Curlers all aboard on Gushue’s train
Most other World Curling Tour teams have made changes, but there was no reason for this group to shake things up
There were many reasons why the Brad Gushue curling team could have went their separate ways at the end of this curling season, just as some of men’s teams on the World Curling Tour have opted to make changes now that this most recent Olympic cycle is complete.
Geoff Walker’s getting married, and the couple will be living in Edmonton. Brett Gallant’s girlfriend, Jocelyn Peterman, is joining Jennifer Jones’s Canadian and world championship team, and they play out of Winnipeg.
And then there’s Gushue and long-time third, Mark Nichols, both of whom have young families and businessmen away from the rink (they co-own Orangetheory Fitness, and Gushue has a pair of Menchie’s franchises).
Not to mention the grind of another four fall, winter and spring seasons on the World Curling Tour. The travel is sexy when you’re off to Vegas, but not so much when you’re headed to Lloydminster, Alta.
But at the end of the day, it came down to one factor, in Walker’s words: “How do you jump off this train?”
Really.
Entering the world curling championship that opens today in Las Vegas, the Gushue foursome may be the best team in the world, with apologies to John Shuster’s surprising Olympic gold medal squad from the United States.
They are the team to beat at the worlds, although Sweden’s Niklas Edin, last year’s world silver medallist and runner-up to Shuster in Pyeongchang, will be in the mix.
Canadian curling has seen quite the turnover this past month, with skips Kevin Koe, Mike Mcewen, Reid Carruthers, John Epping and Steve Laycock, all of whom competed at
the Olympics Trials, making changes. And John Morris has elected to stick with mixed doubles.
So that leaves only the Gushue, Brad Jacobs and Brendan Bottcher teams intact. Which means it’s not inconceivable to envision Gushue and Co. winning another one or two Brier titles.
“We’ve got a few years of really good curling left in us,” Walker said.
Added Nichols, “How do you walk away now? It would be a shame to shut this team down.”
No kidding. The curlers just came off their second straight Tim Hortons Brier championship,
in which they’ve gone a combined 23-3 the past two years.
Gushue, Nichols and Gallant were all first-team all-stars, Walker voted to the second team.
At the world championship in Edmonton last year, they ran the table at 13-0.
By 2022, and the next Winter Olympics in Beijing, Nichols and Gushue will be 42 and 41, not old by any stretch but a bit long in the tooth for an athlete (though a curler could probably pull off playing at a high level at that age than, say, a figure skater, skier or hockey player).
“There was certainly a lot of thought that went into the decision,” said Gushue of going all-in for the next four-year Olympic quadrennial. “Your family has to buy in, and you have to make it happen business-wise.
“And the last component,” he said with a grin, “you need three guys who want to curl with you for four more years.”
Both Gushue and Nichols admitted they, along their wives, Krista and Colette, mulled over the decision after the disappointing Trials in Ottawa, where Team Gushue was ousted in the semifinal.
“The question was how to make it work, with businesses and kids … in my case, their extracurricular stuff is getting busier every day,” Gushue said.
“I had to make sure Krista bought into it. If I went on the road leaving a big burden on her that she didn’t want to handle, it would be hard for me to fully commit, to be 100 per cent on board.
“That support was the key part.”
Lots can happen in the next four years. The partnership of Carruthers and Mcewen could lead to a super team out of Winnipeg. Or they could fizzle, just as the failed union of Gushue and Randy Ferbey did years ago. We’ve seen examples of elite athletes lose their game seemingly overnight as they age. Injuries could come into play (Gushue’s wonky hip/groin has been well-documented). Or perhaps the drive to win could fritter away.
All a definite possibility. 2022 is a long ways down the road.
But the level at which they’re playing now, you can’t help but wonder if there may be some kind of quasi-curling dynasty in the making.
IN SHORT
It will be interesting to keep an eye on Jennifer Jones’s Canadian and world championship women’s team next season. With Jones living in Ontario, and newcomer Jocelyn Peterman in Calgary, how will that work for a team that’s based out of Winnipeg? Under Curling Canada’s new residency policy, teams are permitted to have one nonresident curler outside of the member association (in this case, Manitoba) … Word was
Brad Jacobs was set to hook up with Kevin Koe next season and throw third stones, along with one of the Harnden brothers, who plays front end with the Northern Ontario team. But Jacobs had a change of heart and the team will remain intact for the next Olympic quadrennial. That’s a shocker, because the Jacobs team is spinning its wheels right now … The
Stacie Curtis team’s reign of three straight Newfoundland and Labrador women’s curling championships has come to an end. Curtis and her husband are moving to Miami, Fla., and
Erin Porter is also moving out the province … Brett Gallant grew up playing skip in his native P.E.I., winning a Canadian junior title and world silver medal. But he says he likes his new role on the front end of
Brad Gushue’s foursome. But some habits are hard to break. “I’ll give some input every now and again,” he says, before adding with a chuckle, “sometimes more than Brad needs.” … With Beijing playing host to the 2022 Winter Games, China is putting money into winter sport. The title sponsor of the men’s world championship is 361 Degrees, a Chinese sporting goods and apparel company … John
Shuster sure has enjoyed life since winning Olympic gold. He opened the New York stock exchange, was on the Jimmy Fallon Show and will throw out a ceremonial first pitch at a Minnesota Twins game. Gushue and his team had nothing close to that when they won gold in 2006 …