2015 Tim Hortons Brier: Changing of the curling guard?
Young teams performing strong as Day 3 continues at the Brier in Calgary
There’s a story line emerging at this year’s Brier as the young guns of curling continue to surprise in Calgary.
Both Prince Edward Island and Ontario are off to quick starts with two wins early on in the tournament.
Both teams are comprised of curlers in their 20s who are making the most of their first Brier appearances. But perhaps even more surprising are the slow starts by both Team Canada and Team Alberta.
The crews of John Morris and Kevin Koe have both struggled early. A win by Morris this afternoon with late-game heroics could be a turning point though. These two teams are heavy favourites to be in the playoffs.
Right now they have a lot of work to do to get to the weekend. 2014 Olympic Champion Brad Jacobs and his team from Northern Ontario look to be the front-runners right now, and are the only team with a perfect 4-0 record.
Newfoundland was also undefeated until this afternoon's loss to B.C., which dropped their record to 3-1.
Randy Ferbey weighs in
Earlier today I sat down with six-time Brier Champion Randy Ferbey. He’s a curling legend around these parts and across Canada, really.
Ferbey and his Alberta crew, anchored by David Nedohin, won four Brier titles in the 2000s. He won one those Canadian men’s curling championship here in Calgary in 2002.
“We had a great run, my time is over, but I’m still a huge curling fan,” Ferbey said from the Saddledome stands Monday. “I like watching. I know a lot of people here.”
Ferbey wanted to talk about the success his team had and why. He believes it had to do with being with one another through the year and not just during curling season.
He says they really were a team in every sense.
“I don’t think there’s one specific thing that worked but we were all on the same page, we were great friends,” said Ferbey. “I know a lot of these teams — they think they’re on the same page and they’re friends but they’re really not.”
Ferbey says the way his team came together is something a lot of teams today are trying to mimic.
Alberta’s chances?
The former champion then weighed in on the hometown’s chances of winning this year’s Brier. He says they are some communication problems right now for Alberta that are making it difficult on skip Kevin Koe.
“He’s got to have the ultimate say and I don’t think the team is totally doing that yet,” Ferbey said. “For them to be successful that has got to change for sure.”
As for predictions on who will win it all, Ferbey says Alberta always has a chance, but likes the way Northern Ontario and Newfoundland are playing right now.
He also likes how the future of the sport is looking with those young teams I talked about in the beginning of this starting off strong.
Although it's only Monday, perhaps this Brier in Calgary is signalling a changing of the curling guard in Canada.