It's Finally Here! Men's Preview of the 2021 Canadian Curling Trials

Every four years the most important and largest bonspiel to ever exist in Canadian curling history will dawn upon us for the 7th official time. The nation's top nine men's and women's teams will touch upon Saskatoon for a week that has been circled for years on end. Without further ado.. let's preview who will be contesting the highly coveted Team Canada uniforms.

By the way, you can make your ranking predictions on this form here

Men's Division

• Brendan Bottcher
• Matt Dunstone
• John Epping
• Jason Gunnlaugson (PQ)
• Brad Gushue
• Tanner Horgan (PQ)
• Brad Jacobs
• Kevin Koe 
• Mike McEwen

In my mind there are four front-runners. Let's take a look at each (in alphabetical order)

Brendan Bottcher (19-10)

Credit: Curling Canada/Michael Burns

The fourth time was the charm! The team from Alberta claimed the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier in the Calgary bubble after appearing in three consecutive finals prior. This team performed fairly well last season, although seemed inconsistent at times at the World Championship. However, they were rookies in a field of experienced squads and should not take their final ranking too personally. The team qualified Canada for the 2022 Beijing Olympics after finishing in 4th place after the round robin and 5th overall (lost QF vs. Scotland). They also made the final of the GSOC Champions Cup, but did not qualify for the playoffs at the Players'. 

This season, the team of Karrick Martin, Brad Thiessen, Darren Moulding, and Brendan Bottcher have also found some success. They've made the semis at the ATB Okotoks Classic and GSOC Masters and have had a quarterfinal finish at the Boost National. They also qualified Canada for the 2022 Men's Worlds in Las Vegas at the Americas Challenge, although they admittedly were not challenged.

This team is definitely ahead of at least half the pack entering Saskatoon, but a 19-10 record has not been the most impressive record we've seen. This is a short round robin to become Team Canada; Team Bottcher has to get off to a quick start to give themselves a chance. They took the semifinal route at this year's Brier and they may have to take it again this time around.

My Key To Success: Leave Brendan a shot. The front-end have seemed to be mildly inconsistent. Bail earlier so Moulding isn't always blowing up the front by his second shot of the end. We've seen Brendan make tons of "Hail Mary" shots before, but give the skipper a reasonable chance.

Brad Gushue (16-1)

Credit: Curling Canada/Michael Burns

They've only played a handful of events but wow- 16 and 1 is something to be afraid of. The bubble was also nice to Team Gushue, although the Brier did not go as smoothly and the team did not make the playoffs. The team rebounded with a semifinal finish at the Champions Cup and were runner-ups at the Players' (losing to Mouat both times). 

They gained revenge by defeating Mouat two weeks ago in Chestermere to claim the 2021 Boost National. The team's only other two events of the season were the GSOC Masters with a semifinal result and a victory at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard. They haven't competed on tour as often as they have this year, but one thing's certain: this team is on a streak!

Some people consider Newfoundland's Geoff Walker, Brett Gallant, Mark Nichols, and Brad Gushue to be the overall front-runners and I can't blame them. The team is red-hot going into opening Saturday and the lineup has been performing consistently top to bottom. They'll face familiar foes and are arguably the most experienced in the men's field.

My Key To Success: Boom, boom, boom! The team's takeouts have been on point and have been hard to best. Gallant has had some up-and-down games with his hits, but if the dynamic duo of Nichols and Gushue can outhit their opponents, they'll be unstoppable. Re: Boost National final two weeks ago.

Brad Jacobs (23-7)

Credit: Curling Canada/Michael Burns

I could bet pretty big on a battle of the Brads for the maple leaf. The world #1 ranked team has had another fantastic lead up to the SaskTel Centre. The Brier was not very friendly to either Brad in the bubble, with the team repping Northern Ontario not able to crack the playoffs. They did reach both the quarters and semis in both slam events respectively last spring, but their true surge has been this season.

They've played plenty of events this season claiming the Oakville Labour Day Classic early September. They found more success in the town finishing as runner-ups at both the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and GSOC Masters, losing to Mouat both times (whoever comes out of this isn't going to have it any easier!) They also lost in the final at the IG Wealth Management Western Showdown. The team will be slightly disappointed after being eliminated from the 'C' bracket at the Boost National, but historically they haven't been too rattled by a sudden blip.

Ryan Harnden, E.J. Harnden, Marc Kennedy, and Brad Jacobs will all be looking to repeat as Olympians. If anyone knows how to get to the Olympics, it's this team (who qualified all the way from the Pre-Trials back in 2013 en route to Sochi gold). Dare I even say that if they are victorious once again, don't be surprised to be treated to another Canada vs. Great Britain duel for the gold (I'm looking at you Murdoch, who's conveniently the national coach this time around).

My Key To Success: Much of their games have been close this season, with a large chunk of their losses being decided in the final end. Build on prior knowledge of the large crowds and pressure. Turn to the Harndens to set up the ends and for Kennedy to make some beauty freezes to stop the opposition in their tracks.

Kevin Koe (22-10)

Credit: Curling Canada/Michael Burns

Guess who's probably the hungriest to get back to the Olympic Games. Koe is hoping to make it two in a row at the Trials. They lost to Bottcher in the 2021 Brier final, qualified for the semis at the Champions Cup, and finished as quarterfinalists at the Players’. 

This season has been a little more friendlier to them, as they came out on top at the IG Wealth Management Western Showdown and the ATB Okotoks Classic to begin their season. They're on a little bit of an upward trend making the quarterfinals again at the Masters and the semifinals at the Boost National. The question is: can they make the final in Saskatoon?

I may have said that Gushue is the most experienced, but Team Koe knows the Olympics no better than anyone out here. Lead Ben Hebert and Third John Morris will be going for a remarkable third Olympic appearance, with both at the top of the podium with Kevin Martin in 2010. Morris is even more impressingly hoping for a gold medal hat trick with his victory with Kaitlyn Lawes in 2018's mixed doubles debut. Third B.J. Neufeld may be the newcomer here, but don't forget he lost to Koe and Co. in Ottawa four years ago as part of Team McEwen.

My Key To Success: We know all too well how Koe loves to run the clock to the final seconds. It's worked for him before and the adrenaline rush of thousands of people in the stands will probably stoke that fire even more. Kevin is known even more for his illustrious miracle shots but no one can rely on them, Morris and Neufeld need to step up and simplify the far end more times than not. I think Morris/Koe are some of the best line-callers out there which can make for a lethal combo.

Rest of the Field

Sorry Saskatchewan! I did not forget about golden boy Matt Dunstone (23-13). The hometown favourites will need to elevate their game to able to contend for the red and white. They've seen mixed results being eliminated in the GSOC Masters and reaching the quarters at the Boost National. If they'll decide to peak next week, they've chosen the right time with what's at stake and the crowd on their side. 

Mike McEwen (22-14) have had a hard time picking up steam this quadrennial. They placed first at the Trials Direct-Entry Event to qualify for the big show, but have been still struggled not finding success at either slam thus far into the season. Mike and his long-time team broke up after reaching the final in Ottawa. It was agreed that he was a bit of a surprise four years ago to reach that final. They've been knocking on the door for nearly a decade. Is this week their time to stun and shine?

Toronto will be represented by John Epping (14-18). It's fair to say that this team has also struggled in the past two years. They were electric before the pandemic, but their success has been railroaded by the pandemic. Their best result is a semifinal finish at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard before failing to qualify for the playoffs at both slams. They'll need a real miracle to pick up the pace with their lack of momentum.

Speaking of momentum, Pre-Trials qualifier Tanner Horgan (24-14) has a little bit of that. Junior champion Horgan joins Scott McDonald's former 2018 Ontario provincial team. This team has not had a whole a lot of experience at big events like Trials, but could catch some teams off guard with the rest of the field's unfamiliarity with them. They're a long shot to make the playoffs, but some invaluable experience for the future along with the thrill of the crowd will serve them well for the years to come.

One man who has a wealth of experience is Jason Gunnlaugson (17-18) who also advanced to Saskatoon via the Pre-Trials in Nova Scotia. With that said, the results have never come for the foursome from Manitoba. They've struggled quite a bit over the last few seasons. Besides the Pre-Trials, the best results for them are quarterfinal performances at the Stu Sells Toronto and Oakville Tankards. They were at both slams and failed to qualify at each. They will also be the darkest of dark horses and will need to pull of something real special to do well.

That wraps it up for the preview of the largest bonspiel in Canada. It only comes around every four times so kick back, or pace around anxiously like I do! Enjoy the action all week and check out my women's preview here and be on the lookout for my European Champs preview/predictions (which is *conveniently* running at the same time). Good luck to all!

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