HOG LINE: Multiple Manitoba rinks likely at Brier and Scotties

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/12/2022 (754 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The start of a four-year Olympic cycle brings a ton of changes to the curling landscape.

Most of the time, that comes with a bevy of different lineups being formed across the country, but that’s not the only new thing happening in the sport this year.

While most of the talk has been about the anti-tick rule for tenth ends coming into effect and the continuing debate on whether eight-end games are needed at major competitions, the biggest change will be taking place at this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier.

After the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a record 18 rinks competing at the last two editions of the country’s national curling championships, Curling Canada has decided to make that format permanent.

As a result, there will be three Wild Card squads in the event going forward, in addition to the 14 provincial and territorial champions plus Team Canada, an honour that goes to the previous year’s winner.

Personally, I’m still not sure how I feel about all of this.

As someone who’s extremely fond of the history of the game — I did write a five-part series on the 1982 Labatt Brier after all — the scratching and clawing of working through the provincial playdowns is something that I’ve always been fond of.

The fact that you can lose at the playdowns and still make it to the Brier or the Scotties because you dominated the cashspiel circuit is still something I’m coming to grips with, but the fact that you have to attend your provincials in order to be eligible to get a Wild Card spot is something that I do like.

On the other hand, it does make the field for both events stronger and it does seem like the big-name teams like that aspect of things.

Having seen the effects of the boycott from those who signed up for the Grand Slam of Curling back in the early 2000s at the Brier, that’s something I don’t think anyone wants to experience again.

Now that I’ve gotten my opinion out of the way, let’s get into the big boost for Manitoba that comes with this new format.

If everything falls into place, there could be as many four squads from the province at the Scotties in Kamloops, B.C. next February and at least a pair of rinks at the Brier in London, Ont., in March.

We already know that Kerri Einarson will be back at the Scotties as Team Canada. If her rink can pull off a fourth straight triumph at the tournament, she will join Colleen Jones as the only skip to ever do that.

While it still remains to be seen who exactly will prevail at the provincial playdowns in East St. Paul next month, Jennifer Jones and Kaitlyn Lawes are likely going to be the favourites going in.

At the moment, their rinks are ranked third and fourth in the Canadian Team Ranking System standings, which is how the Wild Card teams are determined.

With Rachel Homan’s Ontario rink in first place, and Einarson already heading to Kamloops, Jones and Lawes are the next in line to earn berths.

There’s still a lot of jostling to do in the standings — there’s two more Grand Slams events before the provincial playdowns get underway — but it seems likely that at least one of the two former teammates will be earning a Wild Card spot if they don’t win the provincial title.

However, Jones and Lawes might both end up being Wild Cards at the Scotties if someone like Abby Ackland, Beth Peterson, Chelsea Carey or Kristy Watling pull off an upset next month.

Over on the men’s side of things, Matt Dunstone is leading the way in the CTRS.

With second place Brad Gushue already locked into a spot at the Brier, Dunstone has a big cushion over third place Kevin Koe and fourth place Brendan Bottcher.

Since those two Alberta rinks are likely to clash in their provincial final, Dunstone is looking pretty good to earn a spot at the Brier as the winner of February’s Viterra Championship in Neepawa or as a Wild Card team.

The same statement holds true for Reid Carruthers. His rink, which includes Carberry’s Derek Samagalski at second, is ranked fifth overall in the CTRS standings and has a bit of a gap over sixth place John Epping of Ontario.

Like Jones and Lawes on the women’s side, Carruthers and Dunstone are both probably going to be playing for a national title in March, with the possibility of a third rink joining them if there’s an upset at the Viterra. Ryan Wiebe seems like the probably favourite to pull off a surprise result, but you never know what can happen at that event.

If you have seven tickets in a raffle, the odds are pretty good that you might come away with something in the end.

That might be the case for Manitoba curling fans if everything works out a certain way at the provincial stage both here and elsewhere.

•••

The big news in the curling world at the moment though is the fact that Tim Hortons will no longer be sponsoring the Brier after 2023.

While I have no clue who will be the new title sponsor — my fingers are crossed for the return of Labatt’s of course — my dad brought up an interesting point during a phone conversation the other day.

With so many companies bailing on Hockey Canada over the summer, this is probably as good a time as any for Curling Canada to pursue some of those companies and see if they are interested in supporting a sport that doesn’t have a negative connotation to it, which certainly isn’t the case for hockey at the moment.

If someone like a Scotiabank or a Canadian Tire came on board for the Brier, that would be a pretty darn good coup.

I’m not sure I’d be as thrilled if it’s a gambling company hopping on board, but that appears to be where a lot of the money in sports is coming from now, just like how tobacco funded a lot of motorsports endeavors back in the day.

My fingers are crossed though that whoever comes on board is in it for the long haul. I’m not sure a four-year run like Nokia had nearly two decades ago is worthwhile for anybody.

» lpunkari@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @lpunkari