It’s last call for several teams at the Players’ Championship.
The fourth and final stop of the Grand Slam of Curling series, starting tonight in Summerside, P.E.I., not only caps the 2013-14 season but also ends a quadrennial Olympic cycle.
A free-agent frenzy is upon us as teams have already begun planning the four-year road to the 2018 Pyeongchang Games announcing roster changes with more shakeups expected in the coming weeks and months. Some teams will stick together but we could be seeing completely different lineups at the next Grand Slam event in the fall.
Kevin Koe will skip a new team next year featuring Ben Hebert, Marc Kennedy and Brent Laing while Jeff Stoughton’s team plans to disband.
Players’ Championship: Live schedule & scores | TV schedule
With all of that in mind, here’s a rundown on the 12 teams in the running for the Players’ Championship for what could be the last meetings between some legendary rinks:
TEAM EDIN
Lineup: Niklas Edin (skip), Sebastian Kraupp (third), Fredrik Lindberg (second) and Viktor Kjall (lead)
Hometown: Karlstad, Sweden
WCT Order of Merit rank: 6th
2013 Masters: Lost to Howard in quarterfinals
2013 Canadian Open: Missed playoffs
2014 National: Lost to Koe in tiebreaker
The Sochi Olympic bronze medallists attempt to recreate the magic that took them to the Players’ Championship final in 2011. Edin will also look to rebound from a disappointing finish at the Syncrude National. Team Edin led 4-2 after five ends in the tiebreaker match against Team Koe but the Calgary rink rallied with a point in the sixth and single steals in the seventh and eighth ends to win 5-4.
TEAM EPPING
Lineup: John Epping (skip), Travis Fanset (third), Patrick Janssen (second) and Tim March (lead)
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
WCT Order of Merit rank: 15th (qualified as Team Kean)
2013 Masters: Lost to Koe in tiebreaker (Team Epping); Did not participate (Team Kean)
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Howard in quarterfinals (Team Epping); Lost to Stoughton in quarterfinals (Team Kean)
2014 National: Did not participate (Team Epping); Missed playoffs (Team Fanset)
Former Team Kean members Fanset, Janssen and March have added experienced skip Epping for this tournament. Epping is a two-time Grand Slam event winner and took home the Players’ Championship in 2012, the last time the event was held in Summerside, P.E.I.
TEAM GUSHUE
Lineup: Brad Gushue (skip), Brett Gallant (third), Adam Casey (second) and Geoff Walker (lead)
Hometown: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
WCT Order of Merit rank: 7th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Finalist (lost to Koe)
2014 National: Finalist (lost to Howard)
Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist, received a surprising home-crowd ovation at the Syncrude National in Fort McMurray, Alta., and he’ll once again be the fan favourite at the Players’ Championship in Summerside. Team Gushue members Gallant and Casey are both originally from P.E.I. The team has reached the final in the past two Grand Slam events, perhaps third time is the charm?
TEAM HOWARD
Lineup: Glenn Howard (skip), Wayne Middaugh (third), Brent Laing (second) and Craig Savill (lead)
Hometown: Penetanguishene, Ontario
WCT Order of Merit rank: 2nd
2013 Masters: Champions
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Koe in semifinals
2014 National: Champions
Howard’s team has already won two Grand Slam titles this season and have claimed four of the past six overall, including last year’s Players’ Championship. Their lone defeat at the Syncrude National last month was a 10-9 loss to Team Michel in round-robin play. The Players’ Championship will be the last major event for this group: Jon Mead and Richard Hart will join Howard and Savill next season.
TEAM JACOBS
Lineup: Brad Jacobs (skip), Ryan Fry (third), E.J. Harnden (second) and Ryan Harnden (lead)
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
WCT Order of Merit rank: 1st
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
2014: National: Missed playoffs
Team Jacobs made their Grand Slam season debut at the Syncrude National but the Sochi Olympic gold medallists struggled in the tournament and finished with a 2-3 record. They’ll be recharged now and aim to rebound from that performance to try and capture their first Grand Slam title.
TEAM KOE
Lineup: Kevin Koe (skip), Pat Simmons (third), Carter Rycroft (second) and Nolan Thiessen (lead)
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta
WCT Order of Merit rank: 4th
2013 Masters: Lost to Martin in quarterfinals
2013 Canadian Open: Champions
2014 National: Lost to Michel in quarterfinals
It’ll be the last hurrah for the reigning Brier champions with Koe linking up with Marc Kennedy, Ben Hebert and Brent Laing next season. Team Koe returns from China after representing Canada in the world men’s curling championship where they finished fourth.
TEAM LAYCOCK
Lineup: Steve Laycock (skip), Kirk Muyres (third), Colton Flasch (second) and Dallan Muyres (lead)
Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
WCT Order of Merit rank: 12th
2013 Masters: Did not participate
2013 Canadian Open: Missed playoffs
2014 National: Lost to Howard in semifinals
Team Laycock had an impressive run last month at the Syncrude National. They edged Team Stoughton 6-5 in their opening match and handed Team McEwen their first loss of the tournament in the quarterfinals 5-2. Laycock held his ground against Howard in the semifinals and tied the game 6-6 with a triple in the sixth end but Howard responded with a score of four in the seventh that was too much to overcome.
TEAM MARTIN
Lineup: Kevin Martin (skip), David Nedohin (third), Marc Kennedy (second) and Ben Hebert (lead)
Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta
WCT Order of Merit rank: 8th
2013 Masters: Finalist (Lost to Howard)
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Gushue in quarterfinals
2014 National: Lost to Howard in quarterfinals
A fond farewell to this edition of Team Martin. Kennedy and Hebert, who won gold with Martin at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, are moving on to join Team Koe in the fall. The team finished the Syncrude National round-robin with a 4-1 record (including an 8-2 win over Team Bottcher, featuring Kevin’s son Karrick Martin). It was another classic Martin-Howard match in the quarterfinals but Howard came out on top en route to the title. Those in Summerside will not want to miss the rematch Wednesday at 1 p.m. AT. Martin has won a record 17 Grand Slam events, including seven Players’ Championship titles.
TEAM MCEWEN
Lineup: Mike McEwen (skip), B.J. Neufeld (third), Matt Wozniak (second) and Denni Neufeld (lead)
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
WCT Order of Merit rank: 5th
2013 Masters: Missed playoffs
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Rumfeldt in tiebreaker
2014 National: Lost to Laycock in quarterfinals
It’s safe to say when it comes to the five-rock rule, Mikey likes it. Team McEwen ran the table with a perfect 8-0 record to win the Canadian Open in December 2011 and were on a roll at last month’s Syncrude National finishing 5-0 in the round-robin until they lost to Team Laycock in the quarterfinals. Still, a 13-1 record in five-rock rule play isn’t too shabby. Now returning to the four-rock rule, Team McEwen is on the path to claim their first Players’ Championship title. They were finalists at last year’s tournament in Toronto but lost a close 4-3 battle after Team Howard nailed a double takeout to score the winning deuce in the final end.
TEAM MICHEL
Lineup: Sven Michel (skip), Claudio Paetz (third), Sandro Trolliet (second) and Simon Gempeler (lead)
Hometown: Adelboden, Switzerland
WCT Order of Merit rank: 11th
2013 Masters: Lost to Edin in tiebreaker
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
2014 National: Lost to Gushue in semifinals
Team Michel was on fire to start the Syncrude National and topped Pool A with a 5-0 record in the round-robin including victories over favourites Koe and Howard. They defeated Team Koe again in the quarterfinals but ran into an equally red-hot Team Gushue in the semis. It came down to who had the hammer in the final end and unfortunately for Michel, it was Gushue who was able to score the winning point with last-rock advantage. Michel, who represented Switzerland at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, will look to build on his team’s best Grand Slam performance heading into the Players’ Championship.
TEAM MURDOCH
Lineup: David Murdoch (skip), Greg Drummond (third), Scott Andrews (second) and Michael Goodfellow (lead)
Hometown: Aberdeen, Scotland
WCT Order of Merit rank: N/A
2013 Masters: Lost to Stoughton in quarterfinals
2013 Canadian Open: Did not participate
2014 National: Did not participate
Team Murdoch missed the past two Grand Slam events but the Sochi Olympic silver medallists had a strong showing at the Masters. They finished second in Pool B with a 3-1 record in round-robin play including wins over McEwen and Michel. Murdoch is a two-time world champion (2006 and 2009) and has medalled in all six of his appearances at the world stage.
TEAM STOUGHTON
Lineup: Jeff Stoughton (skip), Jon Mead (third), Mark Nichols (second) and Reid Carruthers (lead)
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
WCT Order of Merit rank: 3rd
2013 Masters: Lost to Howard in semifinals
2013 Canadian Open: Lost to Gushue in semifinals
2014 National: Missed playoffs
Stoughton was stunned when his team fell short at the Syncrude National with a 2-3 record but look for the 2011 Brier and world champions to bounce back at their final tournament together as they go their separate ways at the end of the season. Mead heads one province east to join Team Howard while Carruthers will return to skipping his own rink. As for Stoughton, he put the retirement rumours to rest when he told Sportsnet during the Syncrude National broadcast he plans to continue playing next season.