#CMDCC2021 Preview

#BetweenTheSheets: Double Trouble in the #IceBubble

Ready for Mixed Doubles March Madness?

 The #IceBubble Championships continue.

We celebrated a #DefendTheIce moment at the Scotties.

We saw resiliency reign supreme at the Brier.

What do you have in store for us Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship?

The #CMDCC2021 is unique in so many ways.

Yes, it is being competed inside the #IceBubble with no fans. As have the other Canadian championships. But there seems to be a bit more controversy and eyebrow raising around this specific championship.

And for good reason.

We have a few pre-event story lines to discuss folks: New Playoff Format and Qualification.

Lets dive in!

New Playoff Format

Well this should be interesting. Yes the Top 12 teams still qualify for the playoff bracket. The 5 pool winners will be eligible for the first round bye, earning a direct spot into the QF round. 5 pool winners. 4 opening round byes. How will this be determined?

The first step in the ranking process will be simple Win-Loss record. However, we can imagine this will not finalize our Top 4. If teams are tied with Win-Loss, the next decider will be the Last Stone Draw (LSD). One bad draw on Monday morning could cost you a QF spot folks.

This bye will be a HUGE advantage, more so this year than any other year. The teams who earn a bye to the QF will only need to win ONE playoff game to reach the Page Playoff. Let me explain.

The remaining playoff spots, outside the 5 pool winners, will be decided on Win-Loss record overall regardless of pool. Spots 6 - 12 will be based on the Win-Loss, again with LSD breaking any ties.

Teams will be seeded, again based on record and LSD, for the playoffs. Teams 5 - 12 will compete in the opening playoff round, known as the Qualifying Round.

Winners of the Qualifying Round will advance to the QF to face the 4 pool winners who received the opening bye. Here is where it gets interesting...and different.

The 4 QF winners advance not to the SF but rather the Page Playoff Seeding Round. Formerly known as a SF game, the winners of those two seeding round games advance to the 1 vs. 2 PPG while the losers still have championship hopes alive in advancing to the 3 vs. 4 PPG.

The Page Playoff will proceed as normal with the 1 vs. 2 winner advancing to the final while the loser faces the winner of the 3 vs. 4 in the typical SF game.

See the HUGE advantage now for winning your pool and finishing Top 4 overall!?!? One playoff win away from advancing to the Page Playoff sure sounds better than needing to win two playoff games.

Not to mention the fact this is a long week of competition with a funky draw schedule so earning a bye also means earning a bit of rest.

Seriously though, this draw is weird. Lets take Ashley Quick and Mike Armstrong as an example. They do not hit the ice on the opening day of competition. They will play their first game Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. (MST). They play their second game Saturday morning at the same time but then play their third game Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Game four and five will be at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and Monday before wrapping up the RR on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. again.

If they can finish Top 4, their playoff game would be Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m. but if they fail to win the pool, but still reach the playoffs, they would be on the ice Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.

Is there a possible schedule advantage? Perhaps.

Although, in 2019, two of the SF teams came from the Round of 12 so we saw only a 50% success rate of those teams earning an opening round bye.

Qualification

Time to tackle the elephant in the room. Now lets talk about the teams themselves and how they got here. This is a bit of a #DumpsterFire folks.

When the event was confirmed and listed as coming to the #IceBubble, we heard 35 teams would be competing. Instantly this was a bit of a red flag. Why 35? Why so many during a pandemic? How can we have 35 qualifiers when we have no 2020/2021 season to base qualification off of?

Every past iteration of this event has gone with a 32-team field. What is the point of adding 3 more teams? And, in a pandemic with past dated rankings, why increase the field size? Why not actually decrease from 32 to 28?

You can have the 14 provincial/territorial reps. You can have the 14 qualifiers based on the Canadian Mixed Doubles Rankings (CMDR). Boom. Done and done! Simple qualification standards, easy transparency. The sky is blue. The sun is yellow. Water is wet.

Enter the "Added 7".

What purpose does allowing these 7 additional teams into the competition really serve?

The explanation provided is the #Added7 were included in the field because, due to COVID, they were unable to actually compete this season as newly formed teams.

Newly formed teams? New teams who have never competed together and now get to compete for a national championship? Whaaaaa?

How is this fair to those teams who have been together? Who did compete together in 2019/2020. Who, because of the added 7, were actually bumped out of competing in this championship.

Had the field been reduced to 28, no argument from those teams who finished outside the ranking cut off spot. But, when you add 7 teams who never stepped on the ice together, debate is going to happen.

Lets be clear before we continue. This is in NO WAY a comment on the athletes themselves. They are only playing within the rules set up by a governing body. Comments about teams/players who did or did not qualify are not about the players as individuals. Got it?

Now lets be real. The added 7 were also deemed to qualify based on their CTRS points from the 2019/2020 season. The points earned from their 4-person team helped earn them a spot in the mixed doubles field while knocking out mixed doubles teams who earned points competing in mixed doubles? Got all that?

How is this fair? Are we not comparing apples to oranges here?

Lets take an example. Selena Njegovan and Reid Carruthers qualified as the final team in the #Added7 category. Their CTRS point total is 88.650, based on the CMDR for 2021 Championships document on the Curling Canada site.

Now look at Erin Pincott and Matt Dunstone. Their CMDR point total is 92.659. It would appear 92.659 > 88.650. Yet I don't see Pincott/Dunstone competing this week. 

The qualification requirement for the 14 CMDR teams was they had to compete in a minimum of 2 mixed doubles events. For the #Added7, their points were taken based on their best 3 events from their 4-person team results. 

Hey apple, meet orange.

Pincott and Dunstone did compete in the minimum required amount of events. Check mark there.

But, when compared to the Top 14 CMDR ranking, they actually finish below those 14 who qualified. Ok, fair enough, so they would not qualify.

However, how can we allow a team to enter a national championship, who has never curled together let alone competed in a mixed doubles tour event, when even their "apple" ranking point total is less than the "orange" total of another team?

There are SO MANY issues here. Not to mention Dunstone is 3-0 vs. Carruthers this year. But that is not a fair comparison right? But the 4-team ranking points to the MD ranking points is?

Why not take the Top 15 from CMDR and only do an #Added6? At least we eliminate the flaw just pointed out above.

Now what about those players who have no mixed doubles experience? When did you last see Marc Kennedy compete in MD? The answer is, he hasn't.

What about Kerri Einarson? Similar answer to above. Einarson has mixed 4-team experience but no mixed doubles.

Yet Kennedy, partnered with Val Sweeting, has a rankings total of 117.255.

Einarson, partnered with Brad Gushue, has a rankings total of 104.613.

Kennedy and Sweeting are seeded #14 while Einarson/Gushue are a #19 seed. Whaaaa?

Again, as a reminder, this is not a comment on Kennedy or Einarson or Njegovan/Carruthers. They are all great curlers and great competitors. This is commentary on a system which, based on numbers and qualification criteria (or lack thereof), does not compute.

If we open up conspiracy theories, does this not just look like cherry-picking elite athletes to compete at a national championship? And to compete in a key national championship which the winners will, in turn, try to qualify Canada for the Winter Olympics.

Ok maybe it is not comparing apples to oranges. Now we are comparing cherries to apples to oranges. The fruit bowl, also known as the #CMDCC2021, is growing folks.

Then you read the added qualification fine print for the #Added7: "Both players must also be part of Curling Canada's National Team program"

The conspiracy plot thickens, does it not?

Look, generally I am not one to buy in or look for conspiracy theories. I am sure there is some sort of rational explanation somewhere hidden on someone's laptop computer to explain the qualification here.

So why is it not public? Why is there no full transparency? If we look at the qualification standards based on what has been released, there are certainly some glowing concerns. See above!

I know there was a massive upheaval on social media over Chelsea Carey and Colin Hodgson not earning a spot in this field. Based on the online resource document, the specific argument for both is a bit muted.

What about the argument for Pincott/Dunstone? What about Catherine and Chris Liscumb? Or Jill deGooijer/Garret Springer?  Or Ashley Groff and Kyle Doering?

The point being if the field was going to stay at 32 or expand to 35, fine. But why take away the national championship opportunity from duos who earned legit MD points to allow for national team members to compete who have never played MD?

Of course we haven't even discussed the hypocrisy of why Team Silvernagle or Team Rocque were unable to compete at the Scotties because they did not have 3 of 4 previous team members who earned them their qualification points.

But hey, teams who never competed in MD can use their 4-team CTRS points to earn a spot in the MD national championship. Seems cool?!?

And now that I have talked about apples and oranges and cherries, I am hungry. #SnaxAttack

All questions and lack of transparency aside, the competition is hitting the ice and we should still be excited about it. The discussion points above are questions to raise going forward and should not take away from the athletes competing this week for a Canadian championship.

We still wish all the competitors good luck and good curling and we are all excited to see mixed doubles get the centre sheet of ice on our televisions for 3 draws a day. This is monumental and a continued effort to not only #growthesport but continue to grow the discipline.

Welcome to the ACTUAL #CMDCC2021 preview.

Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship

#IceBubble, Calgary, AB.

2019 Champions: Jocelyn Peterman & Brett Gallant

Format: 35 team RR with 5 pools of 7. Top 12 qualify with Top 4 earning bye to the QF.

Pool A

#Fav

The defending champions highlight Pool A and should be considered favourites to not only reach the playoff round but possibly #DefendTheIce. Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant have been the strongest, and most consistent, mixed doubles pairing in Canada over the past number of seasons. They are also the only two-time Canadian MD champions, having first won the title in 2016. Arguably, they are also the best bet for Canada to ascend to the top of the world MD podium and help officially book Canada's spot in the upcoming Winter Olympics. Anything short of a playoff appearance here, at minimum, will be a surprise.

Peterman can also pad her career stats with reaching the playoff bracket. She currently has the most career playoff wins (8), one better than her partner and two better than fellow competitors Laura Walker and Nancy Martin.

The duo is also tied for most career finals appearances (2) with Kalynn Park/Charley Thomas along with Walker and Martin.

#TeamUpset

Keep an eye on Clancy Grandy and Pat Janssen. I realize they are seeded high but for the casual curling fan you may not be familiar with just how strong and formidable this duo can be. Before COVID hit, this team won 3 MD tour events in the 2019/2020 season. They reached the Final Four in another event as well. This team can quietly sneak through this draw and reach the playoffs. They have been here before, competing in 2014 (4-4) and 2015 (6-3). This is an experienced team who can shake up your bracket.

Not to mention they won the 2020 #GoldenGranite Award as #TeamUpset of the Year - Mixed Doubles.

#W2W4

Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott sneaked up on the MD curling world back in 2018 when they had a magical run to the Canadian championship final. They followed it up with winning bronze in 2019. They have also represented Canada on the Curling World Cup ice. They are no longer a "sleeper" in the field. How do they handle the higher expectations placed on them and knowing they come in with a target as a contender rather than a dark horse sleeper?

Plus what will come of the new pairing of Joanne Courtney and Darren Moulding? Courtney is coming off a tough out in the Scotties. Moulding is coming off a triumphant victory at the Brier. This is a wild card pairing. Courtney is a past Canadian MD champion remember (2017 with Reid Carruthers).

Projected Standings: 1. Peterman/Gallant (Seed: #1)  2. Sahaidak/Lott (#10)  3. Grandy/Janssen (#11)  4. Courtney/Moulding (#20)  5. Tran/Sluckinski (#27)  6. Adams/Robichaud (#26)  7. Dale/Van Strien (#35)


Pool B

#Fav

Anytime Jennifer Jones is entered into a curling competition she is going to be named a favourite. Add in competing with Brent Laing and being the #2 seed, tough to bet against them.

Jones and Laing have proven over the past few years to really excel at MD. Before COVID, they picked up a huge title in Portage against one of the strongest MD fields on tour that season.

This will also be their 4th straight CMDCC together, having reached the playoffs each time. However, their playoff position has dropped one level each time: SF -> QF -> R12. 

#TeamUpset

Welcome back #Labelleprovince. The curling fans have missed you. Laurie St-Georges captured the hearts of Canadian curling fans while leading her team to a Champ Pool finish at the Scotties. Her fun nature, smile and relaxed personality was enjoyed by everyone who watched her team compete. Plus, she can make the shots!

She is back and joined by partner Felix Asselin, who is fresh off competing at the Brier as a member of the #FeedTheHorses brigade. The Quebec boys finished one game out of a TB and also had a successful Brier.

This is going to be a dangerous team. Similar to what we said going into the Scotties/Brier, many may not have seen this team play or may be unfamiliar with them as a duo. Well, after having seen both compete already inside the #IceBubble, maybe they are not flying under the radar anymore. This is a strong "sleeper" pick against an experienced pool. But we know what happens when you go out and play the games with nothing to lose and everything to gain as an underdog.

#W2W4

This a stacked pool, perhaps dubbed the "Pool of Death" in the competition. You have Jones/Laing. You have a dangerous #TeamUpset duo from Quebec. And you have former Canadian MD champions in Kim/Wayne Tuck (2014) and Robert Desjardins (2013 with Isabelle Neron).

Team Tuck also picked up two MD tour titles and reached another SF before the tour season was cancelled. This year's championship will also mark their 6th straight championship together.

But don't forget you also have the current Scotties champion skip Kerri Einarson with another well-known Canadian champ Brad Gushue. Ok sure Einarson has not really been on MD ice, self-admitted even, but she is coming off defending her Scotties title and will have confidence. Gushue has played MD before too. Remember he lost the MD Olympic Trials final, teaming with Einarson teammate Val Sweeting.

There is a high level of MD experience in this pool. The big names may highlight interest in the pool but there are MD specialists here as well. Either way, there will be some strong teams going home early from this pool.

Projected Standings: 1. Jones/Laing (#2)  2. Einarson/Gushue (#19)  3. Tuck/Tuck (#9)  4. Desjardins/Desjardins (#12)  5. St-Georges/Asselin (#25)  6. Wasylkiw/Konings (#22)  7. Scoffin/Scoffin (#34) 

Pool C

#Fav

We might need to do co-Fav for Pool C folks, with a dual mix of Sasky Pride!

Kirk Muyres and Laura Walker are back to reclaim the title they lost in 2019. This is a formidable duo and are quite capable of standing atop the podium once again. Remember both competed at the Scotties/Brier and went home with bronze medals. Combine them and they could walk out of the bubble with gold. Not just a fav from this pool but legit championship contender.

Nancy Martin and Tyrel Griffith finished with a silver medal at the 2019 championships and, similar to Walker/Muyres, also might have a little revenge and redemption on their minds. They also won a MD tour event pre-COVID and had another SF finish.

Take note of Martin especially. She is a two-time Canadian MD runner-up (2013 with Dustin Kalthoff). She has also competed in EVERY Canadian MD championship to date. She is a MD specialist...who also just competed in the Scotties and reached the Champ Pool with Team Anderson.

Martin is also chasing some #HERstory. She is one playoff game away from tying the record for most playoff games (11, Park/Thomas). She is also two wins away from tying the record for most career wins (37, Park/Thomas). She already holds the record for most career games played (53).

Could this finally be her year?

#TeamUpset

I promise this is not just because of the Sasky connection folks but keep your eyes on Chaelynn Kitz and Kyler Kleibrink. It will be interesting to see the #PrairiePride duo come together here. Kitz is a regular on the MD scene, usually competing with partner Brayden Stewart out of Saskatchewan.

Alberta's Kleibrink is also no stranger to MD ice, usually competing with partner Chantele Broderson. With Stewart not competing, Kitz joined forces with Kleibrink and this can be a dark horse newly formed team. They have MD experience. They will fly under the radar in a pool filled with "big name" competitors. This is the exact recipe for #TeamUpset success. Big names take the light. Sleeper teams steal the wins. 

#W2W4

We have two newly formed teams for this event. Again, we are not getting into the specifics on newly formed teams and whether they should be competing and blah blah blah. We already covered all of that confusion above.

Briane Meilleur/Mark Nichols and Selena Njegovan/Reid Carruthers are teams filled with "big names" but have not been together on MD ice. It is a bit of an unknown into how they will do. Will they gel right away? Will there be a feeling out process? How will they stack up against experienced MD tandems?

Yes Carruthers is a former MD champion so slight advantage perhaps to him and Njegovan. Of course Meilleur is coming off a Scotties win too. 

It will be interesting to see how these teams compete against this pool.

Projected Standings: 1. Walker/Muyres (#8)  2. Martin/Griffith (#3)  3. Kitz/Kleibrink (#13)  4. Meilleur/Nichols (#18)  5. Njegovan/Carruthers (#23)  6. Jackson-Baier/Chester (#28)  7. MacFadyen/MacFadyen (#33)

Pool D

#Fav

Shannon Birchard and Catlin Schneider are the top seeds in this pool and are ranked #4 in Canada for a reason.

Sure many are familiar with Birchard from her back-to-back Scotties championships with Team Einarson. And many know Schneider from his bronze medal Brier win last year with Team Dunstone. But this is a formidable powerhouse duo.

They went 6-3 at the 2019 championships, losing in the QF to eventual finalists Martin/Griffith. They also reached the SF at the MD tour event in Banff/Canmore.

If MD experience were to win out, this would be the team to top the group. Plus how can you not love them running with the team hashtag of #TeamBS this week? And you gotta love the Schneider All Beef hot dog image they also shared on social media. We see what you are doing there Catlin Schneider! Hope Birch can keep you in check. LOL 

They look ready to compete while having some fun. A dangerous combo and a championship threat.

#TeamUpset

I have said this in past CMDCC previews and I will continue to say it. Watch out for Nova Scotia's Karlee Jones and Bryce Everist. I still really like this team and think they can be a dangerous sleeper.

They finished 4-3 in their rookie campaign in 2018, one game out of a possible playoff spot. They hit the sophomore slump in 2019, finishing a disappointing 1-6. So what will they do this time?

The interesting side note is they also represented Nova Scotia at the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in 2019, winning a silver medal as the front end duo with skip Kendal Thompson.

I think we may see more of the 2018 competitors come out in 2021.

#W2W4

Pool B was mentioned as a possible "Pool of Death" but maybe we should reconsider when looking at Pool D. D = Death!

There are some big name players in this pool. Just look at the Canadian champions: Shannon Birchard, Val Sweeting, Emma Miskew, Ryan Fry, Marc Kennedy and, newly added to the list, Brendan Bottcher. Yikes!

Not to mention #GSOC champions Catlin Schneider and Derek Samagalski.

We have experienced MD duos (Birchard/Schneider, Jones/Everist). We have newly formed teams (Miskew/Fry, Sweeting/Kennedy). We have a fiancee couple (Sauder/Bottcher).

We know the motto for MD curling is #NoLeadIsSafe but, in this pool, we might want to add #ExpectTheUnexpected?

Projected Standings: 1. Birchard/Schneider (#4)  2. Sauder/Bottcher (#7)  3. Miskew/Fry (#17)  4. Jones/Everist (#29)  5. Karwacki/Samagalski (#24)  6. Sweeting/Kennedy (#14)  7. King/King (#32)  

Pool E

#Fav

They may not be the top seed in this pool but Ashley Quick and Mike Armstrong should be considered favourites based on their MD experience.

They won a tour event in Saskatoon and reached the SF at another event in Regina.

2021 will mark their 6th MD championship together, with a best result being a bronze medal finish in 2014. Since their podium appearance, they have finished with a 3-4 RR record each year so it will be interesting to see if they can live up to, or better, their seeding.

The MD experience factor is there. The talent is there. Can they put it all together? They have a pool where they could make another playoff run.

#TeamUpset

The last team in the field, representing #NextGen, is Dezaray Hawes and Tyler Tardi. They were provided a spot in the field with Team Cottrill turned down their invite.

But do not underestimate the #NextGen movement. They are a Top 20 ranked duo on the Canadian Mixed Doubles Ranking (not taking into account the "newly formed" teams points, which are debatable as mentioned above). 

They will also be making their 4th Canadian MD appearance. Remarkable considering they are still considered #NextGen. 2019 was their best performance, finishing 6-2 in the RR, earning a first round bye but losing in the QF.

We have seen this narrative be successful in the past: The couple who stays together, curls together.

Can Hawes and Tardi make their move this year?

And keep a side eye on Greg Smith and Mackenzie Mitchell, representing #TheRock. We saw what Smith can do while competing in the Brier, can he make some magic happen again?

#W2W4

Kaitlyn Lawes vs. John Morris. This will be an underlying story line from this pool. The defending Olympic champs no longer curling together and placed in the same pool. No hard feelings, just moving on but you know both want to one up their former partner.

Lawes will be curling with her nephew Conner Lawes while Morris will be curling with Danielle Schmiemann, who is filling in for pregnant Rachel Homan.

It is a bit surprising not to see Schmiemann curling here with her regular partner Jason Ginter as they did not qualify. Again, surprising considering their ranking points have them higher than 4 of the 7 "newly formed" teams.

Either way Morris is getting an experienced MD specialist, which works to his advantage. Lawes has teamed up with Conner before at this event, in 2014 when they finished 4-3.

Projected Standings: 1. Schmiemann/Morris (#5)  2. Quick/Armstrong (#6)  3. Hawes/Tardi (#21)  4. Lawes/Lawes (#15)  5. Weagle/Epping (#16)  6. Mitchell/Smith (#31)  7. Won/Bonot (#30) 

Qualifiers: Peterman/Gallant, Jones/Laing, Walker/Muyres, Birchard/Schneider, Schmiemann/Morris, Sahaidak/Lott, Einarson/Gushue, Martin/Griffith, Sauder/Bottcher, Quick/Armstrong, Grandy/Janssen, Hawes/Tardi 

#CMDCC2021 CHAMPIONSHIP: Laura Walker/Kirk Muyres def. Nancy Martin/Tyrel Griffith

C stands for Championship so why not have both finalists come from Pool C? Walker and Martin are chasing #HERstory. Both teams come in with redemption and revenge from 2019. All four have been in the #IceBubble already competing at the Scotties/Brier. These teams seem ready to compete and win. This would be a great final and both teams are more than capable of representing Canada on the international stage. My heart wants to see Nancy Martin get her much deserved Canadian championship. My head says Walker/Muyres are too good.

This is #MarchMadenss. The lesson is to side with the head over the heart.

Share your thoughts and predictions via social media and remember to tag your posts with #CMDCC2021 to keep the conversation sliding hack to hack. And support your favourites all week by tagging them in your posts.

#StayTuned

In fine #TwineTime tradition, a blog post will be released after the opening weekend of competition. Which teams will be sitting atop the Mixed Doubles #PowerRankings? Which are a surprise? Which are struggling?

Good luck and good curling 🥌