Gushue aims for Trials win to set up potential storybook Olympic capper to career

By Canadian Press on November 21, 2025.

Brad Gushue reached the pinnacle of his sport almost 20 years ago when he stood on the top step of the Olympic podium at the Turin Games.

The last hurdle in his quest to return to Italy for the Winter Olympics starts Saturday in Halifax.

Gushue will skip one of eight men’s team entries at the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials. An eight-team women’s field will also play down at Scotiabank Centre for the right to represent Canada at the Milan Cortina Games.

The nine-day playdowns will be held at the same venue where Gushue stunned the field to win the 2005 Trials before taking Olympic gold in 2006.

“It seems kind of nice that they’re both in the same place,” said Gushue, who plans to retire after the season. “But that doesn’t give us any advantage or mean anything when it (begins) and we’re on the ice.

“It would be nice to get back (to Italy), but I just want to get there because I love curling. I love the Olympics. I love representing Canada. That’s the main focus for me.”

The St. John’s, N.L., skip upset Jeff Stoughton 8-7 in the 2005 Trials final. Legendary skips Glenn Howard, Kevin Martin and Randy Ferbey, all missed the playoffs.

Vice Mark Nichols remains on the Gushue team that now includes Geoff Walker at lead and Brendan Bottcher at second.

Gushue’s side in 2006 also included Russ Howard and Jamie Korab. The Canadians defeated Finland’s Markku Uusipaavalniemi in the final at the Pinerolo Palaghiaccio outside of Turin.

The historic Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium will host curling events from Feb. 4-22 at the 2026 Games.

Now a six-time Brier champion and one of the most popular curlers in the country, Gushue recalled how the Halifax crowd embraced his rink 20 years ago once the local players were out of contention.

He’s hoping for a similar atmosphere when he returns to the 11,000-seat venue.

“We’re the only Atlantic Canadian team that’s going to be there on the men’s side,” Gushue said in a recent interview. “I certainly expect us to be the fan favourites this time. I hope we are and hopefully we can draw from that energy.

“I love those moments.”

The five-player team skipped by local favourite Christina Black will feel the hometown love in a deep women’s draw headlined by Ottawa’s Rachel Homan, Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., and Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes.

Edmonton’s Selena Sturmay advanced from the pre-trials competition to join a field that includes Calgary’s Kayla Skrlik, Kate Cameron of St. Adolphe, Man., and Corryn Brown of Kamloops, B.C.

Top-ranked Matt Dunstone of Winnipeg anchors the men’s field with Gushue and the Calgary-based team skipped by reigning national champion Brad Jacobs.

Mike McEwen’s Saskatoon side, Calgary’s Kevin Koe, John Epping’s team from Sudbury, Ont., and Saskatoon’s Rylan Kleiter round out the men’s entries with pre-trials winner Jordon McDonald of Winnipeg.

This is the first quadrennial where Canadian curlers are able to compete in both mixed doubles and four-player team competition at the Winter Games.

Team Jacobs second Brett Gallant and Team Lawes second Jocelyn Peterman have a chance at the double. They won the mixed doubles trials and secured Canada’s Olympic berth in the discipline at the world championship last May.

Gallant, who won bronze with Gushue at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, said he had a first-hand look at how some of his competitors handled double duty at those Games.

“To deal with some of the quick turnaround and the intensity of playing two events back to back, it would be a privilege to have the opportunity to deal with those pressures and to be in that situation,” Gallant said.

Peterman also played in Beijing on a team with skip Jennifer Jones, but missed the playoffs. Homan and teammate John Morris also missed the cut in mixed doubles.

Organizers have tweaked the format of the Canadian Curling Trials for this quadrennial.

The top three teams from the seven-game round-robin will advance to the playoffs. The second- and third-place teams will play a semifinal before the winner meets the first-place rink in a new best-of-three final.

With files from Canadian Press sports reporter Donna Spencer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press