A week before the Co-op Invitational began, Switzerland’s Team Marco Hoesli didn’t know if they would be competing in the first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season.
That was until they won the Prestige Hotels and Resorts Curling Classic on Oct. 5, a GSOC satellite event, earning the 16th and last available spot on the men’s side of the tournament.
Now, they’re 3-0 on the week and are headed to the GSOC playoffs for the first time in their careers after missing on their first 10 tries. The playoff berth is well deserved considering the quality of opponents the Swiss squad has faced.
Hoesli and his teammates have taken down all three of the Scottish curling giants so far this week, with victories over Bruce Mouat, Kyle Waddell and Grant Hardie.
If you’re wondering why Hoesli’s squad has looked so sharp compared to the Scottish teams — mainly Mouat and Hardie, who are ranked above them in the world — during the first Slam of the year, well, there’s a reason.
For some men’s teams this is only the second or third event of the season. However, for Team Hoesli, it’s their seventh (!) already this year. In fact, according to DoubleTakeout.com, Hoesli came into the tournament having already played 44 games with a 31-13 record this season. That's the most of anyone ranked in the top 10.
So, while all the Scottish teams did play some games before coming to the Co-op Invitational, this week is more about getting the rust off. This has allowed Hoesli’s team, who look to be in mid-season form, to take advantage.
Thursday’s results (Full scores and standings)
Draw 9
Bottcher 5, Carson 4
Y. Schwaller 7, Ramsfjell 6 (SO)
Epping 10, Waddell 5
Hoesli 7, Hardie 4
Draw 10
Wrana 8, Nihira 5
Maeda 9, Eriksson 3
Dunstone 8, Casper 7
Gim 9, Ueno 3
Draw 11
Miura 6, Homan 3
Jacobs 9, Yamaguchi 4
X. Schwaller 6, Paetz 3
Hasselborg 8. Fujisawa 7
Draw 12
Kang 8, Reese-Hansen 7 (SO)
Einarson 5, MacMillan 4
Mouat 7, Koe 3
Zardini Lacedelli 9, Dupont 7
Why Xenia Schwaller might be the next great Swiss skip
During the Slam season last year, Xenia Schwaller proved with her talent that she was a skip teams would have to be on the lookout for. Schwaller’s future, while it felt like she was still a couple of years away from competing for championships, was bright.
Then she went and made history.
At just 23 years old, Schwaller wrote her name into the history books by winning the Women’s World Championship last March. Doing so, Schwaller became the second-youngest skip to win the event, behind only Britain's Eve Muirhead, who was 22 when she won in 2013.
After losing the first game at the Worlds, Schwaller and her teammates rallied off 13 straight wins to claim the title.
Now the goalposts have changed for Schwaller. It’s not about what she will become in a couple of years. It’s who she is now, and how many Grand Slam victories she can rack up along with Switzerland national titles, women’s world titles and, eventually, Olympic titles.
She has the chance to become the next great women’s skip and there is nothing about her game that feels like she can’t get there. Just ask Alina Paetz, her Swiss rival and opponent on Thursday.
Schwaller, up 4-3 in the seventh end after giving up a steal to Paetz, showed guts. Paetz mounted more pressure by narrowing down the scoring zone to just the full four-foot, forcing Schwaller to make a clutch draw. She made it no problem, scoring two to take the lead before an eventual 6-3 victory.
It’s like Schwaller doesn’t feel the pressure of being a skip at all. Not once has she looked scared to attempt any shot her team needs. She just goes and makes it instead. That's a trait only the elite possess.
How is Nichols fitting in on the front end for Team Dunstone?
It’s been weird seeing Mark Nichols play on a team without someone named Brad Gushue as a teammate, but even weirder to see him sweeping skip stones instead of holding the broom and calling line from the house.
Nichols made his GSOC debut for Team Matt Dunstone — the reigning Canadian men’s champions — earlier this week, playing the second position. Nichols is replacing E.J. Harnden, who decided to retire after last season.
The fit in terms of shooting with Nichols joining Dunstone was never going to be a question, as Nichols is an incredible shot maker, especially at a high level of difficulty.
However, questions around the sweeping fit in the early going are the focal point. Nichols, while being a good sweeper, isn’t to the level of Harnden — not many are.
So, how has he looked? To be honest, great.
With Dunstone’s first rock of the game against Team Daniel Casper, he had a tough path to make a draw into the button, but if made perfectly, he would sit two with no way for Casper to remove either stone. To make it, the communication between Nichols and Ryan Harnden on the front end to Colton Lott, along with Dunstone was going to be critical.
As the rock travelled down the ice, the communication between all four was clear, making a tough shot look easy. Even though it was a shot where Nichols didn’t have to sweep his guts out, how he managed skip stones from the sweeping position stood out.
Of course, the actual brush stroke matters more, though.
Down 7-6 in the eighth end, Dunstone had a chance to win the game with his last stone. He just needed to hit Casper’s rock in the four-foot on an angle to move everything around enough for him to score two. Harnden started the sweeping, but midway down the ice Lott realized the stone needed to curl, and got Nichols to try and crave the stone over just enough.
Nichols got the job done and Dunstone scored two points and the victory. While it will still be a storyline to watch moving forward, Nichols is proving his worth.
The Co-op Invitational will be available on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ Friday starting with Draw 6 at 3 p.m. ET/ 12 p.m. PT. Sportsnet+ and CBC will carry the Saturday quarterfinals, while CBC will air the semifinals on Saturday evening. Championship Sunday will be on Sportsnet.
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