#BetweenTheSheets: New Teams Hit the Ice in Oakville
The 2015 #StuSellsOakville kicks off today
Having said that, not all teams playing this weekend will be
hitting the ice for the first time. The
men’s circuit kicked off a few weeks ago.
Brad Gushue and company return to Canada fresh off a runner-up finish in Uiseong, Korea in mid-August. Many
of the top European teams, including current World Champion Nik Edin, just
wrapped up the Baden Masters in Switzerland last weekend. These teams could have a slight advantage
over their competitors having already put some ice under their sliders.
On the flip side, this will be not only the first
competition for many teams this season but the first chance to play together
competitively as a team. We will see
many new line-ups in Oakville. With all
the off-season moves, discussed in my season preview HERE, how will these new
teams adjust to their new dynamic? Will
some teams move to the front of the pack and gel quickly? Will any of these newly formed teams
struggle? A few teams, with new line ups
this season, to keep an eye on this weekend include:
MEN’S
1)
Greg Balsdon
2)
John Epping
3)
Mark Kean
4)
Travis Fanset
5)
Chris Plys
6)
William Lyburn
WOMEN’S
1)
Chelsea Carey
2)
Alison Flaxey
3)
Stephanie Lawton
4)
Kelsey Roque
Will one of these teams end up winning the tankard
event? I am not sure I would go that far. Will they be competitive battling through the
gruelling triple-elimination knock-out format?
Sure. Either way, these are just
a few of the newly formed teams I will be keeping a close eye this weekend to
see how the players adjust.
A strong trend has been established on the tour over the
past few years where teams who want to take their game play to the next level
realize they need to travel and play as many events as possible against the
best competition possible. Many tour
events in Canada are seeing a strong increase in international teams
registered. In fact, take Team Edin as a
perfect example. When looking at their
tour schedule, they began play last weekend in Switzerland. They leave Europe for action this weekend and
will remain in Canada until the end of November when they return to European
soil for the European Championships in Denmark.
That is 9 straight events...over 3 months....all far away from family,
friends and loved ones. And you thought
being a professional curler, and two-time World Champion, on tour was easy?
Before we dive into the predictions for the
#StuSellsOakville event, I want to use this space as a weekly update on team
rankings. Each week #TwineTime will
provide my own version of curling power rankings, showcasing the top 5 men’s
and women’s teams on tour. As this is
really the first big weekend of play, these rankings will be considered my
pre-season rankings. Teams can move up,
or drop down, the power rankings depending on their play on the ice. The current Order of Merit ranking for each
team is in parenthesis.
MEN
1)
Nik Edin (3)
2)
Mike McEwen (1)
3)
Brad Gushue (4)
5)
Steve Laycock (5)
Women
1)
Alina Paetz (5)
2)
Jennifer Jones (1)
3)
Eve Muirhead (2)
4)
Val Sweeting (3)
5)
Rachel Homan (4)
As can be expected, the current World Champions lead the
pre-season power rankings. Team Edin and
Team Paetz went out on top last season and until they are beaten, they deserve
the respect of being ranked at the top.
Entering this weekend’s action, you will notice a few of the #TwineTime
power ranking teams not in Oakville, including defending champions Team McEwen,
2012 and 2013 champions Team Jacobs, Team Muirhead and Team Sweeting. This does not mean their ranking spots are
protected though! Just because a team
takes a “bye” week doesn’t mean they are safe from moving up or down.
There will be a strong international contingent in Oakville
as well this year. Of the 32 women’s
teams competing, 15 will be from outside Canada. For the men’s draw, 7 of the 28 teams entered
are international. The ice in Oakville
has not been kind to international teams mind you. On the men’s side of history, no team outside
Canada has won the tankard....actually no team outside Canada has even made the
final. In fact, up until last year’s win
by Mike McEwen, no team outside Ontario had laid claim to the trophy. On the women’s side, last year saw an
international breakout. Last year was
the first time we saw an all-international final. The 2014 final turned out to be a battle of
Switzerland with Silvana Tirinzoni defeating Alina Paetz. Prior to 2014, Erika Brown representing the
USA was the only non-Canadian winner (2012).
Ok, onto the action this weekend. Here are the teams you should expect to win,
the teams who could win and the teams who could flat out flip a rock and
provide a great underdog story. For
clarification, a team can only be considered a dark horse team if they are
ranked outside the top 20 on the Order of Merit.
The Favourites
Nik Edin (4) – The defending world champions seemed to have
picked up this season with the same manner they closed down last season...as
winners! They took on a solid field in
Switzerland and came away the Baden Masters Champions. Skip Nik Edin recently celebrated his 30th
birthday over the summer and with age comes wisdom perhaps. This team is just getting stronger and will
be a threat in every event they enter this year. The goal is back-to-back World
Championships....and right now....I wouldn’t bet against them.
Alina Paetz (5) – The world champions are here and are looking
to continue their winning ways. I think
this team will also come into Oakville with a bit to prove. Many are still calling their world
championship performance last year perhaps a fluke. I would disagree given their domination of Jennifer
Jones in each game they played. They
were finalists last year and can beat any team in the world. The only thing different this year from last
is they will not be flying under the radar now.
But I think they can handle the pressure!
Watch Out For
Brad Gushue (2) – Team Goo is coming off a strong start to
their season in Korea. Would they have
liked to leave Asia with a tournament title, of course! But the important thing is getting time on
the ice, throwing rocks in a competition and getting positive results leading
into the season. This team is coming off
a disappointing (by their standards) 4th place finish at the Brier
last year in Calgary and will be hungry to prove they are the best in
Canada. The results on tour sure support
this claim.
Rachel Homan (4) – Looking for a team with strong fire in their bellies? Enter Team Homan! This team is coming off a disappointing 3rd place finish at the Scotties and will want to start their season off with a bang. Being based out of Ottawa, this team should still see strong pro-Ontario support behind them every time they hit the ice. Rachel always seems to be in competitive mode and after having their Canadian title ripped away from her last year, I expect to see an even more driven and determined Homan squad this season.
The Dark Horse
Greg Balsdon (22) – This is one of the new teams on tour this
year and one that could make some noise early.
Balsdon is well known for his noteworthy 2013 Ontario Tankard
Championship win, putting a halt to the eight-year winning streak of Glenn
Howard. Last season proved to be less
successful and, after a disappointing Ontario Tankard performance, the team
decided to break up. This didn’t stop
the 37-year old though. He aligned
himself with one of the bright dark horse stories on tour last season, Don
Bowser, and formed a new team. I
wouldn’t call them a threat to take home the championship given the stronger,
more experienced and more united teams they will face but they do have a
realistic shot at qualification.
Stephanie Lawton (34) – The new Team Green? After years of success on tour and
back-to-back Scotties 4th place finishes, we see a change to the
Lawton team this season. Third Sherry
Anderson has moved on in taking a less demanding curling season for 2015/16. Skip Step Lawton still has high hopes of an
Olympic bid and has brought in previous SK challenger Trish Paulson as
third. Paulson is a former SK and
Canadian junior champion. Sherri Singler
and Marliese Kasner return to the team, making this team one of the most
experienced even with a small line-up shake.
The first event as a new team can always be a bit challenging (ask Val
Sweeting and Andrea Crawford last year) but these 4 players are familiar with
one another. They have played against
one another numerous times over the year, especially at Saskatchewan
Scotties. I think this move will be a
strong one and the Lawton team should continue to be a threat as the season
progresses.
It is prediction time!
Time for #TwineTime to put on full display picks for who will qualify
and who will win this weekend’s #StuSellsOakville event. Remember, this is a triple knockout event
with A, B and C qualifiers making the championship playoffs. Here you go:
MEN
Qualifiers: Team Gushue,
Team Edin, Team Laycock, Team Koe, Team Murdoch, Team Casey, Team Cotter, Team
Epping
Championship: Team Gushue def. Team Laycock – Goo continues his
winning ways and extracts some revenge on #TeamOranje for last year’s Brier
bronze medal match. Gushue will also be
looking to build momentum heading into the first Grand Slam of Curling event of
the year the following weekend in the home province of Newfoundland &
Labrador.
WOMEN
Qualifiers: Team J. Jones, Team Homan, Team Sweeting,
Team Paetz, Team Carey, Team Sidorova, Team Tirinzoni, Team Lawton
Championship: Team Homan def.
Team Sweeting – The rivalry between these teams started last year with
Joanne Courtney jumping ship to Team Homan.
Sweeting returned the favour by winning more on tour and returning to
the Scotties final. This is year two
though in this storied history and while the drama of last season off the ice
should stay in the past, the competitive fire both teams have towards winning
and beating one another will only continue.
This may just be the best rivalry in women’s curling!
There you have stoners and rock heads. A quick overview of what to expect on the ice
in Oakville. If you are in Oakville this
weekend, I highly recommend getting down and checking out the action. This is a world class field. Cheer on your favourite teams and even go
celebrate with them in the beer gardens after.
Tell them #TwineTime sent you....they won’t know who that is but I still
love the support hahaha
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