The first stop of the Grand Slam of Curling season is upon us, and Ben Hebert has a couple of goals for Team Bottcher as they hit the ice in Niagara Falls, Ont. for the Hearing Life Tour Challenge.
One is for the lead and his World No. 2-ranked squad to come out on top in the opener of the GSOC series, which runs from Oct. 17-22 and features the Top 15 teams in the world, along with world No. 17.
Hebert’s second goal, given the depth of the field, is a tad easier to tick off: “I’ve never been to Niagara Falls,” says the four-time Brier and one-time world and Olympic champion. “I want to get my first picture with the Falls with the boys [skip Brendan Bottcher, third Marc Kennedy and second Brett Gallant]. I’ve seen people with their fancy pics, and they have the Falls in the background. We’ve gotta do that.”
Val Sweeting is also looking forward to taking in the Falls, and the surrounding area. The Team Einarson third visited when she was a kid. “It was so cold that I don’t remember seeing much,” says Sweeting, who with Team Einarson has won four straight Scotties titles, tied for the most consecutive women’s national championships in history. “I’m excited to go back.”
Curling fans, there’s a lot more than natural wonders of the world to be excited for as the season gets underway this week with the first of five GSOC events on the calendar. The national championships aren’t too far away either, with the Scotties in February and the Brier in March.
Sportsnet caught up with Hebert and Sweeting to talk about some big storylines for the season ahead, the depth of field and their favourite stop on the GSOC tour (the decision was unanimous).
On Rachel Homan giving birth to her third child on Aug. 29 and skipping her team to victory at the 2023 PointsBet Invitational just 33 days later:
Sweeting: “I don’t think that’s something I could do. [Laughs.] It’s a testament to how well she takes care of her body and just how fit and competitive she is. I actually wasn’t surprised to see her back, because she also came back right away after her [second] child. She’s a great athlete.
“But that’s so hard to do when you’re probably not sleeping as much as you’re used to with a newborn, and the travel and all that. She obviously played really well. [Team Homan beat Team Einarson in the final.] We would’ve liked to come on top but it’s always a great game against them, goes back-and-forth. They just managed to get a hold of that one.”
Hebert: “Rachel’s unbelievable. She’s just Rachel, she’s always going to have a good chance to win because she’s so talented and they have a really good team. It’s their second year with Tracy [Fleury, at third] and Rachel’s a killer.
“Hey, honestly, like if it was anyone else [who won that soon after giving birth] I’d be super surprised, but I’m just not surprised that Rachel did that. I know her and she’s mentally strong. She’s a competitor and it kills her to not be out there with her teammates. She’d had to miss a couple spiels due to pregnancy or having babies. She has three kids now, so she’s got a house full and her hands full, but she’s still got the eye of the tiger out there and she doesn’t seem to be slowing down. They have a good team and I think their coach Don Bartlett’s really going to help them a lot.”
On the men’s side, which is deeper than deep:
Hebert: “When you look at the Grand Slams, there’s only eight qualifying spots [for playoffs]. And any of the top 10 teams could win the whole thing. You used to go to a Slam with a guarantee of qualifying, then you’d look to get maybe a nice soft quarterfinal matchup, then you’re going to play a really good team in the semis and final. Now, you have to play really elite curling to qualify in the Grand Slam. Every game, you have to be dialled. You look at Bottcher, Gushue, Dunstone, Koe, Carruthers, the top 5 Canadian teams, then you got Moat [Scotland], Edin [Sweden], Rhetornaz [Italy], Schwaller [Switzerland], Whyte [Scotland]? That’s 10 teams that I literally think could win the whole bonspiel — and two of them aren’t even going to make the playoffs.
“There’s no secrets out there anymore. Everybody’s working hard, practicing, doing the right things. You really just have to go out and perform under the lights at the Slams and compete. And if you don’t, you’re gonna get beat up.
“It’s a battle, but honestly, it’s the reason I love playing. You get to play against the best players in the world on the best ice, on TV, representing your team, your sponsors, your family, your club and we’re playing for big points and money. That’s what gets me excited. And the good news is, I’m still on one of the top teams that can still win every single week. That’s right where you want to be.”
Sweeting: “Team Bottcher’s had a really good start to the season. Having previously played with Marc [Kennedy], I’m rooting for them. And also they’re such a great group of guys with Ben and Brett and Brendan. It would be nice to see them do well and continue their success. We have Koe with the young guns in front of him. Koe himself is such a great shot-maker. I’m really excited to watch them and see how they kind of get gelling. As a former skip, out of province, it’s awesome to see [former skip] Tyler [Tardi] settle into his new role [at third]. He’s been playing really well.
“[Brad] Gushue’s always good. They’re always in the mix. I can see them having a really good season also. I gotta go with [Team Einarson’s] Coach Reid [Carruthers], too. I’m excited that Brad [Jacobs] joined that team. I think he’s a really good fit and support for Reid. Connor [Njegovan] and Derek [Samagalski] are such great guys and they work really hard, too. I’m looking forward to cheering them on and seeing them do well.”
On their favourite GSOC stop:
Sweeting: “The Players’ Championship in Toronto is always a great stop and just with the sports going on that you can catch — we usually go to a Jays game. We can walk to the arena, which is really nice. And the Loblaws nearby? I could eat there every day. The cheese wall? The salad bar? I could hit that up every day. And it’s the end of the year, but there’s a lot on the line. It’s just a great mix of the competitiveness but also, it’s the last event so some of the pressure’s off from the big picture of the season. I think that’s probably one of my most favourite events.”
Hebert: “The Players’ Championship is my favourite. You have to qualify for it every year, your top 12 teams make it. You know if you make it there, one, it’s a great accomplishment, and two, it’s a damn hard spiel. And three, you’re playing at the old Maple Leaf Gardens every April.
“That’s where we play for the year-end bonus for the Slams, so a little bit of extra cabbage on the line, top teams. To go to Toronto for a week, stay downtown, hit some nice restaurants, go to a Jays game or two, it’s a fun week.”
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On Team Einarson’s incredible roll:
Sweeting: “Just reflecting back on everything, obviously you dream about winning the Scotties. To be able to do it once is a dream come true, let alone four times in a row. It’s really special. I’m really proud of us for all the work that we’ve put in — and we’ve overcome a lot together, from first world championships being cancelled [due to COVID] and handling that.
“I’m honoured to have been able to represent Canada three times at the world championship. We’re definitely not finished yet, we would love to get over that bronze hurdle at worlds [Team Einarson won bronze in 2022 and 2023] and put ourselves into that gold medal game. We came really close the last couple years, just a shot here and there.
“We don’t want to put pressure on ourselves to win five [Scotties] in a row or anything like that, we know what’s on the line and regardless of what we’ve done in the past in the event we want to go there and give it our all and give ourselves a chance to win it.”
Hebert: “They’ve been on a dynamic, historic run. They’re still working hard, they still seem hungry. I don’t see them slowing down. They’ve won four [Scotties] in a row. That’s impressive. When you look at the history books, four in a row is ridiculous, five in a row would be incredible. They’re gonna have as good a chance as anybody. They’re really solid up and down the lineup, they’re impressive to watch. And they’re not just good at the Scotties. They’re good at the Slams, have good consistent seasons. I don’t see any reason they’ll take their foot off the gas.”
On other women’s teams to look out for:
Hebert: “Jennifer Jones’s young team, they seem pretty strong, losing the Scotties final last year. They’re going to be good. And obviously it’s a big year for Kaitlyn Lawes’ team. I think that team had high hopes when they put the team together, you know they’re an all-star team at pretty much every position, and they‘ve got great experience but they’ve also got youth on their side. Last year was tough just with all the pregnancies and the babies and things going on. It’s tough when you can’t play together as a team. It’s hard when there’s always one player out of the lineup, but I think this year they’ll get a good grasp on it and I’m expecting them to have a really good bounce-back season, if you will. They’ve got too much talent, I think, to not do well.”
Sweeting: “There’s always teams on the bubble waiting to break through, or have broken through and continue to grow. I think Kaitlyn Lawes’ team, they had a lot of moving parts last year with pregnancies, but they still had a really successful season. I think they’re going to be a top competitor of ours. I can see them getting on a bit of a roll now that everything’s a little bit more consistent.
“We saw Kayla Skrlik’s team from Alberta come through last year. She’s a great shot-maker, pretty steady out there. I think it’ll be cool to see how they do. Kate Cameron’s team is new but playing a lot early and they’ve had a good start to the season so far. You have Clancy Grandy from BC, they had a really great year last year, so we’ll see what they build. Jennifer Jones is always in the mix. Great team behind her there. And with [two-time Scotties champ] Chelsea Carey filling in at some events, I don’t anticipate that they’ll skip a beat too much on that.
“There’s lots of great teams, lots of great competitions. It’s great for Canada. Ultimately, whoever’s at the world championship, we want them to come home with gold. The fact we’re all pushing each other to get better and finding little ways we can improve, it’s great for the sport. Looking at all the great teams across the world and across Canada, we have to keep pushing ourselves if we want to stay at the top.”
