EXPERIENCED CREW
Kleiter rink aiming high at juniors
Fourth time’s the charm? Rylan Kleiter and his Team Saskatchewan rink think so — or at least they hope so.
Skip Rylan Kleiter, third Trevor Johnson, second Joshua Mattern and lead Matthieu Taillon are banking on past experience as they head to the 2020 New Holland Canadian junior men’s curling championship this week in Langley, B.C. They will be looking to improve on last year’s bronze-medal performance.
“The boys are ready to take it to the next step and take it to win that Canadian (title),” coach Dean Kleiter said.
“Knowing everything that happens at this big event, they’ll just be relaxed and ready to go.”
The junior men’s squad — as well as the Team Saskatchewan junior women’s foursome of Ashley Thevenot, Rachel Erickson, Paige Engel and Mary Engel — are set to receive a grand sendoff Wednesday night at the Sutherland Curling Club in Saskatoon.
Three members of the Kleiter team — Rylan Kleiter, Taillon and Mattern — have curled together for a decade, including winning a provincial high school curling title. Taillon says they are “best friends so it makes it really easy.”
They’ve played in about 800 games together, which skip Kleiter says is “definitely a game-changer for us, just knowing each other and what we do on and off the ice and how to get the best out of each other is really important.”
When Johnson joined the squad six years ago, “we haven’t looked back,” Dean Kleiter said.
“They just have to look at each other and they know what the other guy is thinking. They’re really turning it on now. As you get into these bigger competitions, the focus gets a little more intense. It’s looking really good. I’m excited.”
Last year, Saskatchewan finished second in Pool A, behind eventual champion British Columbia, with a 5-1 record. Kleiter’s team placed second overall in the championship pool with an 8-2 record before losing its semifinal to Manitoba.
The foursome has taken away a piece or two from each of their appearances at the national championship, Rylan Kleiter said. This year, their main focus is on patience and waiting for their opportunities.
“We know that if we do what we do, we’ll be right there,” he said, noting that they are the only squad with each member returning from last year.
“We had a good provincial, but we know there’s still some left in the tank to take our game to the next level.
“It’ll be fun. We’ll have a little bit of a target on our backs so we’re looking forward to embracing that.”
The team leaves Thursday for Langley, where Kleiter — a kicker and receiver in football — helped the Saskatoon Hilltops win a Canadian Bowl championship in November.
Teams will practise Friday, with competition beginning Saturday. Half of the games will be played on modified arena ice and the other half on regular curling-rink ice.
“Learning how to throw on that arena ice is definitely huge, but it’s a long week so you have to keep that in mind, too,” Taillon said.
“Even though it is, you still have to win early. But even if you do get a loss early, you can come back and really put it to them in the end.”
The championship covers 10 days. It’s a grind on the grand stage.
“Our first year when we were there, we were kind of in awe,” Kleiter admitted.
“We didn’t really know how to react. Now, getting on that different kind of arena ice, and that experience there, will be a game-changer for us.”
All four members of the rink are 21 years old, so this is it for eligibility as junior curlers. It’s now or never on this national stage.
“I think it’s the most confident we’ve gone in yet,” Taillon said. “Now we’re kind of calm, cool and collected as opposed to the past when we were kind of jittery and excited.”
It’ll be fun. We’ll have a little bit of a target on our backs so we’re looking forward to embracing that.
RYLAN KLEITER