Jones facing depleted field as she aims for record-tying sixth curling title

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This article was published 17/02/2016 (3833 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It seems quaint now, but for most of the season the road to the Canadian women’s curling championship looked so clear, and so very well-marked. Then, on one cold Sunday in late January, giants fell. The ground shook. Now, the 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts is the aftershock.

In a single afternoon last month, upsets swept out favourites in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The year of Rachel Homan turned into the year without. A highly anticipated three-way battle between Homan, Jennifer Jones and Val Sweeting became a one-team mountain, with Jones holding court at the top.

The games will go on the same when play kicks off in Grande Prairie, Alta., Saturday. It’s just that everything else about the story changed. Now, all eyes will be on the Winnipeggers, who is angling for her sixth Canadian championship — a feat that would tie the record set by Nova Scotia legend Colleen Jones.

For fans, it’s a mixed blessing. On one hand, the Scotties lost two-thirds of its star power in one fell swoop. On the other hand, that means there’s lots of room for new stars to rise. Former buffalo gal Chelsea Carey, who toppled Sweeting in Alberta, will be hungry. Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson could open some eyes.

Whatever happens, one team will leave Grande Prairie Feb. 28 as Canadian champions. Let’s take a look at some of the rinks hoping to make it happen — as it so happens, the top contenders are mostly Manitobans.

The golden girls

(Team Canada — Jennifer Jones)

Jones locked up her 2016 Scotties spot by virtue of being the reigning national champion. Her season thus far has been relatively uneventful, at least by her standards. She has won just one event, the Dekalb Superspiel in Morris, which came against lower-ranked competition.

Still, the Olympic foursome of Jones, vice Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Offcer and lead Dawn McEwen looked to find their groove through the season. Their last grand slam was the Canadian Open in December, where they performed well and lost only to Homan in a squeaker final.

Now, they will come into the Scotties fresh, and the hands-down favourites.

Without Homan — who beat Jones in all four World Curling Tour contests this year — and Sweeting, Jones is the most accomplished skip at this Scotties by miles.

If she wins, she will become the first skip to clinch back-to-back championships on two separate occasions.

The hotshot

(Alberta — Chelsea Carey)

On her second try at the Alberta title, but first with her current team, 2014 Manitoba champ Carey roared back from a Page playoff loss to best Sweeting in the final. That capped a nice debut for the foursome, which features the former Heather Nedohin rink of third Amy Nixon, second Jocelyn Peterman and lead Laine Peters.

If there is an upset in store in Grande Prairie, Carey is the most likely candidate to deal it. She only faced Jones once on the World Curling Tour circuit this year, at the beginning of the season; Jones won. But with a seasoned team riding on momentum, and the gutsy shots she’s known for, Carey could make a run.

She’ll get her round-robin game against Jones out of the way early, in the first draw Saturday afternoon. How’s that for making a grand entrance?

 

The comeback kid

(Ontario — Jenn Hanna)

What a story. This will be Hanna’s first time at the Scotties since her 2005 debut, where she lost the final to Jennifer Jones’ iconic in-off shot. To earn her second trip to nationals, the 36-year-old Ottawa skip only had to hang on and survive one of the most stunning upsets in curling memory.

See, Homan was flat-out dominant this season, scary sharp and nearly unbeatable. She won seven of eight elite events, three of those undefeated, and lost just six games of her first 58 on the World Curling Tour circuit. Then Homan met Hanna in the provincial final — and completely self-destructed.

Toppling a giant doesn’t necessarily mean Hanna is likely to do the same again. She’s ranked 58th in the world by merit points, and mostly plays Ontario cashspiels. Either way, when Hanna and Jones face off in the round robin next Thursday, it’ll be a media circus and a classic Scotties moment.

 

The fresh face

(Manitoba — Kerri Einarson)

Einarson has set a goal to make the playoffs in her Scotties debut, and with this field there’s no reason to think she won’t. After a breakout season, which included fine outings in her first two grand slams, the East St. Paul skip is suddenly ranked 11th in the world, the third-highest in this tournament.

Besides, Einarson has something of a knack for surprising people, and has a tendency to be tenacious when she’s the underdog. In her team’s first season together in 2014, she shot the lights out en route to the Manitoba final, where she lost to Carey. She even had Jones on the ropes there in 2015.

 

The veterans

Northern Ontario: Krista McCarville — The Thunder Bay skip won four Ontario titles between 2006 and 2010, and added to her collection with an upset Northern Ontario win over Tracy Fleury.

Quebec: Marie-France Larouche — This will be Larouche’s seventh Scotties calling the shots for Team Quebec, and the first since she lost the 2012 bronze-medal game to Jones.

Prince Edward Island: Suzanne Birt — Birt’s front end features two Scotties rookies, but the skip is making her ninth trip to nationals. Last year, she finished 4-7.

 

The field

Newfoundland and Labrador: Stacie Curtis — Curtis thumped the other two Newfoundland contenders to earn her third provincial title, following visits in 2011 and 2013.

Nova Scotia: Jill Brothers — After surpassing decorated curling icon Mary-Anne Arsenault for the Nova Scotia championship, Brothers will make her second Scotties appearance as a skip.

New Brunswick: Sylvie Robichaud — This will be the third Scotties visit for Robichaud, who first won New Brunswick in 2008 and again last year. She finished 4-7 in 2015.

Saskatchewan: Jolene Campbell — Campbell’s first-year rink upset two-time champion Stefanie Lawton in the Saskatchewan final. Now, they’ll head to nationals without their usual coach. Why? Because the foursome is usually guided by third Ashley Howard’s father, curling icon Russ Howard. He was already committed to helm TSN’s broadcast coverage of the Scotties.

 

The hopefuls

Northwest Territories: Kerry Galusha

British Columbia: Karla Thompson

Yukon: Nicole Baldwin

Nunavut: Geneva Chislett

These four lower-ranked teams must play a pre-tournament qualifying round, where the winner will earn their way onto the main draw. The format is widely unpopular with players, and last year Curling Canada announced they would scrap it starting in 2018.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca