Brad Gushue won the Masters to kick off the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season earlier this month and now his team looks to win another at the National in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Intriguing storylines are heating up for round two of the series with hometown hero Brad Jacobs continuing his quest for his first career Grand Slam. The Olympic gold medallist tops the World Curling Tour’s order of merit list but Mike McEwen isn’t too far behind and is closing in on number one.
There will be eight fresh sets of teams that weren’t present at the Masters and several of them could upset the favourites.
Let’s take a look at all 18 teams that will be competing for the National title.
TEAM BLANDFORD
Lineup: Matthew Blandford, Darren Moulding, Brent Hamilton and Brad Chyz
Hometown: Calgary
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 34th
Blandford reached the quarterfinals at the HDF Insurance Shoot-Out to start the season. The team had a promising October with an appearance in the quarterfinals at the Direct Horizontal Drilling Fall Classic and the semifinals at the Medicine Hat Charity Classic.
TEAM BOTTCHER
Lineup: Brendan Bottcher, Tom Appelman, Bradley Thiessen and Karrick Martin
Hometown: Edmonton
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 25th
Bottcher, who skipped Canada to gold at the 2012 world junior championship, won his first WCT event of the season at the HDF Insurance Shoot-Out in September. Martin is the son of 18-time Grand Slam champion Kevin Martin.
TEAM CARRUTHERS
Lineup: Reid Carruthers, Braeden Moskowy, Derek Samagalski and Colin Hodgson
Hometown: Winnipeg
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 15th
Carruthers branched out this season to skip his own team after four seasons with Team Stoughton where he captured the 2011 Brier and world championships as well as the 2013 National. The all-new Team Carruthers won the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard in October.
TEAM CASEY
Lineup: Adam Casey, Josh Barry, Anson Carmody and Robbie Doherty
Hometown: Charlottetown
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 18th
Casey returned to his home province to skip a new team, the first P.E.I. rink ever to play in a Grand Slam tournament. The rink has reached the final at three World Curling Tour events this season: the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, the Dave Jones Molson Mayflower Cashspiel and the CookstownCash presented by Comco Canada Inc.
TEAM DE CRUZ
Lineup: Peter de Cruz, Benoit Schwarz, Claudio Paetz and Valentin Tanner
Hometown: Geneva, Switzerland
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 13th
De Cruz defeated Team Koe to win the bronze medal at the 2014 world championship. Paetz switched over from Team Michel and replaced Dominik Maerki at second this season.
TEAM EPPING
Lineup: John Epping, Travis Fanset, Patrick Janssen and Tim March
Hometown: Toronto
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 7th
Epping is a two-time Grand Slam champion, capturing the 2008 National and 2012 Players’ Championship. The rink reached the semifinals at the Masters earlier this month and won the Gord Carroll Classic title Sunday.
TEAM GUSHUE
Lineup: Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker
Hometown: St. John’s, N.L.
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 3rd
Gushue reached the finals at both the Canadian Open and National last season and broke through to win the Masters earlier this month. Can his team maintain the moment to capture the National? Nichols reunited this year with 2006 Olympic gold-medal winning teammate Gushue and the pair also won the National during the 2009-10 season with Ryan Fry and Jamie Korab.
TEAM HOWARD
Lineup: Glenn Howard, Richard Hart, Jon Mead and Craig Savill
Hometown: Penetanguishene, Ont.
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 8th
Howard is the four-time National winner and the defending champion but sports a new-look rink this season. Hart came out of retirement to rejoin the team this season while Mead moved over from Team Stoughton. This will be the third time Sault Ste. Marie hosts a Grand Slam tournament and Howard has won the previous two. Can he make it three for three?
TEAM JACOBS
Lineup: Brad Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 1st
The Sochi Olympic gold medallists made it to the semifinals Masters earlier this month. Jacobs will have the home crowd on his side, can he use it to his advantage and win his first career Grand Slam?
TEAM KEAN
Lineup: Mark Kean, Mathew Camm, David Mathers and Scott Howard
Hometown: Stoney Creek, Ont.
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 20th
Team Kean reached the semifinals of the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in September. Mathers and Howard won the 2012 Players’ Championship with Team Epping. Howard is the son of Glenn Howard and won the 2012 Brier and world championships as an alternate on his father’s team.
TEAM KOE
Lineup: Kevin Koe, Marc Kennedy, Brent Laing and Ben Hebert
Hometown: Calgary
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 4th
Koe can complete a career Grand Slam should he win the National. The key could be his new teammates Kennedy, Laing and Hebert, all of whom have won multiple national championships. The team’s first major test at the Masters came to a halt with a loss to Jacobs in the quarterfinals after a promising 3-1 record in the round robin.
TEAM LAYCOCK
Lineup: Steve Laycock, Kirk Muyres, Colton Flasch and Dallan Muyres
Hometown: Saskatoon
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 11th
Laycock represented Saskatchewan at the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier. The team reached the quarterfinals at the Masters earlier this month.
TEAM MCCORMICK
Lineup: Heath McCormick, Christopher Plys, Joe Polo and Ryan Brunt
Hometown: Blaine, Minn.
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 30th
McCormick skipped his team to the 2012 U.S. men’s curling championship. His rink finished third at the U.S. Olympic curling trials last season. Plys served as the alternate for the U.S. Olympic team at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
TEAM MCEWEN
Lineup: Mike McEwen, B.J. Neufeld, Matt Wozniak and Denni Neufeld
Hometown: Winnipeg
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 2nd
McEwen is a three-time Grand Slam champion and skips the hottest team in curling right now. The team started off this season on fire winning four titles in their first four events. McEwen was the runner-up at the Masters but made headlines around the globe with his triple takeout to score four in the final.
TEAM MORRIS
Lineup: John Morris, Pat Simmons, Scott Bailey and Nolan Thiessen
Hometown: Calgary
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 6th
Simmons and Thiessen won the Canadian Open and the Brier last season with skip Kevin Koe. They stayed together and added 2010 Olympic gold medallist Morris with Bailey filling in for Carter Rycroft at select events. The Masters was their season debut. Team Morris finished the round robin with a 2-2 record and fell to Team Stoughton in a tiebreaker.
TEAM RUMFELDT
Lineup: Rob Rumfeldt, Adam Spencer, Brad Kidd and Jake Higgs
Hometown: Guelph, Ont.
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 27th
Rumfeldt edged McEwen in a tiebreaker to reach the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open last season. The team features a new front-end this season in Kidd and Higgs and made it to the semifinals at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard in October.
TEAM SHUSTER
Lineup: John Shuster, Tyler George, Matt Hamilton and John Landsteiner
Hometown: Duluth, Minn.
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 23rd
Shuster has represented the U.S. at the past three Olympics and won the bronze medal at the 2006 Torino Games. He reached the quarterfinals of the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in September.
TEAM STOUGHTON
Lineup: Jeff Stoughton, Rob Fowler, Alex Forrest and Connor Njegovan
Hometown: Winnipeg
WCT Order of Merit ranking: 14th
Stoughton is a three-time Brier and two-time world champion. His all-new team finished 2-2 in the Masters round robin and had to win two tiebreaker games just to qualify but came up short against eventual champion Gushue in the quarterfinals. It was an endurance test for the team as they played three games in three consecutive draws and would have played a fourth if they had reached the semifinals. Stoughton won the National in 2013 to complete a career Grand Slam.