Weagle thrilled with new team

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This article was published 24/02/2021 (1703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Not once has Lisa Weagle wondered how the old gang is doing without her, or whether or not there will be some awkwardness when they finally connect.

Then again, the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts draw is such that Manitoba and Ontario are in opposite pools and have yet to hit the ice at the same time at Markin MacPhail Centre.

Out of sight, out of mind — at least until the championship round.

Yet, Weagle maintains it wouldn’t have mattered if the Rachel Homan squad was on a neighbouring sheet all week long.

She’s deep into a new chapter of her competitive curling story.

“It’s not something I think about at all. I’m just focusing each game that we have,” Weagle said Wednesday, in a phone chat with the Free Press. “It feels surreal when you think about everything that’s happening in the last year, changing teams and then the pandemic. I feel like it’s been a year of growth for me, being able to really reflect on my values and what’s important to me.

“I’m excited where things are going. I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be right now.”

And that’s tossing lead stones — sensationally, it’s worth noting — for six-time Canadian women’s champion Jennifer Jones and her team out of Winnipeg’s St. Vital Club. Weagle is curling at 86 per cent after six games, the frontrunner at her position in terms of shot-making accuracy in the Calgary bubble.

“It’s been a little bit tricky trying to figure things with the ice and the speed, but we’re doing a good job honing in on that, and really communicating all the information,” Weagle said. “It’s the kind of surface where teams need to be good at reading the ice and throwing good releases, and technical excellence is really coming into play.”

Team Manitoba registered an important 9-5 victory over Suzanne Birt of Prince Edward Island on Wednesday afternoon to move to 4-2 in Pool B. Jones has a pair of games left in round-robin play and likely needs another victory to secure a spot in the championship round without the need for a tie-breaker.

Only four of nine teams in each of pools A and B advance.

To say it’s been a topsy-turvy last 12 months for Weagle, a former Olympian, would be a huge understatement.

The 35-year-old from Ottawa was let go by Homan in early March after a decade-long run with the three-time Scotties champions. At the time, Weagle told Canadian Press she “wasn’t part of the discussions and it was a decision that was taken by the team.”

The move came just days after she was named a 2020 Scotties first-team all-star in Moose Jaw, Sask. She had also been a key contributor during a remarkable run by the Homan quartet that included a trio of national titles (2013, ’14, ’17) a world crown (2017), a spot in the 2018 Winter Olympics and 10 Grand Slam of Curling event victories.

Weagle wasn’t a free agent for long, recruited as an import by Jones just a week later — the formation of a unique, five-player crew (with third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jocelyn Peterman and lead Dawn McEwen) that is now paying off.

The 2020-21 season was a bust, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Weagle was pressed into full-time duty when McEwen, pregnant with her second child and due in April, decided not to participate in the Calgary bubble.

The transition has been absolutely seamless, Weagle said.

“It has been really smooth. I’ve known the team for years and played them a ton… they’ve been really welcoming and open with me, and shared everything they could to make my transition as easy as possible,” she said. “We’re really excited about playing together.

“We’re missing Dawn a lot, but she and I have been having lots of conversations about how to get the best out of my teammates and out of myself during the week.”

Peterman said her new front-end partner remains one of the finest in the business.

“We didn’t get to play as much as we would have liked (prior to the Scotties) but Lisa is a world-class lead and it was really a smooth transition playing with her. She’s a really smart front-end player, she’s actually taught me a lot so far.”

Weagle said taking direction from Jones has been a thrill.

“She’s a legend of the sport, so it’s amazing for me to get to play with her at a Scotties. I’ve been watching her highlights, they keep coming up… I have to pinch myself that I’m out there on the ice with her, and with Kaitlyn and Jocelyn, too. It’s really special, and a new chapter in my curling career,” Weagle said.

“I always thought I’d be an Ontario rep for life but to have the opportunity to represent Manitoba, to wear the buffalo, to play out of a province with such an amazing curling history, is a special experience. And to do it with Team Jones is something I’m really grateful for.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell