Lessons learned

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/03/2017 (3344 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It remains, to this day, a bewildering blur. The intense pressure of a Brier debut; the long, draining days at Ottawa’s TD Place; the persistent glare of the media spotlight.

And how, they freely admit, much of it they mishandled.

But that won’t happen this time, because Winnipeg skip Mike McEwen and his teammates from the Fort Rouge Curling Club, who take to the ice on behalf of Manitoba this weekend at Mile One Centre in St. John’s, N.L., say they have learned from their mistakes made a year ago at the Brier.

Whether it’s simple maturity or experience gained, McEwen, third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak and lead Denni Neufeld will take nothing for granted at their do-over at the Canadian men’s curling championship. 

“It was hard the first time. I wouldn’t say it was super fun,” conceded McEwen, reminiscing earlier this week about the 2016 national playdowns.

“Everybody tells you what it’s going to be like — the media, the fans, all the distractions, all the things pulling you this way or that way that you’re aware could happen so you have an inclination going in of what that might be like.

“But until you’re actually immersed in it, you really can’t believe how taxing it is,” he said.

“I think this time around, we’ll have a much easier time enjoying it and being more present with what’s going on, so I’m really looking forward to that.

“That’s the biggest thing that will pay dividends, as far as being that much more comfortable this time around and having a higher enjoyment level.” 

The headliners for the nine-day championship are hometown hero, Newfoundland/Labrador skip Brad Gushue, who won a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics but has failed to a grab a Canadian men’s title in 13 consecutive tries, and reigning Brier and world men’s champion Kevin Koe and his Team Canada squad.

McEwen, ranked fifth on the World Curling Tour’s order of merit, 2014 Olympic gold-medallist Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario and former Canadian champions Glenn Howard of Ontario, John Morris of B.C. and Jean-Michel Ménard of Quebec round out the list of the most likely front-runners.

“It’s going to be crazy. The field is really good… some solid, top-notch teams,” said Wozniak. “The event is going to be something else, for sure. We’re excited to get back there and have another chance.”

Added Denni Neufeld: “I didn’t know what to expect last year. Going a second time, I think we’re better prepared, we know some of the stuff to look out for and we’re really excited to get going. I think it’s going to be a lot better this second go-round, for sure.”

It would be grossly unfair to call Team Manitoba’s performance in the nation’s capital a flop.

The McEwen rink was a playoff team in a field considered one of the most ferocious in Brier history, finishing the round robin at 8-3. 

McEwen lost to Koe in the 3-vs.-4 Page playoff game and then to Jacobs in the bronze-medal match.

McEwen sees things clearly now, believing the Brier rookies couldn’t have accomplished much more under the circumstances.  

“Last year, maybe it was naive to think we could win. Knowing what I know now, we weren’t in a position to win yet. Now, I feel like we’ve got the experience and we’re in a much better position to mentally handle it,” he said after a team practice. “The guys have always been physically capable.

“Now, there’s still a lot of room up here, up in the head. That’s were the gains have come.”

McEwen maintains the team — together for nearly a decade and losers of five Manitoba finals before its heroics in Selkirk in 2016 — had to hit rock bottom in order to ascend to where it’s now positioned. That low came when, near the flip of the calender, things almost imploded and could have sent them on their separate ways.

Repeating a story he told at the provincials last month, McEwen said the mood midway through the 2016-17 curling season was anything but harmonious, and a frank “airing of grievances” was held.

Their next meeting was at a gate at Richardson International Airport — and somehow, salvation would be found in Saskatchewan.

“We were in North Battleford for a Grand Slam event (the first week of January). I don’t think anyone knew what was going to happen. We really didn’t know if it was going to be good. We qualified for the playoffs. We had a good game against Jacobs, and Brad (Jacobs) and Ryan Fry threw up about 99 or 100 (per cent) against us but we lost. But it was the best feeling of a loss that we’ve ever had,” he said.

“It was our ‘a-ha moment,’ because it was like, ‘This is fun again.’ And by the end, we had somehow magically changed things, on the ice and off the ice, and how we were interacting with each other.”

All four juggle young families, full-time curling careers eight months of the year and part-time work as well.

Something was bound to give, said the skipper, who is married to Dawn McEwen, the lead on Jennifer Jones’ 2014 Olympic championship team. 

“You’ve got a whole bunch of things in your life and it’s hard to do all of them well,” Mike McEwen said. “The team became a victim in all that, though the stuff to blame was all important stuff. We’re in a better place now. That should help us be present and enjoy the moment more, and realize you’re doing something pretty amazing in life with three other guys that you care about.”

Those strides were most apparent in Portage la Prairie last month when McEwen’s crew conquered opponents — most with relative ease — executing shot after shot with remarkable precision to seize a second consecutive Viterra provincial title.

The Feb. 12 finale was no easy ride, however, as McEwen finally took command with a colossal count of three in the eighth end en route to an 8-7 victory over Reid Carruthers of West St. Paul. The triumph was a slice of redemption for McEwen, whose only defeat of the five-day event was to his good pal during the championship round the night before. 

“You could probably say we were the most functional, all around, that we’ve ever been,” said B.J. Neufeld. “We had some really good years where we won a lot, but as far as the way we are operating now, the fun level is really high and it’s just easy.”

McEwen is still seeking a spot at the Olympic Trials in December in Ottawa but continues to amass points to that end — and a win on the Rock would bolster the effort.

Chris Neufeld, B.J. and Denni’s dad and the second on the late Vic Peters’ 1992 Canadian championship quartet, will serve as coach for Team Manitoba.

St. John’s is playing host to its first Brier since 1972, when Orest Meleschuk’s Manitoba team captured the title at the old Memorial Stadium. Meleschuk’s crew, which went on to a claim a world championship, also called the Fort Rouge club home.

Karma has long been a part of curling. Perhaps, it’s about to smile on McEwen and his mates on Canada’s most eastern tip.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPJasonBell