By Jim Bender
West St. Paul’s Reid Carruthers will unwittingly unveil what could become a new curling discipline at the two Grand Slam events being played in the Calgary Covid bubble over the next two weeks.
Because lead Colin Hodgson decided not to risk returning to the bubble after competing in the Brier there last month, Carruthers will play in both the Humpty’s Champions Cup and Princess Auto Players’ Championship with three players.
Some believe that three-person teams could become a future discipline, possibly even replacing four-person teams. After all, only one player often sweeps a thrown rock anyway. And, as people witnessed at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship, throwers have become adept at brushing their own rocks.
Carruthers could not be reached for comment about the next two weeks becoming an experiment in time for this story, but he did tell Sportsnet’s Jonathan Brazeau that playing with three will be different.
“We’ll have to approach it a little bit differently than what we do when we have our normal lineup, but I think we’re all optimistic we’re going to have a strong showing in our last two events,” Carruthers said.
Carruthers is moving up to skip as Mike McEwen opted out of the Slams to remain home with his wife, Dawn, who is expecting the couple’s second child. Carruthers recruited B.C.’s two-time world junior championship skip Tyler Tardi to play third for the squad. Regular second Derek Samagalski will throw the first three rocks of each end.
Team McEwen, by the way, issued a release fully supporting Hodgson’s difficult decision to miss the Slams.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg Beach’s Colton Lott, who just won silver at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship, will replace Ryan Fry at third for Ontario’s John Epping. Fry has opted out to be with his family as his father, the legendary Barry Fry, is ill.
Alberta’s reigning Brier winner Brendan Bottcher is the defending champ for both men’s Slams (2019 as the 2020 events were cancelled due to the pandemic).
WOMEN’S SIDE: As the Selkirk Settler Times previously reported, East St. Paul skip Tracy Fleury decided to compete in her first event in a year at the Humpty’s Cup. Fleury had opted out of competing at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts to remain home with her ill infant daughter, Nina. She has since improved, allowing Fleury to re-join her teammates.
“Yes, of course I missed curling but not as much as I’ve missed the girls,” Fleury told Jonathan Brazeau.
Chelsea Carey, who replaced Fleury at the Scotties, will skip the squad once again in the second Slam.
Only four of the teams on the women’s side are from Canada – three from Manitoba. Those are Gimli’s reigning Canadian champion Kerri Einarson (who won the 2019 Players’ championship), St. Vital’s Olympic gold medallist Jennifer Jones and Fleury. Ontario’s former world champion Rachel Homan is the other one.
Homan, by the way, joined her team in the bubble after giving birth to a daughter (Bowyn) last month. The original plans were for third Emma Miskew to move up to skip and the team recruited Laura Walker to play third, but there was speculation that Homan might play some games.
BITERS: The Humpty’s Cup will feature a no-tick zone rule where a guard sitting on the centre line cannot be moved until the sixth rock of the end … The 12 teams will be divided into two pools of six and the top six squads will make the playoffs … Sportsnet is televising the games.