Alberta coach has easiest job in curling

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This article was published 05/03/2020 (2348 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KINGSTON, Ont. — Don Bartlett has some Kevin Martin tales that aren’t always for public consumption, particularly when the legendary Edmonton skip’s son is within earshot.

He’s tries to remember to get Karrick Martin’s consent before spilling.

Bartlett maintains that just might be the toughest part of coaching Karrick and the rest of Brendan Bottcher’s gifted curling team out of the Saville Community Centre in the Alberta capital.

The two-time Brier champion and 2002 Olympic silver medallist isn’t feeling overworked this week at the 2020 Canadian men’s championship. Bottcher, third Darren Moulding, second Brad Thiessen and Karrick have this high-stakes curling stuff pretty much figured out.

“It’s been a lot of fun. They’re really receptive, although I don’t have to tell them much,” Bartlett said Thursday. “They know their strategy really well. I think all week I’ve maybe scribbled four notes in eight games. (Bottcher) is very cool, nothing rattles him. There’s not a lot I can offer.

“All I really do is work with them on technical things, sliding out, making sure they’re throwing good. We’ll talk about why they missed a shot, maybe turned (the rock) a bit wide, that kind of thing.”

Bottcher skips the world’s eighth-ranked team and the No. 5-ranked team on the Canadian Team Ranking System. The team has been the class of the field to date at Leon’s Centre in downtown Kingston, Ont., crafting an 8-0 record prior to Thursday’s late draw.

It’s their fourth straight Brier together, the last two culminating with losses on the final Sunday. They went 8-3 in Regina (2018) before losing to Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., and posted a 9-2 record in Brandon last year but fell to Calgary’s Kevin Koe in the championship game.

They hadn’t enlisted the aid of a coach, but turned to familiar face last November to help guide them over the last hurdle.

Bartlett, 59, one of the game’s all-time great leads who participated in seven career Brier, joined the Bottcher squad just before the Canada Cup in Leduc, Alta., in late November. Bottcher had a stellar event, winning five of six games before falling to eventual champion John Epping of Toronto.

Karrick, who’s known the man his entire life, said Bartlett, who coached John Shuster of the U.S. at last year’s world champion in Lethbridge, Alta., has been a vital addition.

“He’s like family to me. He brings a high energy, so much intelligence and really seems to know how to manage our personalities,” said Karrick, 30. “Don’s been such a great fit for our team. The last two Briers we didn’t have and it worked OK, but there’s things that he does with us to help manage our emotions, our energy levels, our nutrition.

“It’s a grind of week and we’ve made it to some finals, and we want to be totally ready if we get there again.”

Patrick Janssen, who played with Epping at the Brier in Regina, is aboard as the team alternate. That’s removed the burden of matching rocks and scouting sheets from Moulding, the gregarious one of the bunch.

“The team dynamic is really strong. You have three quiet guys (Bottcher, Thiessen and Martin), a little more subdued, and Darren’s a little more boisterous. If they need a spark, Darren’s the one that can do that. It works really well,” said Bartlett.

Moulding, 37, a Calgary product and one of Canadian curling’s most popular players because of his animated personality, grew up idolizing the great players Alberta has produced over the years and was honoured when Bartlett agreed to coach. 

“He’s just one of my favourite curlers of all time,” said Moulding, 37, the elder statesman on the team. “It’s really cool being able to share this Brier experience with him.” 

ALBERTA DOMINATION 

Alberta leads all provinces/territories with 28 Canadian men’s titles, just one up on Manitoba. But prior to Y2K, it wasn’t even close.

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Manitoba teams won 26 times from 1927 to 1999 but have claimed just one — Jeff Stoughton’s victory over Glenn Howard in 2001 in London, Ont. — since the onset of the new millennium. Reid Carruthers, third for Mike McEwen’s team Wild Card this week, tossed second stones. 

On the slip side, Alberta has collected a remarkable 10 titles during that time, including four each by Randy Ferbey and Kevin Koe, and a pair by Kevin Martin.

Two decades of relative drought pale in comparison to Saskatchewan’s 40-year famine. Rick Folk’s triumph at the 1980 Brier in Sault St. Marie, Ont., marks the last time a Saskatchewan team hoisted the venerable Tankard trophy.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell