Cut by Koe, Gauthier stung by ‘nightmare’ timing
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/09/2024 (404 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The world of elite curling can be a cutthroat business.
Jacques Gauthier found that out Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Winnipegger, twice a world junior champion, was axed by skip Kevin Koe and his team one day before the start of the PointsBet Invitational in Calgary.
TREVOR HAGAN / FREE PRESS FILES
Winnipeg’s Jacques Gauthier will be looking for new playing opportunties after being axed by Kevin Koe’s team Tuesday.
Gauthier had joined Koe’s rink for the 2023-24 season as a replacement for departing second, Bradley Thiessen, after three seasons as skip of his own team.
Koe skipped other teams to a pair of world titles and four Brier championships.
“There’s not much for me to add,” Gauthier told the Free Press via text Wednesday morning. “I got cut. That’s about it.”
Koe, whose team curls out of Calgary’s Glencoe Club, announced the move after the team’s 2-3 showing at last week’s ATB Okotoks Classic in Alberta.
The Koe team won two events and reached five finals with Gauthier on the squad. The foursome also finished with a 2-6 round-robin record and out of the playoffs at the 2024 Brier in St. John’s, N.L.
“They said it was performance,” Gauthier said. “Statistically, we all had a terrible Brier but besides that event, I didn’t have a bad season. Who ever knows what’s going on.”
Koe’s replacement for Gauthier was not immediately announced.
The team’s current lineup for the PointsBet Invitational includes Koe, vice-skip Tyler Tardi (Gauthier’s cousin), and lead Karrick Martin.
The timing of the move is particularly difficult.
“I gave everything I had physically and spiritually to the team,” said Gauthier. “I have no immediate plans besides processing it and figuring out what to do. The timing is the worst part because you’d be right that I want to play but finding a team at this point in the season, when it’s so early, is a nightmare.
“Ironically, even the teams that aren’t playing that well won’t switch up because it’s so early. That’s why I can’t believe the timing.”
mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca
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