Team Brad Gushue headlines an 18-team field for the 2026 Montana's Brier in his hometown of St. John's, N.L.
Curling Canada announced the field and pools on Monday for the national men's championship, Feb. 27-March 8.
Gushue plans to retire after this season. He is a six-time Brier champion.
The 18-team field also includes reigning Brier champ Team Brad Jacobs, who will travel back after representing Canada in the Winter Olympics. Jacobs will be Team Canada at the Brier.
The competition features 14 provincial and territorial champions, along with three Canadian Team Ranking System qualifiers from the 2024-25 season: Team Gushue, Manitoba's Team Matt Dunstone, and Saskatchewan's Team Mike McEwen.
The 18 teams are divided into two pools of nine, each playing an eight-game round robin. The top three teams from each pool will advance to the playoffs.
Teams will be divided into two pools of nine for round-robin play. The top three from each pool advance to the playoffs.
The playoff format will see the first-place team from Pool A meet the second-place team from Pool B, and vice versa, in the first round. The winners go to the Page playoff 1-2 game, while the losers meet the third-place finishers in the pools. The winners of the latter games will advance to the Page playoff 3-4 game.
The Page 1-2 winner goes directly to the final, while the Page 3-4 winner faces the Page 1-2 loser in the semifinal to determine the other finalist.
The champion will represent Canada at the world men's championship, March 27-April 4 in Ogden, Utah.
Here are the pools:
Pool A
Team Canada (Brad Jacobs)
Team Newfoundland and Labrador-Gushue (Brad Gushue)
Team Ontario (Jayden King)
Team Saskatchewan (Kelly Knapp)
Team Quebec (Jean-Michel Menard)
Team Nova Scotia (Kendal Thompson)
Team Prince Edward Island (Tyler Smith)
Team Newfoundland and Labrador (Nathan Young)
Team Nunavut (Derek Samagalski)
Pool B
Team Manitoba-Dunstone (Matt Dunstone)
Team Saskatchewan-McEwen (Mike McEwen)
Team Alberta (Kevin Koe)
Team Manitoba (Braden Calvert)
Team New Brunswick (James Grattan)
Team B.C. (Cody Tanaka)
Team Northern Ontario (Dustin Montpellier)
Team Yukon (Thomas Scoffin)
Team Northwest Territories (Jamie Koe)
