We're early into the first curling season of the new quadrennial, and it’s time to see how teams stack up.
For some teams like Switzerland's Team Marco Hoesli, they’ve used the start of the season to play in as many minor events as possible before competing in Grand Slam of Curling tourneys. As a result, they look to be in mid-season form and are outshining stronger competition.
Others such as Canada’s Team Rachel Homan and Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat are mainly focusing on GSOC events, meaning they've played far fewer games. Taking that approach has made them look rusty compared to other teams.
Since the season is young, it’s important to find a middle ground for rewarding teams that are playing well to start the year while giving some grace to teams that have built outstanding resumes over the last quad and have started slow.
With that in mind, here is the first curling power rankings of the season – all team records are from doubletakeout.com.
Women’s rankings:
1. Alina Paetz (25-8): New team, but it doesn’t matter. The Swiss team already has three titles this season and a 7-3 record against other top-10 teams in the world.
2. Rachel Homan (1-3): This is the balancing act in full force. The Ottawa squad didn’t look good at the GSOC Invitational, the team's first event of the season. But given the track record and resume, there is no reason to believe Homan’s team won’t turn this around in a hurry.
3. Kerri Einarson (15-7): There could be an argument to be made that the Manitoba squad deserves to be No. 1 on this list, considering they won the first Slam of the year as a new team. We just need to see this repeated from Einarson before moving her up the rankings.
4. Xenia Schwaller (31-8): Despite the record, the defending world champion and her Swiss teammates probably would agree it’s been a tough start to the year. They've made it deep in every tournament they've played, but can't seem to finish the job, especially against top-10 opponents. All three of Paetz’s titles came against Schwaller while the latter team also lost in two semifinals, including the GSOC Invitational. Overall they are 3-7 against others in the top 10.
5. Kyeong-ae Kim (26-13): The South Korean team is missing its best player Bo-bae Kang, but still made it to the Slam final. While the team waits for Kang to finish focusing on mixed doubles, adding veteran Kyeong-ae Kim and having her play skip has been a huge boost
6. Isabella Wrana (27-6): The Swedish team is pushing its way into the top five. Wrana’s team won 19 games in a row earlier this season and were cruising at the GSOC Invitational until they ran into Kim during the quarterfinals.
7. Eun-ji Gim (34-10): The South Korean squad is one of the most toughest teams to rank, because the talent is there to be among the best in the world, but they’re never are able to put it together for a week during a big event.
8. Anna Hasselborg (9-5): Having the defending Olympic gold medallists this far down the list might be surprising to some, considering the Swedish skip could fall in the same category as Homan in terms of resume. Unlike Homan though, Hasselborg has won only one Slam since 2022 and outside of the Olympics, has always seemed to struggle against stronger competition.
9. Selena Sturmay (27-6): Canada’s depth of talent is rising as Alberta’s Sturmay is rolling to start the new quadrennial. The team has three titles and a 7-2 record against top-10 teams in the world, including consecutive wins over Einarson, Schwaller and Gim to win the Autumn Gold Curling Classic. Now Sturmay gets the chance to prove her worth in the GSOC Masters next week.
10 Seung-youn Ha (27-9): The South Korean squad is riding a 13-game winning streak and could be ranked higher. However, it’s all come against weaker competition and since we didn’t see them at the GSOC Invitational and won’t see them at the GSOC Masters, this spot feels right.
Men’s Rankings
1. Yannick Schwaller (25-3): It’s early, but it’s clear the Swiss team made up of Benoit Schwarz Van-Berkel (fourth stone thrower) Yannick Schwaller, Sven Michel and Pablo Lachat-Couchepin is just a step ahead of anyone else in the field right now. They won the first Slam of the year, where one thing became obvious when watching their games. To beat them, you need to not only make all eight shots, but also put them in the perfect position each time. If anyone is off by a millimetre, they will make you pay.
2. Brad Jacobs (10-4): The defending Olympic gold medallists aren’t joking around to start the season. Despite a light schedule and not a lot of practise before the season began, the Canadian skip looks to be in top form. In Jacobs' first competitive men’s fours tournament of the year, the GSOC Invitational, the squad made the semis and gave Schwaller his toughest match of the week.
3. Grant Hardie (17-3): This new-look Scottish squad has the potential to reach No. 1 in the world given the talent on the roster and the ability to make hard shots look easy, something they showed in the first Slam of the season. However, after watching the GSOC event, areas for improvement include communication and understanding how they want to play the game.
4. Bruce Mouat (3-5): Even though Robin Brydone is elite, it’s hard to click on all levels with a new team right away when replacing someone that played with Bruce Mouat for nine years. Especially when you haven't played a lot of games to start the season either. Despite that, the mix between Brydone and Mouat seems quite well actually. They just need more game reps to find their groove.
5. Matt Dunstone (17-9): It’s been a solid start to the season for the reigning Brier champions and new teammate Mark Nichols. In the Manitoba rink's last three events, they’ve either made the playoffs or won the tournament. However, they are far from their peak right now.
6. John Epping (26-9): Considering Epping lost two of his best players in the off-season, it’s surprising how well his Manitoba-based team has looked to start the season. They just won their first title as a new team at the Henderson Metal Fall Classic, going undefeated.
7. Stefano Spiller (32-10): Even though you didn’t see Spiller’s team at the first GSOC event – the Italian squad declined the invite because of travel reasons – Spiller has racked up the most wins against top-10 opponents this season. Their 8-4 record right now will be put to the test at the GSOC Masters in Medicine Hat, Alta.
8. Brendan Bottcher (22-7): Don’t expect Bottcher’s Alberta-based team to stay this low during the whole season. Each tournament the newly formed team has played in, they’ve looked better.
9. Danny Casper (19-6): Coming off an Olympic appearance last year, Team Danny Casper appears to be on the rise. Getting Brad Gushue into the USA Curling program should help, too. Even though they didn’t play well enough to make the playoffs at the first Slam, they do have a title under their belts this season.
10. Marco Hoesli (36-15): The Swiss rink's busy schedule has helped this team. They even made the Slam playoffs for the first time in 11 tries at the Invitational. But to go higher on this list, they’re going to have to prove they can beat stronger competition consistently. There record is great, but when it comes to playing teams that are top 25 in the world, they’re 14-14.
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