McEwen sliding back to Saskatoon

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This article was published 29/08/2023 (769 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mike McEwen wasn’t sure if he wanted to keep playing.

The 2022-23 campaign was his first season curling out of Ontario and it started slow, painfully slowly. Fortunately for him, the Winnipeg product, third Ryan Fry, second Brent Laing and lead Joey Hart hit their stride before it was too late as they rallied to win the provincial crown before going on to have a fourth-place finish at the Brier.

It was an encouraging start to what was supposed to be a four-year run together.

Just like that, it was over.

“It was a really good story of us kind of waking up from the dead and having a great Brier, to within hours of nationals ending, Ryan retired. It kind of went from, ‘Oh yeah, we still got it. We can still do this,’ to kind of shock and disappointment,” McEwen said Tuesday.

“It’s really difficult to replace high-end players at any position, but a backend player can be even more difficult. It was a roller-coaster of emotions. I was sort of scrambling within my own head and asking myself if I wanted to still keep going. What are my motivations? Am I still excited to compete? And is there even an opportunity for me to do that at a high level?”

With Laing also taking a step back from four-person curling, McEwen had no choice but to hang it up or start fresh. His career wasn’t in limbo for long, though, as an intriguing opportunity came up a few weeks later in Saskatchewan with Colton Flasch.

Flasch, who won the Brier in 2019 playing second for Alberta’s Kevin Koe, was on the hunt for someone to take over skipping duties so he could bump down to third. The 32-year-old from Saskatoon was coming off of a disappointing season in which he finished in fifth place at provincials. With third Catlin Schnieder no longer in the picture, Flasch, second Kevin Marsh and lead Dan Marsh had an opening to fill.

“It kind of felt like I was going in for a job interview because they were considering some options… So, when I won out in the interview process between some other candidates, I was very excited and very relieved at the same time,” said McEwen.

“I said to my wife (Dawn McEwen), ‘Wow, I guess I really do want it.’ When you go through a bit of anxiety and stress, and then there’s that relief and excitement, with all those emotions, it’s like OK, I still want to compete and this is the team and the place where I want to be.”

Laing signed on to be the team’s coach.

Being an import for a Saskatoon rink instead of one in Toronto will be much easier for McEwen for logistical reasons. What has the 43-year-old veteran the most excited is the he feels his 30-something teammates can compete with the best names on the circuit.

Team McEwen kicks off its season Sept. 8-11 in Edmonton for the Saville Shoot-out.

“Definitely in Year 1, we see ourselves as a Grand Slam team and climbing back into the Top 10 teams of the world. I see ourselves being able to win Saskatchewan… And ultimately, I think in Year 1, we can be a team that goes deep into the playoffs at the Brier. Not unlike what we did last year, maybe ever better,” said McEwen.

“I have a lot of belief in these guys… I’m not even worried about them, they’re an under the radar group. I think if I can do my job, we can be one of the top three or four teams in the country. I really do and I think we can do that in a short time.”

Cameron impresses in season debut

Kate Cameron’s return to Manitoba is off to a terrific start.

The 31-year-old from New Bothwell, who is skipping again for the first time in a decade, earned $7,200 on Sunday by winning the Icebreaker Challenge in Morris.

Cameron, third Meghan Walter, second Taylor McDonald and lead Mackenzie Elias went 5-0 in their debut event and defeated American Delaney Strouse by an 8-6 score in the final.

Cameron curled out of Alberta between 2019-23.

“I think we’ve been pretty realistic in knowing that there’s going to be growing pains. We know we have the potential to be one of the best teams in Canada, but it doesn’t always come so easy,” said Cameron.

“So, we knew going in to not have an expectation to win. We knew, obviously, we were the highest seed in the event, but that doesn’t really mean anything when you haven’t actually played a game together. So, I think looking back, it’s huge to be able to build some confidence, but I think even if we hadn’t won, we’d be feeling really good going into our season right now.”

Cameron will also be in Edmonton for the Savile Shoot-out.

With Gimli’s Kerri Einarson and St. Vital’s Jennifer Jones already having trips to this year’s Scotties secured, Cameron will be one of the favourites at Manitoba provincials in late January.

Walter, 21, skipped a wild-card team that featured Elias at lead to a 3-5 record at last year’s Scotties.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31