Manitoba outside, looking in

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This article was published 13/03/2016 (3723 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — So what now?

With Mike McEwen’s Brier now officially over — he lost the bronze-medal game 7-6 Sunday afternoon to Northern Ontario — the most dominant storyline in Manitoba curling for the last few years (will McEwen ever get to a Brier?) — is now behind us.

So the question now becomes: where does the men’s game in Manitoba go from here?

Manitoba is a curling province that was dominated by one man — Jeff Stoughton — for the better part of two decades, and there are some who think a new dynasty was born in the nation’s capital over the last 10 days with the long-awaited appearance of McEwen and his foursome at their first Brier.

There is perhaps no one better suited to speak about that prospect than Jon Mead, who was Stoughton’s long-time third before he became a personal mentor/coach for the McEwen team this winter.

So, is Mike the new Jeff?

“I’m blown away by these guys,” Mead said in Ottawa on the weekend. “They did everything right over the last week.

“They prepared well, they enjoyed the experience and they had some fun. They took in the surroundings and they performed well and they played like they’ve been to a bunch of these. And so, yeah, this could turn out to be the week that the floodgates really opened for them.

“Now, there’s also a team in Manitoba in Reid (Carruthers) who can play with the best of them. And who knows what the future holds for (two-time Canadian junior champion) Matt Dunstone?” Mead said.

“But when I look at the approach this team takes to curling and what they invest in it time-wise and energy-wise, I could see them go to the next six Briers now that they’ve won one of these.

“This was a huge step in the evolution of Team McEwen,” Mead said. “This is not the end. This is a step towards where they’re going. I wouldn’t bet against them.”

That’s lavish praise and from an impeccable source.

But there is also a hard question to be asked about this McEwen team: is there anything significant to be inferred from the fact the five games the foursome lost at the 2016 Brier all came to the three teams that finished above them in the standings?

‘I’m blown away by these guys. They did everything right over the last week”This is not the end.This is a step towards where they’re going. I wouldn’t bet against them’– Manitoba curling veteran and former world champion Jon Mead, who now coaches Team McEwen

McEwen lost in the round robin to Newfoundland, Alberta and Northern Ontario and then lost in Saturday’s Page playoff 3 vs. 4 game to Alberta again. Add Sunday’s loss to Northern Ontario in the bronze game and the McEwen foursome was swept by all the teams that mattered here over the last week.

With those results, you cannot help but wonder if the Kevin Koe (Alberta), Brad Jacobs (Northern Ontario) and Brad Gushue (Newfoundland and Labrador) teams are simply a cut above this McEwen team right now.

“For sure, there’s lots they can learn from this week,” said Mead. “And clearly, those other teams were curling just a little bit better. But you could also run this event all over again next week and maybe Mike would come out on top.

“I think there are some things we’ll sit down and discuss, strategy-wise. But really, the difference here wasn’t much.”

While no Canadian men’s curler dreams of winning bronze at the Brier, McEwen’s loss to Jacobs Sunday did come at a cost to the team in terms of cash and also valuable points towards a berth in next year’s Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.

With the win over McEwen, the Jacobs foursome leaves the Brier with $51,000 in winnings and 54 CTRS points. The McEwen team settles for $41,000 and 38 CTRS points.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @PaulWiecek