#BetweenTheSheets: Lets Get It Started In Here
Welcome to Playdown Party 2020
This is becoming an annual tradition for the blog. You have all been invited to the biggest party of the year, the Playdown Party!
Oh I know what you are asking rock heads. "THIS is the biggest party of the year?" "What about the Scotties or Brier or World Championship?"
And you are correct. Those are all big parties as well. But there is something extra special about the Playdown Party.
You have the invite in your hand. Put on your best curling wear and come and knock on my door. We've been waiting for you. Lets get it started in here!
Ok that was a bit of a mashup on songs but you get the idea and you already have the invite. No point in turning back now.
So why is the Playdown Party THE biggest party of the year you were asking?
For one it happens across the ENTIRE nation. A party in every province and territory. Thus, by geographical mass alone, it is already the biggest party.
Two, it also happens to involve the MOST attendees. Each provincial/territorial playdown has a list of attendees invited to the party. Put them all together and you have the largest attendee list.
Third, this party is full of DRAMA!! Every good party has some drama. You know I am right? You go to a great party on a Friday or Saturday night and something dramatic happens. Someone gets in a fight. Or someone gets in an argument. Or someone is mad because so-and-so was (or was not) invited. Something happens.
And what defines the party as being a great party? The discussion about the drama as it unfolds and after the fact. We love drama. You know you do a bit as well. Go to a party and nothing happens. What are you going to talk about on Sunday or Monday? People love a good story and good stories have good drama.
You can bet this Playdown Party will have all kinds of DRAMA!!
There have already been a few pre-parties we should note. Some of you maybe attended them. Some of you maybe missed them completely. Lets get caught up on the drama at the pre-party.
#STOH2020
Two provincial and three territorial parties helped serve as our pre-party hosts for the upcoming 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Congratulations to the following teams for surviving the pre-party and are now getting ready for the main event:
Canada - Team Chelsea Carey
Newfoundland and Labrador - Team Erica Curtis
PEI - Team Suzanne Birt
Northwest Territories - Team Kerry Galusha
Nunavut - Team Lori Eddy
Yukon - Team Hailey Birnie
There are a few familiar party guests listed above. Kerry Galusha will be making her 17th Scotties appearance while Suzanne Birt will be making her 11th. Lori Eddy played in the 1997 Scotties final as vice for Ontario's Team Alison Goring, losing the final to Saskatchewan's Team Sandra Schmirler. And of course Chelsea Carey returns to #DefendTheIce with the maple leaf on her back.
Erica Curtis will be joined by a familiar name on the Scotties scene, Julie Devereaux. Devereaux, who plays second on the team, will be making her 6th Scotties appearance.
Yukon's Hailey Birnie returns to the Scotties after making her debut last year as vice for Team Nicole Baldwin. Birnie has now moved up to skip and will have another familiar Scotties name along for the ride as second Chelsea Duncan will make her 4th appearance.
#Brier2020
We also know three teams already punching their tickets to the Tim Horton's Brier in Kingston, ON. Congratulations to the following teams:
Canada - Team Kevin Koe
PEI - Team Bryan Cochrane
Nunavut - Team Jake Higgs
All three of these teams have familiar faces and some mainstream curling name recognition.
Kevin Koe is...well Kevin Koe! Koe will be making his 8th Brier and remember he has 4 Brier titles in 7 appearances. Pretty solid winning percentage!
Bryan Cochrane is the current Canadian and World Senior Champion, albeit curling out of Ontario for those championships. In Kingston he will be representing #TeamIslanders as the PEI champion. And you want drama, how about that story line. The same guy can win a Canadian and World championship from one province and turn around to represent another province at a different Canadian championship only months later. There are a few people with opinions on this one. But alas, congrats to him and the team. For Cochrane this will be his 2nd Brier appearance (2003).
And Jake Higgs will make his Brier debut after previously also competing under the Ontario flag, where he finished runner-up at the Canadian Mixed Curling Championships back in 2009. Higgs is also a coach with USA Curling and coached the Hamilton siblings at the 2018 Winter Olympics mixed doubles competition.
But now lets open the door and enter the #PlaydownParty. Are you ready? Grab a cold beverage. Enjoy some hot eats. And get ready for some fun (and drama).
#PlaydownPredictions
Alberta
2019 Champion: Team Chelsea Carey
Format: 8 team RR. Top 4 advance to Page Playoff.
#Fav
If we go by the current #PowerRankings, Team Laura Walker should be considered the favourite. They are having a strong rookie campaign together and are fresh off their #gsoc debut. Ok sure they went three and out in Yorkton, not exactly the best result as a tune-up...but on the flip side they got competitive ice under their sliders against the best teams in the world. Can their opposition say the same? Plus skipper Walker has been a super spare throughout the season at the slams so she has seen A LOT of rocks in play this season. Can a rookie squad win the entire championship? Do not undersell this teams potential in this field. And no I am not just saying that because two members happen to be part of the #TwineTimeFam (Walker and lead Nadine Scotland).
#TeamUpset
This field is actually loaded with athletes who have AB Scotties experience. So tough to call a #TeamUpset with an experienced field. But if you are looking for someone to perhaps surprise the main contenders and make a deep playoff run, keep your eyes on the young Team Skrlik. This team really burst onto the women's scene last season with some strong results on tour and continue to be one of the fast rising teams in Alberta. With defending Canadian junior champion Selena Sturmay failing to qualify for the AB Scotties, Skrlik will be a happy flag bearer for Team #NextGen and should be considered a playoff contender. The question will be how the team handles a long RR.
#What 2 Watch 4 (#W2W4)
We all know what people will be watching for, it is pretty obvious right? The return of Casey Scheidegger! After taking first part of the season off to welcome the second member of the family in November, Scheidegger will make her return to competitive curling this week....at a provincial championship. Yowzers! This is a strong team. A previous AB champ and a team with Scotties experience. If they find their groove quickly as a team once again, they will be dangerous. If Casey struggles early in the return or the team just needs some time to readjust back to being a full team, it could be a struggle. A RR format does allow for some hiccups early though. The fate of this team in this competition will rest on how they do in those opening two draws against Team Hilker and AB Scotties vet Team Vaughan. Regardless of the end result, welcome back to the ice #TwineTimeFam member Casey! We have missed you.
Qualifiers: Team Walker, Team Rocque, Team Skrlik, Team Scheidegger
Alberta Championship: Team Walker def. Team Rocque
New Brunswick
2019 Champion: Team Andrea Crawford
Format: 6 team RR with Top 3 advancing to playoffs. 1st place team in the RR earns a bye to the championship final.
#Fav
Hard to bet against the defending champ Andrea Crawford here. Crawford is an 8-time NB champion and will be chasing her 9th purple heart this week. Crawford is one of this blog's favourite curlers to watch at the Scotties every year. A skip who has the makings of a playoff contender but for some reason always gets tripped up along the way with either a slow start or a sour finish. They have two tournament wins under the belt this season and sport an impressive 20-8 record overall. Expect this team to be playing in the big game this weekend.
#TeamUpset
Shall we stick with the #NextGen theme here? Might as well as there is a perfect candidate to fly the #TeamUpset flag in Saint John this week. Justine Comeau should be a familiar name with curling fans, especially if they follow the Canadian Junior Curling Championships. Comeau has been the face of New Brunswick junior curling for many years but she is ready to make a name for herself on the women's ice now. This team has made the playoffs in all three tournaments entered this season, including one SF finish. But guess who beat them out each time? Yup, Andrea Crawford! Comeau did get some revenge in the NB Scotties prelims a few weeks back but to be the best you have to beat the best and the question is whether Comeau is ready to do that.
#W2W4
This feels like a two-team race with main NB rivals Crawford battling 4-time NB champion Sylvie Quillian (nee Robichaud). Andrea vs. Sylvie seems to be the continued rivalry we have grown to love out of New Brunswick. It is the final many are expecting to see once again here in 2020. Sylvie owns a 2-1 record over Crawford this season BUT Crawford's lone victory was in the biggest game they played, the championship final at the season-opening Steele Cup Cash in October.
But I would also watch out for Comeau and Team Sarah Mallais. Comeau we discussed above and Mallais has some Scotties experience on her side as well, joined by vice Cathlia Ward (another #TwineTimeFam member btw), second Jodie deSolla (a 7-time Scotties rep) and lead Jane Boyle (who has 5 Scotties appearance but 3 were as an alternate). If either of the Big Two slip up, these other two teams could be the ones to pull the rug out from under them. This is a much closer race than you may think at first glance.
Qualifiers: Team Crawford, Team Quillian, Team Mallais
New Brunswick Championship: Team Crawford def. Team Quillian
Nova Scotia
2019 Champion: Team Jill Brothers
Format: 8 team RR with Top 3 advancing to playoffs. 1st place team in the RR earns a bye to the championship final.
#Fav
She's baaaacckkkk! And she wants to reclaim her Bluenose Crown. Mary-Anne Arsenault will look to win NS title #14 this week and reclaim the title she lost last year. Revenge on the mind? You better believe it. Arsenault is a proven champion, winning not only multiple NS titles but also being a 5-time Scotties champion and 2-time world champ. It has not been the best season for the team however. They picked up a title in their season-opening event but since have only qualified in 1 of 5 events, including the Tour Challenge Tier II. An 18-11 overall record seems almost mundane for the star-calibre this team possesses. But hey, as they always say, it doesn't matter what happens during the season as long as you win your spot in the STOH field. Experience. Determination. Winner.
#TeamUpset
Tanya Hilliard and her team from Dartmouth have been mentioned a few times in this blog this season as being a dark horse contender at the Nova Scotia Scotties. Well here we are. Here they are. Time to see if they can prove this blog right. They have qualified in 4 of 7 events this season. They experienced participating in the Tour Challenge Tier II. They own a respectable 20-14 record on the season. And they are 9-4 against their competition this season. Does that resume not smell like a dark horse contender looking to win their first championship? Oh and do not forget they are the home town favourites. The crowd could be the difference here.
#W2W4
Nova Scotia has quickly become one of the most competitive provincial championships in the country yet seems to draw little attraction from curling fans and media alike. And I cannot understand why. Look at this field. We have Arsenault. We have the great Colleen Jones. We have defending champion Jill Brothers. We have perennial contender Theresa Breen. We have our #TeamUpset leading candidate Tanya Hilliard. And what about past champion Mary Mattatall, who has proven she can surprise this field and win the whole event.
Any of the 8 teams who qualified for this provincial championship could win this. It is wide open. It is going to be competitive. Remember last season Brothers earned the bye to the final with a 5-2 record and there was a 4-way tie for the final two spots with 4-3 records and the sixth place team finished only a game back at 3-4. Anyone truly can beat anyone in any draw in this field. This should be an exciting party to attend.
Qualifiers: Team Arsenault, Team Hilliard, Team Brothers
Nova Scotia Championship: Team Hilliard def. Team Arsenault
Quebec
2019 Champion: Team Gabrielle Lavoie
Format: 8 team RR with Top 3 advancing to playoffs. 1st place team in the RR earns a bye to the championship final.
#Fav
Can we buck the trend and actually name a #NextGen team as the favourite for a provincial title? In a wide-open Quebec field, why not? Hello Team Laurie St-Georges! Similar to what has been discussed above, if you follow Canadian Junior Curling Championships in the past you will be very familiar with St-Georges. It was only a few years ago where she was playing for a national junior championship, only to come up short in the final. And she has made her transition to the women's ice with some mild success this season. They reached the SF at the US Open and Stu Sells Toronto and reached a TB at the Tour Challenge Tier II. Now sure they do own a sub-.500 record overall, sitting 20-22 but they have played a lot of curling this season. They also bucked the trend of many Quebec teams we have seen in the past where they actually left the province, travelling to Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Minnesota. All that curling could be the difference maker for them against this field.
#TeamUpset
Well if the #NextGen team is the #Fav, who can be the flag bearer here? Maybe we call it a draw and name The Field? This field is full of teams looking for their breakout. Not a ton of experience overall, especially outside the province, but dark horse teams can still find success. The defending champ Gabrielle Lavoie is back as well looking to #DefendTheIce and should be considered a dangerous threat for the repeat.
#W2W4
Who steps up to become the new face of Quebec women's curling. Marie-France Larouche was the last true success story from the province. Nobody has really been able to duplicate her success or truly make Quebec a main contender at the STOH. Will someone make the move this year? Wide open fields are fun to watch. When players know each team is a legit threat and truly anyone can win, they gain some confidence. Whichever team gets hot early could provide the early advantage. But I would be very scared of the team that finishes 3rd in this RR and wins a SF game. Can I just predict now whomever that team is will win the entire thing? It really wouldn't surprise me to be honest. Just not sure I can actually pull the trigger on that prediction though.
Qualifiers: Team St-Georges, Team Lavoie, Team Tippin
Quebec Championship: Team St-Georges def. Team Lavoie
Saskatchewan
2019 Champion: Team Robyn Silvernagle
Format: 12 team triple knockout with 4 qualifiers advancing to the Page Playoff. A vs. B qualifier equates to 1 vs 2 and C vs C equates to 3 vs 4.
#Fav
The defending champ gets the #Fav label here....but just barely. To Silvernagle's credit, she has played in the past three provincial championship finals, finally emerging with that coveted green jacket last season. But it has not been the kindest of seasons to the team either. They have struggled. They have only qualified in 2 of 8 events and own a 19-25 record. The two events they have qualified in happen to serve as bookends on their season right now too, reaching the QF at their season-opening Booster Juice Shoot-Out in Edmonton and the QF showing at their last event, The National. They made the decision to skip the Canadian Open, on home provincial ice nonetheless, to prepare themselves for this competition as they try to #DefendTheIce. Will the extra preparation time help or will skipping a grand slam event to get competitive games under your slider hinder? Tough call but pressure is on. It will be a different sort of pressure for Silvernagle too. She is used to being considered one of the best Sask players to never win a provincial title. She has one now. And now she is also the defending champ. Same pressure. Different reason. Result?
#TeamUpset
Is this Ashley Howard's year? Howard slipped up last season under the pressure of being considered a top contender, going 2-5 in the RR and finishing well back of the playoff picture. Now the format changes to a triple knockout, could this be more to her liking? She has the game. She has the family history. She has the coach. She just is missing that big result. In fact the past two years have been disappointing at the provincial championships, missing the playoffs both times and failing to really be the contender everyone expects. Maybe this season, with less pressure and maybe a bit less expectation, she can fly under the radar into a playoff position. The team has only qualified in 3 of 8 events but did finish 3rd and 2nd at their last competitive events on the Sask Curling Tour. There should be some confidence and a bit of momentum there. But we have said the same before and look at the result. Time is ticking. Can 2020 finally be the year?
#W2W4
This is a scary field full of former champions with STOH experience. And full of players who know how to win. Past champions like 4-time winner Sherry Anderson (last year's runner-up) and 2-time Amber Holland look ready to reclaim another green jacket. Holland also happens to be the last Sask skip to win the STOH (2011). Penny Barker is back as well and could be a threat to pick up her second title after winning in 2017. Speaking of that 2017 winning team, second-turned-skip Lorraine Schneider is here looking to claim her first title as skip.
And how can we forget Michelle Englot?!!? Can Englot officially turn back the clock and win her 9th Sasky title and 10th overall? She is a 3-time STOH medal winner remember too, claiming silver (as Team Manitoba) in 2017 and back-to-back bronze (as Team Saskatchewan) in 1998 and 1999. Plus she is a #TwineTimeFam member after all, that adds some extra luck right? Ok probably not but still worth a mention.
Saskatchewan may not be considered a STOH favourite but nobody, from any province, can argue the fact Saskatchewan still remains one of the hardest provinces to get out of. Why? Parity! The talent level is high and equitable across the field year in and year out. A strong challenger is going to go 0-3 this week and be eliminated early. The champion could go a perfect 5-0 or 6-0 (depending if they received a first-draw bye) or come through the #CSideGrind and win 5 or 6 games in a row to claim the title. Anything is possible in Sasky!
And do not forget the extra pressure all of these teams may feel. The winner will represent Saskatchewan in Moose Jaw at the STOH. The opportunity to be the home province team at a national championship. Sure teams will say they are not thinking that far ahead but lets be honest here. If you are not thinking and wishing for that dream to become reality, why are you playing? Huge extra stakes on the line at this party.
Qualifiers: Team Silvernagle, Team Holland, Team Howard, Team Streifel
Saskatchewan Championship: Team Holland def. Team Silvernagle
Team Wildcard
Format: Top two teams who did not win their provincial/territorial championship based on CTRS advance to wild card play-in game held Friday February 14 before the start of the event
Teams In Contention: Team Einarson, Team Fleury, Team J. Jones
#W2W4
Pretty simple here. Watch what happens in the Manitoba Scotties. The two teams who do not win the Buffalo will earn tickets to Moose Jaw as play-in game competitors. One of them, likely, will be coming off a Manitoba Scotties finals loss while the other would have been eliminated earlier.
Team Homan currently sits 4th on the CTRS but is too far back to be considered here. We know the Team Wildcard play-in game will be a battle of Manitoba. The question remains which two teams it will feature?
Team Wildcard Play-In Game: Team J. Jones def. Team Einarson
#Brier2020
Nova Scotia
2019 Champion: Team Stuart Thompson
Format: 8 team RR with Top 3 advancing to playoffs. 1st place team in the RR earns a bye to the championship final.
#Fav
If we use the #PowerRankings to determine the favourite, Team Jamie Murphy would nab the previous spot. The team currently sits #34 on the rankings. Murphy has qualified in 6 of 7 events this season but is yet to take home a spiel win. They do have 2 runner-up finishes and 3 SF results though so they consistently are in the hunt. Plus Murphy must be coming into this event with a bit of revenge on his mind after losing his NS Tankard title last season. Last year Murphy was chasing the elusive #4peat and 6th title in 7 years. Quite remarkable. After going undefeated in the RR last year the team came up short in the provincial final. Can he extract his revenge this year?
#TeamUpset
Continuing with the #NextGen theme, keep your eyes on Matthew Manuel. The former NS junior champ will be making his Tankard debut and could be a dark horse contender here. The team is playing well in their first season transitioning to the men's tour. They have qualified in 2 of 4 events, including a SF finish back in September. Plus Manuel has some positive momentum right now after finishing runner-up at the NS Mixed Doubles Championship at the beginning of January. The team may not be Tankard champion ready this season but the results could go a long way in showing just how far this team has come and how serious of a threat they could really be to the more experienced top dawgs in the province.
#W2W4
This looks like a three-horse race between the same teams who reached the playoff bracket last year: Murphy, defending champ Team S. Thompson and Team Chad Stevens. Stevens is still looking for that first tankard title and Brier berth. Thompson is trying to #DefendTheIce. Murphy wants his title back. These three should draw the main focus throughout the event.
But does that leave all three prone to an upset? Perhaps from #TeamUpset?
Qualifiers: Team Murphy, Team Stevens, Team Manuel
Nova Scotia Championship: Team Murphy def. Team Manuel
Quebec
2019 Champion: Team Martin Crete
Format: 14 team RR with 2 pools of 7. Top 3 in each pool advance to the Championship Pool. Top 4 from Championship Pool advance to Page Playoff.
#Fav
The defending champ is not here so the field may be a bit wide open. If we are placing the #Fav tab on a team though why not go with 2018 champ Team Fournier? The team has qualified in 5 of 6 events this season. They reached a championship final in Ottawa back in September. And remember they reached the SF at the Tour Challenge Tier II. This is a very strong team. Some were a bit surprised when they won the Tankard title in 2018 but they followed it up with a solid 2019 and did reach last year's provincial final. With no defending champ to take down, is the door wide open for Fournier to reclaim their title? If you do not follow this team on facebook, you really should. They have some creative summaries of their games/events and have owned a team hashtag all season. #FeedTheHorses! Plus this is the team my brother is cheering for since they were great to Nick at the 2018 Brier in Regina, just sayin'!
#TeamUpset
Of all the #NextGen teams discussed, this team might have the best hope of winning a provincial title this weekend. Team Vincent Roberge has been an absolute beast this season. If we go on the Power Rankings, Roberge is actually the highest ranked team in the field currently sitting #28. And for good reason. 6 tour events entered, 3 championships. Plus 2 additional runner-up finishes. We saw Roberge make his Quebec Tankard debut in 2018 where he lost the 3vs4 playoff game to eventual champ Fournier. He missed last year's event but for good reason. He was skipping Team Quebec at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships, where he reached the Championship Pool and finished 6th overall. This is a VERY dangerous up and coming team who could be ready to make their statement in their first full season of men's play.
#W2W4
This format is a grind. A preliminary pool. A championship pool. A page playoff bracket. It is tough to navigate and teams need to stay on top of their game for the entire week. It is quite easy to find yourself eliminated with having one bad day at the office. You can really only afford 2 losses early to guarantee your Championship Pool spot. 3 losses and you are probably playing an extra game TB, which might not be great for the stamina. Plus you carry over your record into the Championship Pool so if you are the guys sitting with 3 losses and 3 or 4 other teams have 0 or 1 or 2 losses, you have some hard work to do to stay in the playoff hunt.
I will say the preliminary pools almost seem a bit unbalanced, based on experience and name recognition alone. Pool A is STACKED with familiar QC Tankard contenders Fournier, Martin Ferland, Steven Munroe, Yannick Martel and the fresh Quebec face Greg Balsdon. Yup, not a typo folks. The same 2016 Tour Challenge Tier II champion skip now competing in la belle province. What a pool!! Fournier, Ferland, Munroe and Martel were all grouped together last year as well and advanced to the Championship Pool.
The other pool consists of #TeamUpset contender Roberge alongside contenders Jean-Sebastien Roy/Robert Desjardins and Mark Homan. Those three should finish top of the group, meaning one or two should have a 0 or 1 loss record heading into the Championship Pool against the stronger other pool participants.
Last year we saw all 3 teams from 1 pool advance to the page playoff with only 1 team from the other advancing. Could we see the same again this year?
Qualifiers: Team Roberge, Team Fournier, Team Ferland, Team Balsdon
Quebec Championship: Team Roberge def. Team Fournier
Team Wildcard
Format: Top two teams who did not win their provincial/territorial championship based on CTRS advance to wild card play-in game held Friday February 14 before the start of the event
Teams In Contention: Team Jacobs, Team Epping, Team Gushue, Team Bottcher, Team McEwen, Team Dunstone, Team Gunnlaugson, Team McDonald
#What 2 Watch 4 (#W2W4)
A very strong argument could be made where we will see a repeat Team Wildcard play-in game from the past with two Manitoba teams facing off (2018). We already know it will happen on the women's side, could the men make it 2-for-2? Heck we could even see the same two skips as 2018 face off once again here in 2020, with slightly different teams of course. It is WAY to early to predict now but two Manitoba teams facing off is a strong possibility at this point.
Team Wildcard Play-In Game: Team McEwen def. Team Gunnlaugson
What say you rock heads? Agree with some of the Playdown Predictions above? Disagree? Share your thoughts, and predictions, in the comment section below or via social media. This is a party after all and what fun is a party of one?!
#StayTuned
The blog will return next week with all the Playdown Party discussions. Plus this party is not just your normal run of the mill one-nighter. Heck it is not even your normal weekend festival. This party keeps bumping and grinding for a few weeks. Get ready for more #PlaydownPredictions next week!
Party on Wayne....
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