Saskatchewan skip hopes for fan support like Gushue’s
Saskatchewan skip points to support Newfoundland crowd gave Gushue in ’17
Steve Laycock has a dream.
In that dream, the skip of the 2018 Saskatchewan men’s curling champions envisions the province’s curling fans creating a hometown advantage — similar to the one enjoyed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium.
Laycock watched what took place in St. John’s, N.L., in 2017 when hometown hero Brad Gushue captured the Canadian men’s curling championship, and would love to see that happen during the Brier at the Brandt Centre.
“I’ve been to Newfoundland and there are a lot of similarities between them and the people from Saskatchewan,’’ Laycock says.
“You look at how crazy our fans can get for the Roughriders, so I don’t see any reason why they can’t do it. It has been ingrained in curling that the crowd is supposed to be quiet and respectful of the other teams.
“Part of the experience when you go to Roughriders games is you feel how you’re making a difference and helping the home team win. I don’t see any reason why it can’t be done (in Regina) as long as it’s done in a respectful way.’’
Laycock, who is supported by his Saskatoon-based team of Matt Dunstone, Kirk Muyres and Dallan Muyres, alternate Lyle Muyres and coach Pat Simmons, is looking for a boost as the host team at the Brier.
It’s the fourth time in five years that Laycock has reached the Brier as a skip and the seventh time overall. He was a member of Simmons’ provincial-championship team in 2007, 2008 and 2011.
This year’s marks the first time that Laycock has been the skip of the host-province team at the Brier.
“I’ve seen what it can be like for some of the other teams at Briers when they are the home team,’’ he says.
“I saw what happened on TV from a distance what happened last year in St. John’s and the atmosphere it created for Brad Gushue’s team. They were one of the craziest crowds in Brier history. Hopefully Regina can bring the same support for us, because it would be a lot of fun.’’
The difference could be there hasn’t been a men’s team for the province to rally around, compared to what Newfoundland was able to do with Gushue — a gold medallist at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
“Gushue has basically been Newfoundland curling for the last 15 years,’’ Laycock says. “In Saskatchewan it has been a multitude of teams and people. You also have the two big cities in Saskatchewan and basically you have St. John’s in Newfoundland.’’
Laycock’s team had been among the province’s most stable in the men’s ranks until the 2017-18 season. Laycock, Colton Flasch and the Muyres brothers had curled together for six years.
Flasch shared in three provincial championships before electing to skip his own team after the 2017 season.
Laycock recruited Dunstone, who is from Winnipeg, to play second with Flasch’s departure. Laycock then beat Flasch 9-7 in the final of Saskatchewan Tankard to qualify for the 16-team Brier.
The provincial championship marked a high point in what has been a challenging season for Laycock. The team initially started out with Laycock skipping with Kirk Muyres at third, Dunstone at second and Dallan Muyres at lead.
As Laycock worked his way through the cash circuit and toward the Canadian Olympic team trials in December, he realized that the original lineup wasn’t clicking.
Laycock then shuffled the lineup. He’s playing third and calling the game. Dunstone, a two-time Canadian junior men’s champion as a skip, is throwing fourth stones and Kirk Muyres is playing second. Only Dallan is left in his original position.
The shakeup didn’t pay immediate dividends as Laycock was 2-6 at the trials.
“At the trials, it was a case of we weren’t playing well enough at the time,’’ Laycock says. “It might have also been too soon for everyone to get comfortable with that change. Ever since we had the break before the New Year, we’ve been firing at every event we’ve been to. I think we’re starting to play great now.’’
Laycock’s best showings at the Brier were third-place finishes with Simmons in 2008 and as a skip in 2015. The Saskatoon skip is hoping to improve on those showings in Regina.
“We’re going there to win the event, but we don’t have complete control over that,” he says. “We have control over our performance level. If we perform to our absolute abilities and to our expectations, we’ll be happy with our result.’’