Top team or free space?
Alberta rink out to prove 3-8 record last year was a fluke
REGINA — It’s like one of those Carnac The Magnificent sketches on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
“Stu Beagle of Blackie,” Carnac divines from under his bejewelled head garb, then rips open the envelope and reads the question. “Name the only skip to represent Alberta at the Brier and end up with a worse record than Brendan Bottcher last year.”
In the past 30 years, only two teams were worse representing Alberta than Bottcher. Harold Brekenridge of Calgary in 1990 and Greg Ferster of Leduc in 1993 were both 4-7. Beagle of Blackie was 1-8 in 1949.
Bottcher, third Darren Moulder, second Brad Thiessen and lead Karrick Martin hadn’t done the exhaustive research to discover the extent of their failure last year. Now they’re here with more free spaces on the new Brier bingo card than ever and, after that 3-8 Brier debut, there’s a new question.
Should Bottcher be considered one of the free spaces?
He’s Alberta. That should make him a favourite. But last year’s 3-8 would suggest he’s a free space, along with Nunavut and all those other pretenders, as the Tim Hortons Brier begins here on Saturday with a politically correct 16-team, two-pool field.
The teams play seven games each. Eight teams move on from each pool, while the remaining eight play a draw to determine who finished ninth through 16th, then go home.
Nobody paid much notice last year after Bottcher became the first skip not named Randy Ferbey, Kevin Martin or Kevin Koe to represent Alberta at the Brier, because Koe was there as defending Brier and world champ in Team Canada colours and made it to the final.
Bottcher was in the same role Greg Smith will play this year for Newfoundland as defending champ Brad Gushue wears the Team Canada uniform. This year, Olympian Koe will not be here.
In the past 30 years, Alberta teams have won the Brier 14 times, with Ontario and Manitoba tied for second with five each. Alberta finished second in another four of those Briers, third twice and fourth three times, including once by Martin after finishing in a threeway tie for first at 9-2 only to lose the bronze medal game.
That’s 25 of 30 years in the top four. Expectations are always high.
“It’s not like we’re playing Brad Gushue first in his hometown like we did last year,” Martin said.
True. In order, Alberta’s games are against Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Newfoundland and the Yukon before facing Gushue’s rink and the wild card team between Mike McEwen and Jason Gunnlaugson, which will be decided in a play-in game Friday night.
“Last year there were 12 teams at the Brier and we were ranked ninth. This year there are 16 teams and we’re ranked fifth,” Moulder said of the CTRS points.
“We’re better,” Bottcher said. “Now we’ve been tested at the Brier, the pre-trials, the trials and the provincials again.”
Added Moulder: “We were more competitive than our Brier record indicates. People forget we beat Koe. We lost a last rock game to Mike McEwen, we lost a last rock game to Gushue and we lost a last rock game to Brad Jacobs.
“When we played the top teams, we looked like we belonged there. We lost to the teams that were ranked near us or below us. We lost games you have to win if you want to make the playoffs at the Brier.”
Bottcher was 4-4 in the Roar of the Rings Olympic trials and went 5-0 to win the Alberta title in Spruce Grove.
“The Brier was different than anything we’d ever dealt with,” Bottcher said. “From the Up Close And Personal appearance at the Brier Patch, to the autograph sessions, to the sponsors, to the fans and all the distractions with families and friends.
“This year, we’re focusing on just the curling. Last year, we were focusing on a lot of other things. Last year, we had about 10 days less time between the provincials and the Brier. Having the Olympics in the middle gave us a little more time”
This year, they’re embracing it, welcoming the chance to return and fly solo for Alberta.
“There were a lot of things that seemed like almost burdens last year,” Martin said. “Those things were much easier to organize this year because we knew what was involved from having been there and had other people do it for us. This year we know what was coming,” Moulder added. “Last year every time something came up on us, it was a surprise.”