KELOWNA, B.C. — A capsule look at the 18 teams competing in the Feb. 28-March 9 Canadian men’s curling championship in Kelowna, B.C.
Teams listed by seeding in their pools, athletes from skip to lead, followed by hometown.
POOL A
CANADA
Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brendan Bottcher, Geoff Walker (St. John’s, N.L.)
Three-time defending champions hold the top seed but have posted middling results since adding Bottcher at second in November.
MANITOBA-DUNSTONE
Matt Dunstone, Colton Lott, E.J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden (Winnipeg)
A perennial contender, the team has been in top form since E.J. Harnden joined his brother on the front end about three months ago.
NORTHERN ONTARIO
John Epping, Jacob Horgan, Tanner Horgan, Ian McMillan (Sudbury)
A heavy schedule and impressive results helped this team crack the top five in the national rankings. Epping represented Ontario on three previous trips to the Brier.
ALBERTA-KOE
Kevin Koe, Aaron Sluchinski, Tyler Tardi, Karrick Martin (Calgary)
An inconsistent season has this rink seeded lower than usual but Koe has the experience to deliver against anyone in the field.
MANITOBA-CARRUTHERS
Reid Carruthers, B.J. Neufeld, Catlin Schneider, Connor Njegovan (Winnipeg)
Neufeld was recently added at vice after being dropped from Dunstone’s rink. Carruthers outscored Braden Calvert 9-7 in the final of the Manitoba playdowns.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Cameron de Jong, Alex Horvath, Corey Chester, Brayden Carpenter (Victoria)
It’s the third straight Brier trip for de Jong and his first as skip. Kelowna is 475 kilometres away from his Vancouver Island club but he’ll still get a boost from the Prospera Place home crowd.
NEW BRUNSWICK
James Grattan, Joel Krats, Paul Dobson, Andy McCann (Oromocto)
Grattan is making his 17th career Brier appearance. Krats, the young gun on a veteran team, won world junior bronze in 2022.
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
Ty Dilello, Ryan McNeil Lamswood, Daniel Bruce, Aaron Feltham (St. John’s)
Gushue’s return as defending champion left him out of provincial playdowns. Dilello booked his Brier ticket by stealing a single for a 6-5 win over Andrew Symonds in the Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard final.
NUNAVUT
Shane Latimer, Sheldon Wettig, Justin McDonell, Peter Van Strien (Iqaluit)
The territory is coming off a 1-7 showing at the 2024 Brier in Regina. Nunavut, which made its Brier debut in 2016, earned its first-ever win at the event in 2023.
POOL B
ALBERTA-JACOBS
Brad Jacobs, Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, Ben Hebert (Calgary)
Jacobs, in his first season as skip of this experienced team, has guided the rink to the No. 2 position in the Canadian rankings behind Dunstone.
SASKATCHEWAN-McEWEN
Mike McEwen, Kevin Marsh (throws second), Colton Flasch (throws third), Daniel Marsh (Saskatoon)
A pre-qualified berth allowed this team to skip provincials and prepare for nationals, where they’ll look to get back to the final after falling to Gushue last year.
SASKATCHEWAN-KLEITER
Rylan Kleiter, Matthew Hall (throws second), Joshua Mattern, Trevor Johnson (Saskatoon)
A Grand Slam Tier-2 champion this season, Kleiter leads a sixth-ranked team that’s enjoying a breakout campaign.
ONTARIO
Sam Mooibroek, Ryan Wiebe, Scott Mitchell, Nathan Steele (Whitby)
The future has arrived in Ontario with Mooibroek leading one of the country’s top young teams in his Brier debut. He won a U Sports title for Wilfrid Laurier University in 2023.
QUEBEC
Felix Asselin, Jean-Michel Menard, Martin Crete, Jean-François Trépanier (Glenmore/Valleyfield/Etchemin/Des Collines/Belvedere)
Ranked 20th in Canada, this team should not be taken lightly. Vice-skip Menard skipped a Quebec team to a Brier title in 2006.
NOVA SCOTIA
Owen Purcell, Luke Saunders, Scott Saccary, Ryan Abraham (Halifax)
Purcell won a national U18 title in 2018. Luke Saunders is at vice and his mother, Colleen Jones, will serve as coach.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Tyler Smith, Adam Cocks, Christopher Gallant, Edward White (Crapaud)
Smith was a whisker away from making his first Brier playoff appearance last season. Longtime Nova Scotia skip Paul Flemming returns as coach.
YUKON
Thomas Scoffin, Kerr Drummond, Trygg Jensen, Joe Wallingham (Whitehorse)
Scoffin won a U Sports title in 2015 with the University of Alberta. He also skipped Canada to a bronze medal at the Youth Olympic Games in 2012.
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Aaron Bartling, D’Arcy Delorey, Norman Bassett, Eric Preston (Hay River)
Bartling makes his debut as a Brier skip after topping Jamie Koe in the territorial playdowns. He needed back-to-back steals to pull out a 7-6 extra-end victory.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
