Plenty of stars on ice
Gushue, Koe part of a Brier roster packed with champions, world-class players
Brad Gushue and Co. will part of what will be another extremely deep field vying for the historic Brier Tankard this week as the Canadian men’s curling championship returns to St. John’s for the first time since 1972.
And just how much experience is in the 12-team, Tim Hortons Brier round-robin draw?
Hitting the ice will be 14 previous Brier winners, and nine Olympic gold medalists.
This will mark the 88th Brier, won 27 times each by teams from Alberta and Manitoba.
Newfoundland has only one Brier championship, won back in 1976 by the Jack Macduff foursome from St. John’s.
What’s at stake in the Brier is $71,000 - $55,000 from the prize pool as champion, $9,600 for Curling Canada’s Excellence Program and $6,400 from Curling Canada’s Athlete Assistance Fund. There’s also a berth as Team Canada into the 2017 world championship next month in Edmonton, $10,000 for Tim Hortons cresting at the worlds, plus the opportunity to sell another cresting position for a minimum of $10,000.
The 2017 Brier winner will also get an automatic berth as Team Canada into the 2018 championship in Regina, receive $20,000 from Curling Canada for promotional personal appearances for the 2017-18 season, Sport Canada funding of $144,000 over two years ($1,500 per player per month) and a berth into the 2017 Canadian Olympic Trials next December in Ottawa, if there is a medal won at the 2017 worlds.
Here’s a glance at the teams competing:
2017 Tim Hortons Brier field
Teams listed in order of skip, third, second, lead, alternate, coach
Newfoundland & Labrador — Bally Haly Country Club & Re/max Centre, St. John’s Curling Club
• Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, Geoff Walker, Jules Owchar (coach)
This is Gushue’s 14th Brier, and Nichols’s 13th, including two with Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton.
The two have played in two Brier finals, including the 2016 championship against eventual winner Kevin Koe.
Gallant skipped P.E.I. to victory in the 2009 Canadian juniors, then captured a silver medal in the 2009 world juniors at Vancouver. Walker is also a former Canadian and world junior champ, playing third for Charley Thomas out of Alberta.
Team Canada — The Glencoe Club, Calgary
• Kevin Koe, Marc Kennedy, Brent Laing, Ben Hebert, Scott Pfeifer, John Dunn
Koe is making his fourth straight Brier appearance. In addition to coming in as reigning Brier champs, Koe and Co. won the world championship last spring in Basel, Switzerland.
Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert were part of Kevin Martin’s Olympic gold medal team in 2010.