Greybeards still top Young Guns

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This article was published 22/01/2010 (5977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They are the Young Guns, the next generation of curling stars in this country. Sporting full heads of hair — and no spare tires around the midsection — they occasionally flash the skills that can make even the greybeards of the game take notice.

‘Occasionally’ being the key word here.

Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen and Jason Gunnlaugson, curling out of Beausejour, have been pegged as two of curling’s next wave of shotmakers. But on Day 2 of the BDO Classic Canadian Open at the MTS Centre, the duo hit roadblocks, both losing the two games they played to familiar names like Randy Ferbey’s crew (minus Ferbey, tending to some business back home), Glenn Howard, Pat Simmons and Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud.

Yes, it seems as if the old guard isn’t quite ready to yield just yet.

“I know,” began Gunnlaugson. “It just seems like they don’t stop making shots. Maybe there is a point where you see the skill slowly diminish with some of these guys… maybe around the time they are moving into their late 40s or 50s. But a little ‘diminish’ sure doesn’t mean they’re easier to beat.

They still make way fewer mistakes than most of the younger teams and as long as they continue to do that they’ll continue to win.

“Any time you’re playing against the best teams in the world on ice like this you’re learning. But it can be a frustrating process.

“You see a lot of teams over the last 10 years, for example, who look like they’re going to make it and then they cut back. But if you stick with it hopefully you can end up at the top of the heap.”

But consider this: Last year’s Brier final saw Kevin Martin knock off Jeff Stoughton in a battle of curling vets. Those two, plus Howard, were the final three left standing at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials last December. And of the 43 Grand Slam of Curling events to date, 35 of them have been won by Martin (13), Howard (8), Middaugh (8), Ferbey (3) and Stoughton (3).

And that, in part, explains why so many of the next generation fade away before they can take down the kingpins. When success isn’t always instant, frustrations can mount and teams splinter apart. At the same time the same familiar faces seem to consistently take the Young Guns down.

Kerry Burtnyk, however, offers up another theory. Back in 1981 when he won his first Brier as a 22-year-old, the game was much different without the free guard zone.

“Back when I first came up it was the old rules and the game was less complicated and there was more potential for young guys to succeed quickly,” said Burtnyk. “Now the strategy is far more complicated and it takes longer to learn.

“To get there now you gotta have patience, have the right four guys together and be committed. Plus, you’ve got to want to play and love to play. Nobody’s going to go home rich in this game, so to make the commitment it takes to get to the top… you’ve really gotta love the game. And if you break even and pay the bills, that’s a bonus.”

That’s sound advice for the young ones. But patience can be a tough pill to swallow while getting thumped.

“This is our fourth-fifth year of trying to make it work,” said Gunnlaugson.

“We think, in some ways, we’ve had a little bit more success lately. But in other ways you can still see the gap between us and everybody else. I thought we played a very nice game against Burtnyk (in Wednesday’s opening draw) and still found a way to let him win. You just see that right now they’re a little bit better than you. Hopefully, over time, you close that gap.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

THE BDO CANADIAN CLASSIC

At the MTS Centre (Top eight make the playoffs)

W L

Kevin Martin 3 0

Glenn Howard 3 0

Thomas Ulsrud 3 0

Pat Simmons 2 0

Kerry Burtnyk 2 1

Jean-Michel Menard 2 1

Wayne Middaugh 2 1

Bob Ursel 2 1

Randy Ferbey 2 1

John Shuster 1 1

Mike McEwen 1 2

Jeff Stoughton 1 2

Ted Appelman 1 1

Kevin Koe 0 2

Dale Matchett 0 3

Brad Gushue 0 3

Chris Schille 0 3

Jason Gunnlaugson 0 3

Draw 2 results: Simmons 6 Shuster 3; Menard 9 Gushue 6; Ursel 6 Schille 3; Ferbey 7 Koe 3; Ulsrud 8 Appelman 4.

Draw 3 results: Martin 7 Middaugh 5; Ferbey 7 Gunnlaugson 4; Burtnyk 8 Koe 6; Stoughton 9 Matchett 5; Howard 9 McEwen 3.

Draw 4 results: Menard 10 Schille 6; Simmons 6 McEwen 3; Ulsrud 6 Gunnlaugson 3; Ursel 9 Gushue 4; Shuster 6 Matchett 4

Draw 5 results: Middaugh 8 Gushue 4; Howard 8 Stoughton 2; Martin 10 Menard 4; Ulsrud 6 Ferbey 4; Appelman 6 Burtnyk 5

MANITOBA LINESCORES

Draw 3

McEwen 020 100 x3

Howard 402 030 x9

Gunnlaugson 002 010 1x–4

Ferbey 400 102 0x–7

Stoughton 005 010 3x–9

Matchett 010 202 0x–5

Burtnyk 201 020 21–8

Koe 020 220 00–6

Draw 4

McEwen 010 101 0x–3

Simmons 103 010 1x–6

Ulsrud 010 202 1x–6

Gunnlaugson 101 010 0x–3

Draw 5

Burtnyk 102 020 00–5

Appelman 020 201 01–6

Howard 202 031 x–8

Stoughton 010 100 x–2

FRIDAY’S DRAWS

9 a.m.: Koe vs. Gunnlaugson; Simmons vs Matchett; Shuster vs. McEwen; Ferbey vs. Appelman; Menard vs. Middaugh

12:30 p.m.: Martin vs. Ursel; Gushue vs. Schille; Burtnyk vs. Ulsrud; Stoughton vs. Simmons; Howard vs. Schuster.

4 p.m.: Menard vs. Ursel; McEwen vs. Matchett; Middaugh vs. Schille; Koe vs. Appelman; Burtnyk vs. Ferbey.

7:30 p.m.: Gunnlaugson vs. Appleman; Shuster vs. Stoughton; Gushue vs. Martin; Koe vs. Uslrud; Howard vs. Simmons.