Gushue hopes to sweep aside historical odds

Heads into worlds ‘stronger than ever’

in Edmonton

Will Brad Gushue put the ‘Hurrah’ in the ‘Last Hurrah’ 2017 Edmonton Ford World Men’s Curling Championship?

Since Glenn Howard won the world title in Edmonton in 2007, the event has been held in Canada on four occasions and a Canadian team has only managed to win one of them.

Niklas Edin of Sweden has won the last two, Victoria 2013 and Halifax 2015. David Murdoch of Scotland won one, Moncton 2009.

And maybe you noticed that before Kevin Koe won the worlds last year in Basel, Switzerland, Canada had failed to find gold at three in a row — which was nothing compared to the nine-year drought that Rachel Homan ended at the world women’s championship last weekend in Beijing.

You should also know, as the world championships begin Saturday at the Northlands Coliseum, that firsttime Brier winners have had their problems at worlds.

You can put Randy Ferbey in that category. Twice.

Throwing third rocks for Pat Ryan in 1988, Edmonton’s Ferbey and teammates Don Walchuk and Don McKenzie lost in the final against Eigil Ramsfjell of Norway, but bounced back to win it next year.

Ferbey took his own team of David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer and Marcel Rocque to Lausanne in 2001 and didn’t even return home with a medal after winning the Brier. The Ferbey Four returned to the worlds three more times and won them all. That gave Ferbey four world titles, but two firsttime team defeats.

Edmonton’s Kevin Martin would win an Olympic gold medal but he was no worldbeater after winning his first Brier in 1991, losing to Scotland’s David Smith in the final. The Old Bear won four Briers but only managed one world title, in 2008 in Grand Forks.

There’s a long list of Team Canada skips who have entered the worlds as favourites and failed to win: Martin (1991, 1997, 2009), Pat Simmons (2015), Kevin Koe (2014), Brad Jacobs (2013), Jean-Michel Ménard (2006), Mark Dacey (2004), Jeff