Average curling won’t get it done

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This article was published 30/03/2012 (5171 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To win a Tim Hortons Brier, a curling rink needs to navigate a gruelling round robin through a deep field of some of the world’s most talented teams.

Glenn Howard did just that a few weeks ago in Saskatoon at the national bonspiel and earned the right to try to do it all again next week at the WCF world men’s curling championship in Basel, Switzerland. This time, however, he and his team have the weight of an entire country on their backs.

“It’s one of the strongest fields I’ve seen in years, so we’ve got our hands full,” the Coldwater, Ont., native said Thursday from Switzerland.

Howard is among the favourites at the event that gets underway on Saturday and continues through April 8.

Despite his perfect three-for-three record at the worlds, the Canadian champion isn’t taking anything for granted in a field that includes 2010 Olympic silver medallist Thomas Ulsrud of Norway, 2011 world silver medallist Tom Brewster of Scotland, 2011 world bronze medallist Niklas Edin of Sweden and Jan Hauser of Switzerland, who was part of his country’s bronze-medal winners at the 2010 Olympics.

“The typical statement I say is if we go out and play average, we’re not going to win. There’s no way,” Howard said. “We’ve got to play to the best of our abilities and hopefully we have to bring the game, the style of play, we had at the Brier this year and I’ll like our chances.”

The time difference combined with the schedule means Canadian curling fans will need to get up early or set their PVRs to catch some of Canada’s biggest round-robin games.

Howard will face Norway in the morning draw on Monday and Switzerland in the morning draw on Tuesday. The showdown with Sweden is set for Wednesday afternoon’s draw and the match with Scotland is set for the Wednesday evening session.

Six of Canada’s round-robin games plus all of the playoffs will be televised nationally on TSN or TSN2. Howard said despite the fact the event is in Europe, it doesn’t lessen the pressure his team faces.

“I don’t think it makes too much of a difference,” he said. “Regardless, you’ve got that Maple Leaf on your back and you’re trying to win, whether it’s in Canada, whether it’s in Switzerland, whether you’re in a different country.”

Howard opens the event on Saturday afternoon against France.

Although Canada has won 62 per cent of the gold medals at the world championship dating back to 1959, the rest of the planet is catching up. Scotland has won two of the last six worlds and six different countries have all been on the top step of the podium over the history of the event.

Just last week, the Heather Nedohin rink representing Canada won bronze at the WCF world women’s bonspiel.

“The quality of the field at the world championship is getting better and better,” Howard said. “Back 20, 30 years ago, the depth wasn’t there in the other countries and Canada was almost guaranteed a medal no matter what. Now, that’s not the case. We’ve got to play at the top of our game to get into that medal round.”

Howard and his team of third Wayne Middaugh, second Brent Laing and lead Craig Savill will be able to draw upon past experience at the worlds. Howard and Middaugh were part of Russ Howard’s 1993 world championship team when the event was played in Geneva, Switzerland. Glenn also won gold with his brother Russ in 1987.

Laing and Savill played with Glenn Howard the last time he won gold at the worlds in Edmonton in 2007.

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Unlike the event in Edmonton, which attracted a record 184,970 fans, Howard expects a different atmosphere this year.

“We don’t get the crowds we get in Canada, but it’s usually a more boisterous crowd — they get the cowbells going and that sort of thing,” Howard said. “Obviously they won’t be rooting for Canada, but it’s definitely going to be fun.”

— Postmedia News