Former Alberta skip Brendan Bottcher joins Brad Gushue's rink

Just days after a shockwave was sent across the curling world with Team Gushue announcing they were parting ways with second E.J. Harnden, Brad Gushue has found his replacement.

Former Alberta skip Brendan Bottcher will play second on skip Gushue's foursome.

Gushue, a six-time Brier champion from St. John's, NL., told CBC Sports there were a lot of options on the table but that Bottcher is the best fit for the team.

"This was not a decision made on a whim. There was a very structured decision making process that we went through," Gushue said. "And if you look at all the options that were available to us, and there were quite a few more than I think most people would expect, it just always ended up with Brendan being the best option and we are very excited to have him on board.

"Brendan is the future of men's curling in this country and is 12 or 13 years younger than myself and Mark. Once we retire, whether that's in a couple of years or six years down the road, Brendan is going to go on to have a lot of success."

It's a move that has curling fans across the country buzzing and taking to social media to comment on the decision. 

"I understand a lot of the comments. I really do. We've known Brendan for a long time and Brendan is a great player. He's a good fella. And I think what he can bring to this team is really beneficial," Gushue said. "I'd ask all of our supporters, give it some time. You know, we're going to go through some rocky patches here in the next couple of months as we get used to each other and play more."

Gushue, 44, who also sports Olympic gold and bronze medals as well as a world championship, says he believes this move gives his team the best chance of winning the Olympic trials next November. 

"When we made this decision, it was all about giving ourselves the best chance to be representing Team Canada at the Olympics and hopefully bring back a gold medal," Gushue said. "And our goal is to go through the next year and a year and a half or a little bit more than that with this lineup. And Brendan is 100 per cent committed to doing whatever he can to be the best."

Bottcher is no stranger to the big curling stage. He won the 2021 Brier and has been a finalist in four, losing to Gushue in two of them. 

After last season, Bottcher stepped away from the four-person game to focus on mixed doubles with Rachel Homan. He had also been coaching Team Homan but will be stepping away from that role. 

Questions have been raised about Bottcher's sweeping abilities, something Gushue addressed. He said he's not concerned, mostly because lead Geoff Walker and Bottcher both live in Edmonton and will be able to practice strategy and technique together. 

"Obviously moving from skip to second, there's going to be some challenges on the sweeping side and we'll have to be patient there and work with him," Gushue said. "But he's a fit guy. He's got some height so he can get some leverage.

"I said to him the expectation is not that he's going to be the best sweeper in the world but if we can get him to be an average sweeper, I think the benefits we're going to get on the shooting side is going to be exciting."

Gushue said there is a new level of pressure on teams in Canada to make changes to elevate the play of the international teams — and while making them in the offseason is ideal, he felt the time was now to make a change.

Gushue said the time frame to make that lineup change was closing fast with the Olympic trials about a year away, and said he's confident the team will be able to find chemistry over this upcoming season. 

"For us we felt like this was kind of the end of the window if we were going to make a change," Gushue said. "I think once you get beyond this, it's such a short period of time that any player that you bring in is not really going to have an opportunity to get comfortable and make adjustments that are necessary when you bring a new player in."

Bottcher's first appearance with Team Gushue will be at the Pan Continental Curling Championship Oct. 27-Nov. 2.

"We can maybe help him take it to the next level and obviously, the reason we chose him is because we want him to help take us to the next level," Gushue said. "We're excited about having Brendan on board. I think the skill that he brings to the team is going to create lots of opportunities and options for us."