This week, 15 of the best curling rinks from around the world will descend on Abbotsford, B.C. for a six-day prizefight that will play out on pebbled ice.
Each of the nine international rinks competing in this year’s Masters of Curling has a chance at victory, but none more so than the rink of Niklas Edin, defending world champions from Sweden, and that of Thomas Ulsrud, the Norwegian skip who took silver at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. But in order for either team to leave Abbotsford with the winner’s share of the $100,000 purse, they will have to best six of Canada’s top-ranked skips.
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Five of the six Canadian skips at the Masters have won this spiel in years past. Glenn Howard of Tiny, Ontario has taken home the championship five times, while Kevin Martin, Jeff Stoughton, Mike McEwen and Kevin Koe have each won it once. John Epping is the only Canadian skip in attendance this week who has yet to triumph at this slam.
Round robin play begins Oct. 29. Only eight teams will advance to the playoffs, which begin Saturday morning. The most likely candidates for playoff berths are the six Canadian rinks plus those of Ulsrud and Edin.
Here is a quick rundown of those rinks’ strengths and weaknesses going into this week:
TEAM HOWARD
Other than winning Olympic Gold, Glenn Howard has accomplished everything there is to do in curling. The 51-year-old has the best record at the Masters, but the old man doesn’t just rely on himself for success. The power, accuracy and experience of his third, Wayne Middaugh, have been invaluable ever since Middaugh joined Howard’s rink back in 2011. Middaugh, a former World Champion skip in his own right, is arguably the most naturally talented curler to ever slip on a slider and take to the ice. It’s the combination of Middaugh and Howard on one rink that make them such a potent team.
TEAM MARTIN
Kevin Martin is the most successful skip in the history of the World Curling Tour but he’s coming off a disappointing year that saw him drop in the standings and not even qualify for the playoffs at last year’s Brier. Having parted ways with his third over the summer, Martin brought in David Nedohin, who spent years as fourth on Randy Ferbey’s rink. The addition of Nedohin, a four-time Brier winner, may have been an emergency call-up to get Team Martin back into shape for the Olympic trials. This will be the first major spiel he has played with his new rink.
TEAM STOUGHTON
Jeff Stoughton comes into the Masters as the top-ranked skip in the world. He began this season with all the same teammates that he took to the Brier finals last year. Since adding Mark Nichols (the 33-year-old lead and 2006 Olympic gold medalist) to his lineup at the end of the 2011-12 season, Team Stoughton has had an effective combination of muscle up front mixing with world-class experience at the back end of their game. Nichols had the best shot-percentage of his entire team at the Brier last year and has that rare combination of youth and experience on his side.
TEAM KOE
When Alberta’s Kevin Martin finally decides he’s had enough of sliding around on ice and opts to retire, Kevin Koe will likely take over as the undisputed best skip from curling’s most competitive province. After nearly winning the Brier in 2012, Koe and his rink failed to qualify for the tournament last year yet still managed to top the WCT money list. The defending Masters champion is a seasoned skip with an accomplished rink. Since adding Pat Simmons (five-time Saskatchewan provincial champion) to his team as third back in 2011, Team Koe has been one of the most successful rinks on the World Curling Tour.
TEAM EPPING
A relatively young skip competing on the world stage, John Epping realized late last year that his team’s inexperience and occasional inconsistencies were holding them back. So he recruited Collin Mitchell (the 1998 Olympic silver medalist) to replace Glenn Howard’s son as Team Epping’s second. Mitchell, who has tasted success at the highest level and who played for Howard’s rink on the world tour 10 years ago, might be exactly what Epping needs to bump his team into the Masters’ finals.
TEAM McEWEN
Mike McEwen hasn’t made any changes to his rink’s lineup in five years. He enters the Masters backed up by the same three men who have played with him since 2009. No longer considered a young gun on the world tour, McEwen is drifting toward middle age. Look for him to lean on his mates, especially brothers B.J. and Denny Neufeld (sons of 1992 Brier winner Chris Neufeld) who were pretty much born with curling brooms in their hands.
TEAM ULSRUD
The Norwegian national team is known for their absurdly flashy pants, but the pants do nothing to diminish their talent on the ice. Having reached the World Championships nine times, Ulsrud is one of the most experienced skips on the world stage. That said, his longtime third, Torger Nergard, has actually represented his country an almost unheard of 10 times. Nergard is a precision shooter, and two-time Olympic medalist, having won gold in 2002 and silver in 2010. Though he seems content playing as Ulsrud’s third, he is a proven skip having led his team to silver at the 2010 World Championships in Ulsrud’s absence.
TEAM EDIN
The reigning world champions from Sweden are one of the youngest teams competing at the Masters. Though they have curled together for five years, not one member of this team is over the age of 28. What they lack in age and experience they make up for in preparatory hours on ice. As professional fulltime curlers they spend more time together than any of the Canadian rinks whose players must juggle day jobs in order to earn a living. They enter this tournament having most likely spent more hours together in the last 12 months than any other team.