to be a lot of fun!"

The event will be played using CURLSASK's Return to Curling Guidelines.  

The final day of the men's Stu Sells Oakville Tankard (played at the K-W Granite Club in Waterloo, Ont.) was called off on Sunday after a player received a notification on their COVID Alert app.