The Masters kicks off another season of the Grand Slam of Curling series, taking place Oct. 28 to Nov. 2 in Selkirk, Man.
Olympic champion Brad Jacobs leads the field as he continues his quest to earn his first Grand Slam title while Mike McEwen’s rink from Winnipeg has been red-hot out of the gate.
It’ll be the first major test for all-new rinks led by Kevin Koe, Glenn Howard, and Jeff Stoughton as several curlers change teams during the off-season following the conclusion of an Olympic cycle.
Let’s take a close look at all 15 men’s team breaking down their lineups, hometowns, World Curling Tour order of merit rankings and what they’ve done lately.
TEAM COTTER
Lineup: Jim Cotter (skip), Ryan Kuhn (third), Tyrel Griffith (second) and Rick Sawatsky (lead)
Hometown: Kelowna/Vernon, B.C.
WCT order of merit ranking: 14th
The team reached the finals at both the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials and the Tim Hortons Brier last season with John Morris skipping the team while throwing third stones. Cotter, the 2012 Masters finalist, is back in charge this year with Kuhn replacing Morris at third.
TEAM DE CRUZ
Lineup: Benoit Schwartz (fourth), Peter de Cruz (skip), Claudio Pätz (second) and Valentin Tanner (lead)
Hometown: Geneva, Switzerland
WCT order of merit ranking: 12th
De Cruz defeated Kevin Koe to win the bronze medal at the world championship last season. The Swiss rink made one roster change during the off-season as Pätz switched over from Team Michel to replace Dominik Maerki at second.
TEAM EDIN
Lineup: Niklas Edin (skip), Oskar Eriksson (third), Kristian Lindström (second) and Christoffer Sundgren (lead)
Hometown: Karlstad, Sweden
WCT order of merit ranking: 8th
Edin parted ways with his team that won the world championship in 2013 and earned the bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Eriksson (who previously served as Edin’s alternate), Lindström and Sundgren captured silver at the world championship last season.
TEAM EPPING
Lineup: John Epping (skip), Travis Fanset (third), Patrick Janssen (second) and Tim March (lead)
Hometown: Toronto
WCT order of merit ranking: 10th
Epping is a two-time Grand Slam of Curling tournament winner, capturing the 2008 National and 2012 Players’ Championship. His new rink had a head start as they formed just prior to the Players’ Championship last season and reached the quarterfinals at the event. They’ve continued to click together this year reaching the finals at both the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and the Point Optical Curling Classic tournaments.
TEAM GUSHUE
Lineup: Brad Gushue (skip), Mark Nichols (second), Brett Gallant (second) and Adam Casey (lead)
Hometown: St. John’s, N.L.
WCT order of merit ranking: 3rd
Gushue reached the finals at both the Canadian Open and National Grand Slam of Curling tournaments last season. Nichols, who won the Olympic gold medal with Gushue in 2006, rejoined the team this year after two seasons in Winnipeg with Team Stoughton.
TEAM HOWARD
Lineup: Glenn Howard (skip), Richard Hart (third), Jon Mead (second) and Craig Savill (lead)
Hometown: Penetanguishene, Ont.
WCT order of merit ranking: 7th
Defending champion Howard has skipped his team to a record six Masters titles. Hart, who won four Masters championships in a row with Howard from 2006-09, came out of retirement to rejoin the rink this season while Mead moved over from Team Stoughton.
TEAM JACOBS
Lineup: Brad Jacobs (skip), Ryan Fry (third), E.J. Harnden (second) and Ryan Harnden (lead)
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
WCT order of merit ranking: 1st
The Sochi Olympic gold medallists reached the finals at the Players’ Championship to close out last season but fell short against Kevin Martin’s team. Jacobs continues to look for his first career Grand Slam of Curling title. The team has one tournament title so far this year, capturing the Shorty Jenkins Classic.
TEAM KOE
Lineup: Kevin Koe (skip), Marc Kennedy (third), Brent Laing (second) and Ben Hebert (lead)
Hometown: Calgary
WCT order of merit ranking: 5th
Koe claimed the Tim Hortons Brier this past season but formed an all-new team this year. Koe has built an all-star roster: Laing won two world championships with Team Howard while Kennedy and Hebert both earned Olympic gold in 2010 and the world championship in 2009 with Team Martin. The trio have also won a ton of hardware in the Grand Slam of Curling series with a combined 33 titles.
TEAM LAYCOCK
Lineup: Steve Laycock (skip), Kirk Muyres (third), Colton Flasch (second) and Dallan Muyres (lead)
Hometown: Saskatoon
WCT order of merit ranking: 11th
Laycock represented Saskatchewan at the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier and kept his team intact for this year. The rink reached the semifinals at the National last season.
TEAM MCEWEN
Lineup: Mike McEwen (skip), B.J. Neufeld (third), Matt Wozniak (second) and Denni Neufeld (lead)
Hometown: Winnipeg
WCT order of merit ranking: 2nd
Team McEwen has captured three Grand Slam of Curling titles and won this event in 2010. The rink started off this season on a hot streak winning the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, the Point Optical Curling Classic and the Canad Inns Men’s Classic tournaments.
TEAM MICHEL
Lineup: Sven Michel (skip), Florian Meister (third), Simon Gempeler (second) and Stefan Meienberg (lead)
Hometown: Adelboden, Switzerland
WCT order of merit ranking: 13th
Michel represented Switzerland at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and also skipped his team to the European Championship title in 2013. The team made two roster changes over the summer bringing in Meister and Meienberg, both formerly of Team Pascal Hess.
TEAM MORRIS
Lineup: John Morris (skip), Pat Simmons (third), Carter Rycroft (second), Nolan Thiessen (lead) and Scott Bailey (alternate)
Hometown: Calgary
WCT order of merit ranking: 6th
Simmons, Rycroft and Thiessen won the Canadian Open and the Tim Hortons Brier last season with skip Kevin Koe. The trio stayed together and brought on board 2010 Olympic gold medallist Morris to skip. Bailey is expected to fill in for Rycroft for the Grand Slam events. The rink will be the first men’s team to return as Team Canada at the Brier.
TEAM MURDOCH
Lineup: David Murdoch (skip), Greg Drummond (third), Scott Andrews (second) and Michael Goodfellow (lead)
Hometown: Stirling, Scotland
WCT order of merit ranking: 9th
Murdoch is a two-time world champion and earned the silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The team stayed together for another Olympic run.
TEAM STOUGHTON
Lineup: Jeff Stoughton (skip), Rob Fowler (third), Alex Forrest (second) and Connor Njegovan (lead)
Hometown: Winnipeg
WCT order of merit ranking: 16th
Stoughton is one of just four curlers to complete a career Grand Slam as a skip and captured the Masters in 2004. Fowler, who played with Stoughton from 2006-10, returned the team over the summer and joined new recruits Forrest and Njegovan.
TEAM ULSRUD
Lineup: Thomas Ulsrud (skip), Torger Nergård (third), Christoffer Svae (second) and Håvard Vad Petersson (lead)
Hometown: Oslo, Norway
WCT order of merit ranking: 4th
Ulsrud is the reigning world champion and the team picked up this season right where they left off by winning the season-opening Baden Masters tournament. The team also earned the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.