On the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts

24 thoughts on a great tournament...

What a week! As some of you may have saw on social media, I spent the last 10 days working as something of a correspondent for Curling Canada, doing some explainer videos, some interview segments, and running around the arena with Matt Dunstone and Tyler Tardi screaming at fans. It was a blast. And we were treated to a wonderful tournament, so let’s not delay any further and pick up on a format we left off with last year: 24 thoughts for the 2024 Scotties.

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(photo credit: Curling Canada)

1. We have nowhere else to start but with Rachel Homan. I’ll get to the team in a minute, but Rachel herself was on another level this week. Quite frankly, I can’t remember a skip being this dominant at a Scotties since Rachel herself in 2013…and again in 2017. 2013 was a coming-out party for Homan, and this? Well this might have been a legacy cementer. She’s obviously the best skip of this generation—if we are counting Jennifer Jones as the generation before—and she might lack some Worlds/Olympics hardware, but this version of Rachel was unstoppable this week.

2. Rachel was 89% on the week, which was good enough for 8 percentage points higher than the next best skip, Kerri Einarson. As you know, stats aren’t everything, which is why I tend to love Positional Plus-Minus. If you outcurl your direct opposition by 5% or more, you get a plus. Anything less than 5%, you get a minus. If it’s within a 5-point gap of each other, you’re even. It helps account for potential statistician bias. Rachel was +11. If you’re doing the math correctly, that’s a plus in every game. The next closest skip was a +3. The very nature of the skipping position makes it hard to get a plus, and Rachel did it not only in every game, but by playing a harder degree of difficulty of strategy than most of the field. She made just a ridiculous number of runbacks to get to these numbers.

3. Last word on Rachel individually: it’s funny to think that there’s almost no question that the best game of the tournament was the 1-2 game between Homan and Jones on Saturday night, and probably the only reason it was so good is because Rachel had her worst game of the week, only (I use that word loosely) shooting 80%. It kept the game closer, and forced the shot of the tournament from her in the 10th end, as she made that draw to the pinhole that was beautifully managed by the rest of her team, both sweeping and line-wise. Rachel playing so well otherwise made the rest of her games a little bit more tepid, dramatically-speaking, and they were in complete control throughout the final (despite an odd bounce costing them in 9 and making the 10th a little more dramatic than it needed to be).

4. As for the rest of Team Homan, what more can you say? Amazingly happy for Tracy Fleury, who is one of the best people in the game and has carried a lot of grace through some tough situations over the last few years with questions about missing the bubble, missing the final shot to go to the Olympics, and her chemistry with Team Homan last season. To not only win your first Scotties but to do it with an 89% on the week (higher than every second and tied with the top lead!), 6% ahead of your nearest competitor and with a +9 is remarkable. That’s a pretty easy way to shut people up, and seeing how overjoyed the rest of her team was for her in the celebration makes the questions about team chemistry moot at this point.

5. I’m sure that at the start of all this, it was not easy for Emma Miskew to take the position switch down to second, but it looks pretty good now, doesn’t it? First All-Star, a true weapon on the brush, and part of the reason why this team looks as strong now as it ever has.

6. Speaking of weapon on the brush, while it was never publicly confirmed, it’s probably likely that sweeping ability had at least something to do with the team’s switch from Lisa Weagle to Sarah Wilkes those years ago, and Sarah has really become one of the game’s elite, from judging to pure power. Doing that only 6 months removed from having a baby is even more impressive.

7. As a guy who occasionally writes about curling, I don’t always love taking a victory lap…who am I kidding, of course I do. This is from last year’s Scotties’ recap:

   

   It’s funny to think that last year after Homan missed the Scotties’ playoffs it qualified as a “bold prediction” that they would win a Scotties in this quad given their talent, but it did feel like that. Which is even more of a testament to how they played this week, and all year, obviously (their 5 total losses were just a little bit of a talking point this week).

8. Jennifer Jones is retiring, perhaps you’ve heard? What a way to go out. Obviously the win would’ve been the icing on the cake, but I do also wonder…if she won, would she have gone out? I know the temptation is there to go out on top (and that would’ve been her preference I’m sure), but let’s say she didn’t have a great Worlds, has the bye back next year, and then the Olympic Trials are a scant 8 months after that? Colleen Jones was publicly campaigning for it this week, but it seems as though maybe Jen might have stayed had she won. So in effect, this may have been going out on top.

9. It was a strange week for Jen too, as even last year she was third among skips but this week, at a lot of times, was not her best. Ranked sixth among skips between Clancy Grandy and Jill Brothers, it was another clinic in making the right shots at the right times. I couldn’t help but think as she played Homan three times this week and passed the torch, that Homan’s mark of excellence is her consistency. When she’s on, she isn’t afraid of any shot and she rarely has a bad game. Jen’s mark of excellence was always her late-game play and her big shot ability. She obviously had many games and tournaments where she shot the lights out, but someone told me this week that what made her special was that she was the best player of all-time from Ends 7-10, and it’s tough to disagree.

10. TSN had a graphic during yesterday’s broadcast that listed JJ’s accomplishments with the headline “GOAT?” There’s no question mark. Rachel has a chance if she can pick up this World Championship and find her way to another Olympics (and medal), but the only undefeated women’s OGM in history, the sheer number of Scotties appearances, games won, finals, and championships…there is no question mark.

11. Karlee Burgess continues to emerge as the game’s biggest future star, and Lauren Lenentine was her usual very solid self this week, but I was impressed with Emily Zacharias most of all. She sat out most often last season, is the youngest member of the team, and with being in the house, I thought there was maybe the most pressure on her this week as the eyeballs were on JJ’s retirement party. Even though the numbers didn’t bear it out at times (she had a couple very low games that dragged her overall % down), I thought she was stellar this week.

12. So where do they go from here? The very obvious answer seems to be Chelsea Carey, who played with the team this season and skipped them to two finals, and just so happens to be a free agent. Mackenzie Zacharias’ name was on some people’s lips once JJ announced her retirement, but I’d be pretty surprised if that happened. I think we’ve seen the last of Mack Zack and the Attack. You’d have to think after two Scotties finals, there will be other options, but I’d think Chelsea tops the list.

13. I did not have Kate Cameron finishing third at this event, and probably not too many others did either, but it was a testament to a few different things: Kate’s very calm demeanour and ability to throw the big weight, Kelsey Rocque’s seamless transition into Taylor McDonald’s shoes, and Meghan Walter continuing to show that at age 22, she’s one of the game’s brightest future stars. And they didn’t do it the easy way either, as they were facing two must-win games on Thursday and won the first without Meghan, beat the brakes off of Team Grandy (who were 5-2 to that point), and then casually dispatched the 4-time defending champion. It’s tough not to wonder what might have been if they didn’t give up that opening 5 to Jones in the semi.

14. It was a fairytale home province Scotties for Selena Sturmay, another team on that Scotties playoff bubble that made good on a very tough schedule early. As much as you don’t want to focus on your opponents, it would’ve been very easy to look at the opening weekend, thinking “really? Lawes and Einarson in 2 of our first 3 games at our first Scotties?” and maybe wondering if you’d have to run the table after starting 1-2. Instead, they started 6-0 and captured the magic of the home crowd. But a first Scotties is still a thing, and the wheels came off a bit towards the end, particularly for Selena, who had a very tough 3-4 game against Cameron. This lineup looks very solid though, with Schmiemann and Hawes among the tops at their positions all week and Papley not far behind. There’s more to come here.

15. Alright, the Team Canada thing. I’ve purposely buried the lede here because I think we’re all a little fatigued on the whole Briane Harris situation. My thoughts are thus: I feel very, very badly for Briane, and I feel very, very badly for the team. The timing of all of this was wretched. I also feel badly for Curling Canada, and look, I know the optics of me working for them this week make it so it seems like I’m defending them but if you have a problem with how all of this was handled…you needn’t be taking it up with them. People who compared this to the Hockey Canada situation this week is almost disgusting in its conjecture. We are in a sensitive time in this country, but that’s an awful big leap to make when you have literally zero information. It’s also a big leap to just assume this is some big smokescreen/conpiracy and not just, you know, following protocol.

16. I understand we’re all advocating for more transparency in sports, whatever that means, but let’s be honest: mostly, you just want the fucking gossip. That’s it. There have been some very unfortunate cover-ups in sports history, and particularly recently in this country, but I also find it very funny that people with absolutely zero knowledge of the situation immediately want to put Curling Canada, Team Einarson, and whoever else on blast. In this situation, unfortunately, you aren’t owed anything by anyone. Everyone is following protocol, and if those protocols are wrong to you, maybe wait until you know the full story, and THEN attack whoever it is you think you need to attack in the name of transparency.

17. Tough week for the team, though you did have to wonder coming into the Scotties about how Einarson would fare. It hasn’t been their best season, and Homan was a HEAVY favourite coming in with most sportsbooks despite Einarson being the 4-time defending champ. I don’t think this is by any means the sounding of the death knell for this team, there’s too much talent and a quick look at the stats for the week still paint a rosy picture: Krysten at the top for leads, Shannon at the top for seconds, Val T-4 for thirds but 1% off of T-2, and Kerri at second for skips. They just didn’t have their best games once they made the playoffs, and that was that. The Briane situation had to weigh heavy and when you already aren’t at your best coming in…the Scotties isn’t easy to win. Especially not 5 freaking times in a row. They’ll be back.

18. The ONLY question I have about that is…what happens if Briane is facing a suspension? I know as much as you do about the situation, but IF it is a drug violation, it’s a two-year suspension, and that takes Briane out of contention for the Olympics. If Briane is out, do they try to pry Krysten away from Team Martin or do they look elsewhere? Would Karlee Burgess potentially make a sacrifice and play lead for a couple years to give herself a very good shot at the Olympics? Time will tell.

19. Krysten Karwacki getting the First All-Star for leads was pretty damn cool. I couldn’t help but think when I watched Team Ackerman rewatch their Sask-winning shot on CC’s social media that Einarson was one shot away from probably not even bringing a fifth. The fact they got to bring their long-time fifth and slot her so easily into the lineup was a blessing, and Krysten made good on her first opportunity to play full-time at a Scotties.

20. Speaking of a team never fully putting it together, Team Lawes was the definition of that this week, as their games became a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions. They had games where they looked as good as anyone in the field, like against Teams Brown and McCarville (and in a must-win against McCarville too), and games where they did not, like a disastrous 10th end against Team Quebec and a 3-4 qualifier game against Team Sturmay where Kaitlyn shot 67% and Jocelyn 59%. Last year was a bit of a jumbled mess with all the pregnancies and so this year was their first full year as a team—I wonder if it really comes together next season.

21. Poor Team McCarville. Already victims of the “would they be more successful if they played more?” narrative that gets trotted out every year at the Scotties like a rotting show pony, they now had to deal with “was the 5-person lineup a mistake?” question as they finished at 4-4. The answer to both questions is no. This team goes as Krista goes, and she had an uncharacteristically average week, shooting as low as 53% against Saskatchewan and finishing in the bottom half of the skips, which we almost never see from her. They’ve already told us they’ll be back, and I look forward to more of these same questions in about 353 days from now.

22. One very quick thought for the other 4-4 teams that could’ve seen us with a 5-team tiebreaker if rules were different: Team Brown were full value of being the rare “Fourth Wild Card” and were a couple shots away from their first playoff spot. Team St-Georges had flashes but much like Quebec teams of the past, need to find a way to play more to keep getting more competitive (I know I just said I’m tired of that narrative for McCarville but LSG and team are YOUNG and should be out there). And Team Ackerman were a total delight to watch, a huge hit with the fans (and had a massive traveling contingent), and hit a wall after a 3-0 start. As I said on Twitter, Sasky might have a new star there in Ackerman.

23. Kerry Galusha gave us the quote of the tournament after she beat Jennifer Jones in their final, mean-nothing round-robin game, imploring playoffs-bound Jen to “play better tomorrow”. Kerry has said she is playing with some juniors in the NWT next year to try and get to a Scotties with her daughter, and then she’s done. We’ll miss her a lot. And how about Jo-Ann Rizzo? 60 years old, once again continuing to make some of the best shots of the tournament, and had a scintillating final game against Jones. We’ll miss her too. I’m curious to see where Margot Flemming lands. With Sarah taking some time off to be a doctor, Margot will have some suitors and told me at the Scotties she’s willing to play anywhere. She’s been solid for Kerry for a few years now and I’d have to think she’d make a great lead or second for someone.

24. And lastly, the Scotties is always special because every team gets their moment. None was more obvious than the youngest skip in the field, Yukon’s Bayly Scoffin, who won their final round-robin game against New Brunswick. Bayly had some great moments this week and shot 85% in that game, leading the crowd to treat them as if they had just won the Scotties. It was a really beautiful moment and I was in the building for the 1-2 game, the final, and most of the week, and that one moment will stick with me for a while above a lot of others. It was incredible to see them get to enjoy that. It was Danielle Inglis’ first Scotties and she had arguably the two best shots of the week. Stacie Curtis upset Selena Sturmay and kept her from an undefeated round-robin. Jane DiCarlo had an absolute barnburner to kick off the week against Skylar Ackerman. Clancy Grandy’s only 3 losses came to the 3 podium teams. Heather Smith took Rachel Homan to the brink, tied up in 8. And Melissa Adams made two of the nicest shots for 3 you’ll ever see against Danielle Inglis.

It was very special to be in the building for a lot of these moments, and it was a great week that I’ll cherish for a long time. And we only have to wait 4 more days until the Brier starts. Lucky us! Until next time.