After defending junior title, Braden Calvert readies for championships in Brandon, Estonia

Posted: 2:02 PM CST Monday, Feb. 2, 2015 Last Modified: 5:02 PM CST Monday, Feb. 2, 2015 | Updates

On the sheet that night, Braden Calvert wasn’t sure how many Manitobans were tuned to TSN to watch him throw, or whether TVs were locked on the Super Bowl.

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On the sheet that night, Braden Calvert wasn’t sure how many Manitobans were tuned to TSN to watch him throw, or whether TVs were locked on the Super Bowl.

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On the sheet that night, Braden Calvert wasn’t sure how many Manitobans were tuned to TSN to watch him throw, or whether TVs were locked on the Super Bowl.

So the Carberry-raised curler simply settled into the hack, stayed calm, and played with finesse. When the night was over, he’d beaten Saskatchewan’s Jacob Hersikorn 8-6 in the national junior final. He’d successfully defended his Canadian junior title, just the fifth skip in history to win two in a row.

He also won $10 from third Kyle Kurz by betting on the New England Patriots. So all in all, a good night. “We were all in a lot of shock yesterday, and a lot of excitement,” Calvert said on Monday morning. “It’s pretty special to win it twice.”

Michael Burns/Canadian Curling Association
Carberry’s Braden Calvert, from left, and his Winnipeg-based team of Kyle Kurz, Lucas Van Den Bosch and Brendan Wilson celebrate after winning the Canadian junior men’s curling title with an 8-6 win over Saskatchewan on Sunday in Corner Brook, N.L. — Michael Burns/Canadian Curling Association Carberry’s Braden Calvert, from left, and his Winnipeg-based team of Kyle Kurz, Lucas Van Den Bosch and Brendan Wilson celebrate after winning the Canadian junior men’s curling title with an 8-6 win over Saskatchewan on Sunday in Corner Brook, N.L.

That victory in Corner Brook, Nfld. was only the start of what is going to be a wild month for the skip and his Deer Lodge rink.

When Calvert, Kurz, second Lucas Van Den Bosch and lead Brendan Wilson landed at the Winnipeg airport on Monday morning, red-eyed from a 2:30 a.m. flight, they hadn’t yet slept. They won’t get much time to catch up this week, as they prepare to schlep out to Brandon for the 2015 Safeway provincial men’s curling championship. Then, they will fly all the way to Estonia, where the world juniors kick off on Feb. 28.

It’s gonna be a haul. The foursome is “really tired right now,” head coach Tom Clasper observed, and they’re also trying to juggle university work. Luckily, for the Safeway at least the pressure is mostly off. Calvert, after all, is only 19. They’re also juggling the rink a bit: Calvert’s brother Trevor will likely step in at second for some games in Brandon, and Clasper will be in B.C. coaching Team Manitoba in the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

Besides, the real work lies ahead in Estonia. Calvert fell in the bronze-medal game in 2014. But they were a new team last season, and freshly united with Clasper. This time around they are more settled, more tested. They practice six days a week, sometimes multiple times a day; they’re committed, they’ve been consistent, and they’re playing awfully well.

“We definitely want to redeem ourselves,” Calvert said. “We weren’t real pleased with our efforts last year at worlds. We think we could have maybe placed a little higher. That will definitely fuel our fire a little bit to get on the podium this year.”