Four-time defending champion Einarson flying under radar at Scotties

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It seems almost impossible and yet somehow the four-time defending Canadian women’s curling champions are flying slightly under the radar at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts this year.

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Between this week’s bombshell retirement news from legend Jennifer Jones and the season-long dominance of Ottawa’s Rachel Homan, it has been relatively easy for the Kerri Einarson foursome from Gimli, Man., to keep a low profile.

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“I think it’s a great position to be in,” Einarson said Wednesday, a couple days before the Scotties gets underway at WinSport Arena in Calgary.

“Jenn came out with her news and Rachel’s been having a very good season, and we’re just going about our ways and doing our thing.”

Einarson’s team, which includes third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Harris, has absolutely owned the Scotties since 2020.

Despite playing in enhanced fields that feature more talent than ever before, Team Einarson is going for a record fifth straight Canadian women’s title.

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It started with wins over Homan in the finals in 2020 in Moose Jaw and 2021 in Calgary, a victory over hometown favourite Krista McCarville in Thunder Bay in 2022 and a win over Jones in the final last year in Kamloops.

For some reason, Einarson and her teammates always seems to rise to the occasion at the Scotties.

“I don’t know what it is,” she said. “It’s just the excitement of it. This is what you play for all season and it means so much to us. I think that’s why we rise to this occasion. We’re so excited to play in this event and wearing the Maple Leaf is so special.”

Einarson will skip Team Canada for the fourth straight year at the Scotties, but she’s not necessarily the favourite to win the title this time around.

Homan, third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes have put together a spectacular season, going 38-5 record overall, playing in seven finals and winning five of them.

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Pre-qualified thanks to their 2022-23 Canadian Team Ranking System points, Team Homan ran away with the CTRS race in 2023-24 as well and has to be considered the front-runner to win the Scotties.

Homan, 34, has won the Canadian title three times, but the most recent was in 2017 and she has lost the final three times since then.

But the team has flourished this season with Fleury playing third and Homan calling the game and throwing skip stones.

“It’s just doing more of the same,” Miskew said from Calgary on Wednesday.

“It’s a bit of a longer week. More time on the ice, more games than at the Slams.

“We’ve grown a lot as a team and we know that it’s going to be a battle. Every game, every shot, we’re going to have to be at our best at every moment and we hope to put ourselves in a position to be in the hunt at the end.”

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Jones — a six-time Canadian champion, two-time world champion, two-time Olympian and 2014 Olympic gold medallist — may be planning to retire from four-player curling at the end of the season at age 49, but her team is still seeded second for this Scotties.

Along with youngsters Karlee Burgess, Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine, Jones made the final last year and is second in the CTRS standings this season.

What a story that would make if she can go out on top and represent Canada one last time at the world championships.

“She’s had a huge impact on the game,” said Birchard, who won her first of five Canadian championships as a fill-in third on Team Jones in 2018.

“Not just women’s curling, but curling as a whole. I feel super fortunate to have had the chance to play with her and against her. She was a wonderful teammate and an extremely formidable opponent.

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“She’s got extra motivation this week, wanting to finish on a high, but we’re going to do everything we can to keep our streak going here. We want to be on a high too.”

The Scotties, which begins Friday night, once again features 18 teams this year — including 13 provincial and territorial representatives, the defending champion and four wild-card teams.

Nunavut was unable to field a team in 2024 and the extra wild-card went to Manitoba’s Kate Cameron.

Manitoba has four teams in the event, including Einarson, Jones, Cameron and two-time Olympic gold medallist Kaitlyn Lawes, who was teammates with Jones for a decade before moving on to skip her own team.

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Other contenders include Alberta’s Selena Sturmay, Clancy Grandy and Corryn Brown of B.C., McCarville of Northern Ontario, Ontario’s Danielle Inglis and Quebec’s Laurie St. Georges.

If Einarson can somehow emerge from a field of that quality to win a fifth straight Scotties title, it will be truly remarkable. Her team is ready for the challenge, having worked on some new techniques throughout the season.

One might think that’s like re-inventing your golf swing after winning the Masters in four straight years, but for Team Einarson it’s all about chasing bigger dreams.

“We’ve had so much success on the national level, but we’ve always faced a few roadblocks when it comes to the worlds,” said Birchard, whose team has two bronze medals to show for three trips to the world championship.

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“So we’re just looking a little deeper within ourselves and trying to find that edge as we constantly need to do. We have to always have that growth mindset. We’re never going to stop trying to learn and be better.”

SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS

(At Calgary, Feb. 16-25)

TEAM CAPSULES

(Seeds in parentheses)

POOL A

Canada (3) — Skip Kerri Einarson, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, lead Briane Harris, alternate Krysten Karwacki, coach Reid Carruthers … Going for a fifth straight Canadian women’s championship which would be a record. Birchard looking to join Jennifer Jones, Jill Officer and Colleen Jones as the only six-time winners in Scotties history.

Manitoba-Lawes (4) — Skip Kaitlyn Lawes, third Selena Njegovan, second Jocelyn Peterman, lead Kristin MacCuish, coach Connor Njegovan … Lawes has been to the Olympics three times, won a world championship and a Scotties title, and Peterman is an Olympian and Scotties champ herself. Njegovan and MacCuish have been knocking on the door for years.

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Alberta (5) — Skip Selena Sturmay, third Danielle Schmiemann, second Dezeray Hawes, lead Paige Papley, coach Ted Appleman … Sturmay won her first Alberta provincial title this year and is a real up-and-comer on the national scene. Only Hawes has any previous national Scotties experience as this will be her third appearance.

B.C.-Brown (8) — Skip Corryn Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Jenn Armstrong, lead Sam Fisher, alternate Jaelyn Cotter, coach Jim Cotter … Wild-card entry Brown will skip for the third time in the Scotties and has a 10-10 record coming in. Made the championship round in 2020.

Saskatchewan (9) — Skip Skylar Ackerman, third Ashley Thevenot, second Taylor Stremick, lead Kaylin Skinner, alternate Amber Holland, coach Patrick Ackerman … Ackerman is a 22-year-old University of Saskatchewan student and her teammates aren’t much older. They surprised in winning the province and will be gung-ho to try their luck at their first national Scotties.

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Northern Ontario (12) — Skip Krista McCarville, third Andrea Kelly, second Kendra Lilly, lead Ashley Sippala, alternate Sarah Potts, coach Rick Lang … McCarville will play in her 11^th Scotties and will look to build on the two silver medals and two bronze medals in her trophy case. Always a contender despite not being a tour player, McCarville and her teammates get up for the big moments at the Scotties.

Quebec (13) — Skip Laurie St-Georges, third Jamie Sinclair, second Emily Riley, lead Kelly Middaugh, alternate Marie-France Larouche, coach Francois Roberge … With her bubbly personality, infectious smile and sharp-shooting skills, St-Georges has already made a name for herself at the Scotties. Now, with three time United States curling champion Sinclair playing third, this team might be ready to take the next step. A real dark horse.

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Prince Edward Island (16) — Skip Jane DiCarlo, fourth Veronica Mayne, second Sabrina Smith, lead Whitney Jenkins, alternate Emily Best, coach Daryell Nowlan … A team of Scotties rookies that will be hard-pressed to make the championship round but can benefit from the experience of playing against the best of the best.

Newfoundland (17) — Skip Stacie Curtis, third Erica Curtis, second Julie Hynes, lead Camille Burt, alternate Jessica Wiseman, coach Eugene Trickett … This will be the seventh Scotties appearance for Curtis, whose best record to this point was 5-6 in 2017.

POOL B

Ontario-Homan (1) — Skip Rachel Homan, third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes, alternate Rachel Brown, coach Don Bartlett … Having an insanely good year, with a 38-5 record overall and five championships in seven finals on the cash tour. Simply the team to beat in 2024.

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Manitoba-Jones (2) — Skip Jennifer Jones, third Karlee Burgess, second Emily Zacharias, lead Lauren Lenentine, coach Glenn Howard … Jones will retire from four-player curling after this season and would love to go out on a high note. She has the team to do it. The foursome made the final last year before losing to Einarson. The master and the apprentices can make some noise.

Ontario-Inglis ­(6) — Skip Danielle Inglis, third Kira Brunton, second Calissa Daly, lead Cassandra  de Groot, alternate Kimberley Tuck, coach Steve Acorn … Inglis is normally a fixture at all the big events in her role with the communications team at Curling Canada. Now she’s in as a skip after being an alternate in two previous appearances. Her team has had a great season and can hang with the big names on tour, so it will be interesting to see if playoff are a possibility.

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Manitoba-Cameron (7) — Skip Kate Cameron, third Meghan Walter, second Kelsey Rocque, lead Mackenzie Elias, alternate Taylor McDonald … Cameron will play in her seventh Scotties but first as a skip. She’s had success in the past as the third for Michelle Englot, Casey Scheidegger, and Laura Walker and his silver and bronze medals to her credit. Walters is just 22 but skipped in the Scotties last year, and Rocque skipped at team at the 2021 Olympic Trials. Plenty of experience here and a chance to turn some heads.

British Columbia-Grandy (10)— Skip Clancy Grandy, third Kayla McMillan, second Lindsay Dubue, lead Sarah Loken, coach Marcel Rocque … Grandy won B.C. for the second straight year and will look to improve upon her 6-4 record last year. Certainly showed some potential in that first Scotties appearance.

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Northwest Territories (11) — Skip Kerry Galusha (throws lead stones), fourth Jo-Ann Rizzo, third Margot Flemming, second Sarah Koltun, alternate Shona Barbour, coach Kevin Koe … It wouldn’t be a Scotties without Galusha, who will make her 17^th appearance in the national championship. Galusha has been a contender for the playoffs in the past and could get a boost from having her brother Kevin Koe — one of the all-time great men’s curlers — on board as coach.

Nova Scotia (14) — Skip Heather Smith (throws third), third Jill Brothers (throws fourth), second Marie Christianson, lead Erin Carmody, alternate Taylor Stevens, coach Colleen Jones … Somehow I suspect we should expect this team to show better than a 14^th seed. Smith and Brothers have plenty of experience at the big events and coach Jones is a living legend of the game. Definitely a lower seed to watch out for.

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New Brunswick (15) — Skip Melissa Adams, third Jaclyn Crandall, second Molli Ward, lead Kendra Lister, lead Kayla Russell, coach Alex Robichaud … Not a ton of Scotties experience on this team, although Adams has played in it twice before, once each as skip and third. Will have work cut out to get into the playoff picture.

Yukon (18) — Skip Bayly Scoffin, third Kerry Foster, second Raelyn Helston, lead Kimberley Tuor, alternate Helen Strong, coach Kevin Patterson … Hard to expect much from a 21-year-old skip playing in her first Scotties against a who’s who of Canadian curling, but what a great opportunity to learn and build for the future.

WYMAN’S PICKS

1.Rachel Homan, Ontario-Homan … She’s had a lot more heartbreak than success at the Scotties in recent years but with Fleury at third the team has been almost unbeatable this year.

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2.Kerri Einarson, Canada … Always seems to rise to the occasion at the Scotties. Has won Canadian women’s championship four years in a row and is eager to win another so she can chase an elusive world title.

3.Jennifer Jones, Manitoba-Jones … Perhaps the greatest women’s curler of all time, she’s retire from the four-player game after this season and will look to go out on a high note at the Scotties.

4.Krista McCarville, Northern Ontario … We’d call McCarville a dark horse, but she always performs well at the Scotties, so no one will be surprised if she’s in the playoff mix, despite being the 12^th seed. Her team doesn’t tour, doesn’t get many CTRS points and thus the low seed. Don’t let it fool you.

5.Kaitlyn Lawes, Manitoba-Lawes … Her team has been solid this year after having 2022-23 season disrupted by pregnancies and baby deliveries. Can’t ever count out a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medallist.

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Twitter.com/Ted_Wyman

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