Any curling fan that watched last season but missed the off-season news is in for a surprise when you turn on the television next week.
Because of retirements, swaps or parting of ways, many teams will have different looks this season. Plenty of moves stood out and are worth talking about before the first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season next week.
Here are some first-year teams to keep an eye:
Canadian team changes
Nichols replaces Harnden on Dunstone
Matt Dunstone will have a new look on the front end this year with Mark Nichols joining the team at second. This comes after E.J. Harnden announced midway through last season that would be retiring at the end of the year.
Adding Nichols, possibly the best free agent this past off-season, looks like a great addition for the defending Brier champions. But we need to see how this will look in competition.
Nichols has been known as the sidekick to Brad Gushue, who also retired after last year, playing third throughout his professional career. So, switching to second will be an adjustment.
In terms of shooting, Nichols will be an upgrade over Harnden, but it’s the sweeping that will be a question in the first part of the season. Harnden was among the best sweepers in the world. Nichols is a decent sweeper himself, but just isn’t at Harnden's level.
Figuring the sweeping part out quickly as a team will be important as success early will be key for the Manitoba-based squad. Nichols is 46 and will be 50 by the time the 2030 Olympics roll around. If they aren’t able to win a couple events or find themselves in the Brier final at minimum this year, this may be a short-lived team.
So far, they’ve played two events this season, and won the second in Okotoks, Alta.
Bottcher moves back to skip, picks up Horgan brothers
After spending two seasons playing second for Gushue, Brendan Bottcher makes his return to calling the game from the house. Also coming from Gushue’s former team with Bottcher is Geoff Walker, who will play lead.
The massive get for Bottcher was grabbing Jake and Tanner Horgan, who left John Epping’s team after last season. The brothers, while still young, look like the next great sibling pairing in Canadian men’s curling.
The Alberta-based team will need some time to hit its stride, but come Brier time, Bottcher could be a legit threat.
Peterman replaces Sweeting
Dunstone isn’t the only defending Canadian champion starting with a new lineup.
On the women’s side, Kerri Einarson announced early in the off-season that the Manitoba-based team was parting ways with third Val Sweeting after eight years and replacing her with Jocelyn Peterman.
Peterman will be throwing lead stones, while also holding the broom on Einarson’s shots so the squad still can have Shannon Birchard and Karlee Burgess, one of the best duos in the women’s game, sweeping.
The fit between Peterman and the rest of the team should work well. The bigger question will be about Birchard and Burgess, who also are moving up a throwing position in the order.
Both were incredible at the positions they played last year — Birchard at second and Burgess at lead. But as we know, there can be a big adjustment.
Walker adds veteran presence to Gray-Withers
Some feel Serena Gray-Withers’ Alberta rink is the Canadian women’s team most likely to break out this season after winning an event in Edmonton last month.
After last season, the team moved on from Lindsey Burgess and realized it needed to bring someone in with more experience.
Laura Walker, who will play second, is a perfect match. Even though Walker, 35, had been focusing on mixed doubles the last couple years, she had a great showing at the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts filling in for Peterman, who was at the Olympics for mixed doubles, on Kaitlyn Lawes' runner-up rink.
Team Gray-Withers is 14th in the world rankings, good for third in Canada. It will be interesting to see how high it can climb this season.
Tardi takes McEwen’s former team
After the way last season ended for Mike McEwen’s Saskatchewan rink at the Brier, the writing was on the wall for his younger teammates Colton Flasch, Kevin Marsh and Daniel Marsh to give him the boot, especially with a new quadrennial starting and McEwen being 46.
Enter Tyler Tardi.
The 28-year-old skip is best known for three-peating at the Canadian junior championship from 2017-19. For the last few seasons, Tardi played third for Kevin Koe. He also was the alternate for Brad Jacobs at the Olympics.
Out of all the teams put together this off-season, this one has the most pressure, reminding of the Bottcher situation from a couple years ago when he was booted off his team of Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert and replaced with Jacobs. The trio thought they could win together — just not with Bottcher, and looked elsewhere. The hunch paid off as they captured Olympic gold.
International team changes to watch
Alina Paetz returns to skip
For the first time in a long time, Switzerland's Alina Paetz won’t have Silvana Tirinzoni on her side calling the game as the skip. Tirinzoni retired after last season. Carole Howald also won’t be returning to the now disbanded Tirinzoni roster, switching her focus to mixed doubles and Rock League.
Selina Witschonke, who played lead last season for Tirinzoni, will be the third for Paetz while Stefanie Berset will throw second stones and Renee Frigo will play lead.
Even though the season is still young, this team looks great so far. They’ve already racked up three victories, running through the competition in each event.
Scottish trade
This is the closest curling will ever get to a North American sports trade.
Over the off-season we saw a one-for-one swap between Team Mouat and, at the time, Team Whyte — now Team Hardie.
Grant Hardie for Robin Brydone was the deal.
For Bruce Mouat’s team, Brydone slots into the third position while Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan Jr. will stay on the front end. Mouat has won silver at the past two Olympics.
On the other side for Ross Whyte, Grant Hardie will skip the team. Whyte still will throw fourth stones. Craig Waddell and Euan Kyle remain on the front end for Hardie’s team.
Both teams have looked solid. Hardie already picked up a victory this season in an event in Cornwall, Ont., while Mouat’s team will play only their second event of the season at the Grand Slam's Co-op Invitational next week in Victoria.
Eriksson takes over for Edin
It will be weird not seeing Niklas Edin’s name anywhere this season on a team. The Swedish legend retired from the game after going out with his record eighth world title last season.
As for the rest of the team?
The band is staying together, but now with double-touch-gate's Oskar Eriksson skipping.
Rasmus Wrana will throw third stones after throwing second stones last year, which will now be Simon Olofsson's job. Olofsson was Edin's alternate. Christoffer Sundgren will continue at lead.
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