On the 2023 Scotties
23 thoughts on a wild week...
I’ve always loved tennis writer Jon Wertheim’s recaps after Grand Slams. He does 50 bite-sized thoughts about each tournament, and it’s so insightful. My friend James over at Twine Time also does some nice work with some shorter thoughts about curling events, and so I thought, why not try the same? It’s 2023, so perhaps fittingly, here’s 23 thoughts about the 2023 Scotties:
We gotta start with the champs. A couple things stood out to me this week for Team Einarson, but the first and main thing: they won even though it wasn’t always their best work. The RR was no trouble, but Kerri wasn’t as sharp as usual in the playoffs (the semis particularly), and they still pulled it off. I got in trouble from some decorated European curlers on Twitter for saying there was a clear gap between them and the rest, but at least on Canadian soil, the gap is evident and that gets highlighted even more when the skip doesn’t play their best and you still win (comfortably).
Another thing I really noticed this week: how good Val Sweeting is. I mean, I knew it before, but I think it’s the middle of the lineup that causes so much trouble for the opposition with Team Canada. Val was +7. Shannon was an astonishing +10. Seconds have become so important with the 5-rock rule and there’s no secret to why Shannon is 5-for-5 at the Scotties. Thirds have always been important, and Val is one of the best in the world. Tough to play against.
Is Val Sweeting this generation’s John Morris? You could make the case. I’m aware of the perception of comparing female athletes to male ones and I’m not trying to do that here, but it’s the story that looks the same. Val was so good as a young skip and it’s fairly easy to say she’d have maybe won a Scotties title on her own in the last 4 years if she hadn’t joined Kerri. We said the same things about John as he came into the men’s game from juniors and lost a national final. But once she took over as third, the proposition became insanely scary and now we have to talk about her as one of the best to ever do it in that spot, just as we did with Mr. Morris.
Someone on Twitter said we have to consider Team Einarson the best ever now, and I just can’t get there…yet. One Worlds bronze and no Olympic appearances makes it tough. That said, there’s no overstating how impressive 4 straight titles is. Never thought we’d see it in High Definition, it felt like a relic of an old era. If they can dominate the Worlds this year, then we’ll talk.
Speaking of the best ever…if there was any doubt that it was Jennifer Jones, there isn’t any now. What a run this week at 48 years old with a brand-new team. I know heading into this season there was some speculation that if things trended downward for the team that maybe this could be her last year. Mack Zack was even asked about it in the wake of the loss. All that speculation and she calmly goes undefeated through the Manitobas and then 10-2 at the Scotties. Unreal. Can’t imagine she isn’t back for at least one more next year.
Speaking of one of the best to ever do it…how soon can we say that about Karlee Burgess? There’s a reason they moved Mack down to second, and it’s because Karlee is just so good (among other reasons I discussed here). She already had probably the best junior women’s career a Canadian has ever had, and she answers that by simply going +4 at this Scotties, tied for second among thirds, and if you eliminate her rough opening game, ties Laura Walker at 84% for the week (also good for second). The rare young player that has no ceiling.
That said: Mack, Emily, and Lauren…all great too. Lauren 92 for the week (tied for second), Mack a +4 (tied for 2nd), and Emily curling 91% in playoff action after only getting 3 RR games in is wildly impressive. Not too many full junior teams can remain this dominant this quickly in the grown-up game.
Krista McCarville…sigh. I love that they have made themselves into household names now because of how well they perform on the biggest stages. And they deserve it. 4 amazing ladies, and you just can’t teach chemistry like they have. It quite literally wins them games. People get tired of the “maybe they need to play more to win” cliché, but as we always say…clichés are such for a reason. And look: I’m not saying they have to, or should. Sport isn’t everything. A huge part of the reason I quit is because I knew I couldn’t play enough to keep up. But we haven’t seen them play more, and they haven’t won. It might be the only thing left to try.
Loved this post-game interview with Sarah Potts about the Pride brooms they used all week. Allyship can be just about visibility, but I think it means even more when it’s backed up with words like this. More teams should be taking note.
Northern Ontario are using brooms with Pride tape this week at #STOH2023. Here's @TeamMcCarville lead Sarah Potts on why that's important. 🏳️🌈10. Speaking of great post-game interviews, how good was this one with Kaitlyn Lawes?
"I'm really pumped for this team." After a tough loss to Nova Scotia in a tiebreaker, skip Kaitlyn Lawes reflects on the first Scotties with her new team. #STOH2023You’re obviously disappointed to lose, but understanding it’s a been a crazy year family-wise for the whole team, it’s a new squad, and that there’s just a joy in playing together that matters an awful lot (as it does for say, Team McCarville). I think keyboard warriors are always quick to see a non-podium finish for the new team and write them off, and just the calmness Kaitlyn exudes here and recognizing there’s lots of time left for the team was lovely to see. I also agree their future is bright.
Laura Walker. Wow. Doesn’t play 4s much all season, steps into the Scotties without much action with the team, wins Second All-Star less than a year after having her second child. No problem, easy peasy.
Cutting off team-specific thoughts for a second to say: not super surprised the 3 teams who did make the podium were 2 of the teams who fully stayed together through the 2022 Massacre and the third was essentially an entire identical team with one new member. People have asked me a lot in mailbags about team chemistry, and this weekend was evidence that it means a whole lot.
Tyler George had a bit of a controversial tweet when he talked about the level of execution at the Scotties but I kind of agree. That said, I’m chalking it up more to the new teams than anything else. I don’t think the players have gotten worse, but team chemistry takes time. Learning how to read your new teammates’ rocks takes time. The field had a few brand-new skips. Plus, the ice was so tricky with the changing weather in Kamloops. Thought icemaker Mike Merklinger did a hell of a job keeping it as consistent as it was despite that. I think we’ll see a bounceback next year.
Ms. Christina Black, if you’re nasty. Nothing I love more than a curler with an “oh shucks” East Coast demeanour who’ll slit your throat. The number of shots she made this week was astounding. Her teammates were either even or minus on the week, and she made some incredible shots to keep Nova Scotia in games. You have to be good to be lucky, and she got a bit lucky with some misses that led to wins, but you gotta force those misses, and she did. Baxter and Barker were also so good on the brush on some of those shots. Makes a world of difference.
At the start of the week I thought we were due for a Homan win. I think the on-paper lineup is strong and they had a really nice year. And winning 4 Scotties in a row is hard so I liked Homan next best. Who knows what might’ve been if Rachel doesn’t miss the double against Black. People seem so eager to put this team in the ground after the loss (and really have all year for some reason), but I just don’t see it. All team members were plusses, with Homan/Fleury/Miskew all at +4 and a very pregnant Sarah Wilkes at +2. I think they’re back next year and, even more boldly, I think they win a Scotties in this quad.
My home province of BC fared even better than I thought they might, making a really nice run to the playoffs. They played their signature extreme aggressive style, and while I’m still skeptical it’s what they need to win long-term, it’s clear it worked this year and so why mess with it before you get to the Scotties. I do wonder if Niklas Edin stays on long-term as coach if there’s tinkering coming before next season as far as strategy goes. He’s one of the best strategists in the men’s game and I can’t imagine there were enough Sour Patch Kids available to soften the tense nerves some of Clancy Grandy’s calls must bring to the surface. They were 2-4 against teams above .500 in the competition, and I think it’ll be tactics that needs the strongest look before next season rather than shotmaking, which appears to mostly be there for the young squad.
On that BC shotmaking tip, gotta shout out my home Peace Arch Curling Club pal Sarah Loken. I said in my BC provincial wrap-up that I was excited for them to have a nice run at the Scotties because I thought her and Lindsay Dubue deserved more shine. Lindsay had a nice first Scotties, but Sarah led all leads at +5, was above 83% in every game except one, and had 4 games in the 90s. A great week. She also just so happened to win the BC Mixed Doubles title a week before the Scotties too. No big deal.
If this is truly it for Kerry Galusha, what an unbelievable run. Put curling in the North on the map, and probably the most heartening thing of all is that the years she put in the most miles and the most effort were the last couple. It’s tough when you get older to want to pursue your dreams even harder, and she did it. And shone a light on Indigenous athletics in the process too. The Scotties won’t be the same if she isn’t there next year.
That goes for Jo-Ann Rizzo too. Holy hell. She could play Masters next year! The shots she’s making at 59 years old, just insanity. And she flew to freaking Inuvik to get to the Scotties. From Brantford, Ontario! Incredible.
Laurie St-Georges talked this week about the struggles her team has had this year coming into the Scotties, and a quick look at the world ranks would’ve confirmed it, as her team was ranked outside of the Top 100 coming into the event. You wonder if a spot in the tiebreakers and a 5-3 record papers over those cracks. If it doesn’t, then it also leads one to wonder if Laurie would consider leaving Quebec. I think she’d be in demand, particularly at the third position, if she did.
Does she ever consider pairing with Christina Black? I’m not a geographer, but last I checked, Nova Scotia wasn’t all that far from Quebec. Just spitballing here.
File Casey Scheidegger’s week into the “results that don’t matter” column. I’m sure they’re disappointed, but having two very pregnant players who also spent a large part of the lead-up to the Scotties having to worry about the Curling Canada ruling (or non-ruling, really) takes a lot out of a team. They’re 11th in the world, and the mix seems good to me. I think they’ll be back.
We’re getting close to the end, so it feels appropriate for me to take a victory lap. Here’s what I wrote about Team Ackland after the Autumn Gold Classic in October (when they were still Team Ackland):
…while I think that [Manitoba]’s Scotties will be some sort of cruel death trap, I think this team will be competitive at them with the chance to surprise. Meghan Walter is one hell of a player and is gonna be the key for this team after having a ton of success as a junior skip and winning the World Mixed as a 19 year-old.
Simply all they did after that was turn Meghan skip, make the Manitoba final, which gave them enough points to be Wild Card 3, and then Meghan turned 21 in the middle of the Scotties, becoming the youngest Wild Card skip ever. No big deal. The future is bright.
And lastly, a non-Scotties thought: congratulations to my old coach, Brett Kury, on his BC Masters win this past weekend, his first-ever provincial title. After coming very close in Seniors and previous Masters, as well as having two silvers in Men’s as a coach (with a certain newsletter writer you may know), he captured his first ever provincial title at age 63 and I couldn’t be happier for him. Curling is such a tough sport and the losses are the hardest part about it, but persevering into your 60s and being able to capture your first title is really special and is the type of story that makes even the coldest of curling hearts warm up just a bit. Look out New Brunswick! The boys are coming!
(Brett is second from the left, joined by Doug O’Byrne, Fred Cleutinx, and Lyle Sieg—photo by Steve Seixeiro)
Alright, that’s it for me. Enjoy the Brier! I know I will. You can follow me on Twitter for more curling stuff at @cullenoncurling and you can subscribe to this newsletter to receive it in your inbox every time I write one by clicking the “Subscribe” button up top there. Thanks for reading!