Stoughton aiming at another Brier in Kamloops
Alberta’s Koe is other favourite for the win
Jeff Stoughton’s 11th Canadian men’s curling championship is a bit of a homecoming.
Kamloops, B.C., the host city of this year’s Tim Hortons Brier, is where the Manitoba skip won his first Canadian men’s curling crown in 1996. He has won twice since — the last in 2011 — and is a two-time world champion.
“It’s kind of special being able to come back after so many years to a place with some great memories,” he said in an interview. “It’s pretty cool and the team is really looking forward to getting on with the week.”
The Brier starts Saturday and runs to March 9.
Last year Stoughton lost the Brier final in Edmonton 11-4 to Brad Jacobs and his Northern Ontario rink.
Stoughton had a disappointing 3-4 finish at the Olympic Curling Trials in December, as Jacobs went undefeated in claiming the right to wear Canada’s colours in Sochi. Stoughton had lots of company. No one could slow the juggernaut from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
“There was only one happy team coming out of those trials and that was obviously Jacobs,” said Stoughton. “We just sort of decompressed for a few weeks and then got right back at it, had a great Skins Game, great fun Continental Cup with the guys, and then just carried right through to the Safeway championship in Winnipeg.”
In this year’s Brier field — with both Jacobs and Alberta veteran Kevin Martin absent — Stoughton and Alberta’s Kevin Koe are favourites. Manitoba has a record 27 wins at the Brier, followed closely by Alberta with 25.
Koe is representing Alberta this year for the third time, after beating Martin 7-5 to take the provincial title. Just getting out of Alberta is tough for Koe, who curls out of Calgary.
“You’ve got to get through one of the top teams in the world in Kevin Martin and it’s definitely not realistic to think you can do that every year,” he said.
He recognizes he’s going to be one of the favourites along with Stoughton but says that’s no different than any other year and the rest of the field may be deeper than some suspect. “There’s quite a few teams that a lot of people don’t know about that I think will do pretty good, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, maybe even the Territories. I think it’s a pretty tough field actually.”
Jean-Michel Menard is back for his eighth try after becoming just the second skip from Quebec to win the championship in 2006. His lineup consists of Martin Crête, Eric Sylvain and brother Philippe Menard.
Brier finalists each receive $40,000 in prize money, the bronze medallist gets $30,000 and the $20,000 goes to the fourth-place team.