Carruthers recruits familiar foe in Schneider

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This article was published 03/05/2024 (836 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Reid Carruthers lost just one round-robin game at the Canadian men’s curling championship in March. The winning skip that day, Catlin Schneider, is now his new teammate.

Carruthers will throw the final rocks and Schneider, a Saskatchewan product who represented B.C. at the Brier in Regina, will slide in at third, the elite Manitoba team announced Friday.

“Life’s crazy and curling might be just as crazy these days,” said Schneider, 32.

“Obviously, I’m super excited it worked out. I’m pumped to be with these guys, it’s a great squad and I think we can make some noise in the next couple years here.”

Carruthers, second Derek Samagalski, and lead Connor Njegovan were forced to recruit after import skip Brad Jacobs departed to take over Brendan Bottcher’s former crew.

Team Carruthers/Jacobs went 7-1 at the Brier before losing back-to-back games in the playoffs. Schneider, along with B.C. products Jason Ginter, Sterling Middleton, and Alex Horvath, went 4-4 and missed the playoffs before deciding to part ways.

Carruthers, an eight-time Manitoba men’s champion who also coaches Kerri Einarson’s Gimli team, did his homework, consulting with Einarson second Shannon Birchard who used to play mixed doubles with Schneider.

He reached out to the free agent, and the two sides agreed the fit was right.

“Losing Brad was obviously not fun for any of us, but we wanted to take some time and just feel that we were ready to continue on. I’m really excited about the future of this squad,” said Carruthers, 39.

“There was an extensive list of calls that we made and had, and I’m really happy with where it all ended up… (Schneider has) been on some high=level teams. From a personality standpoint, I think he’ll fit in great with the guys we have on our team, as one of the biggest things was finding the right guy for our dynamic.”

While Carruthers had no issue moving to third for Jacobs, he’s looking forward to holding the broom again.

“Skipping is something I’ve loved. I’ve done it on and off depending on what the team needs. I’m one of those guys that can mold to a couple different positions. I can’t say which position I love the most, but I do really enjoy skipping and I’m kind of looking at it like this is probably the tail end of my career and to go out being a leader of a great group of guys is something that really excites me,” said Carruthers.

Schneider, who lives on his family’s wild boar farm, has played for a Winnipegger before, tossing second stones for Matt Dunstone for two years — highlighted by a third-place finish at the 2020 Brier. He also played third from 2020-23 with the trio of Colton Flasch, Kevin Marsh and Dan Marsh — Mike McEwen’s current lineup in Saskatchewan.

Jacobs, an Olympic and national champion, left big shoes to fill, though Schneider feels no added pressure.

“I obviously have a lot of respect for (Jacobs) and have played him a ton over the years. He’s a great player,” said Schneider. “I just look at it as another opportunity to grow with a new group of guys and a new team. Maybe this is a great spark and a great change.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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