Brilliant + brilliant = pretty good

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This article was published 22/03/2021 (1824 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s one of those great, previously unanswerable sports questions.

What would you get if you combined the shot-making brilliance of Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue on one team?

Until mixed doubles curling gained international acceptance as a medal sport at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, there would be no evidence to consider.

Happily, the results of combining these two powerhouse players have been on display at Calgary’s WinSport Arena since last week. 

Einarson, the 33-year-old two-time defending Scotties champion skip from Gimli, and Gushue, the 40-year-old three-time Brier winner, world champ and Olympic gold medallist from Mount Pearl, N.L., beat Quebec’s Felix Asselin and Laurie St-Georges 7-6 in an extra end in their final round-robin game Monday night to clinch a spot in playoff round at the 2021 Canadian mixed doubles championship.

Einarson and Gushue are 5-1 in Pool B, just behind former Winnipegger Jennifer Jones and husband Brent Laing. Jones and Laing, who are competing in their third mixed doubles nationals together, are 5-0 after beating Ontario’s Lauren Wasylkiw and Shane Konigs in Monday’s morning draw, 7-4.

Gushue and Einarson are playing together for the first time and it’s Einarson’s first time in mixed doubles. At the conclusion of round-robin play Tuesday, five pool winners plus seven teams with the next best records advance to the playoffs.

The final is slated for Thursday night.

“He’s been really good and we’ve definitely been enjoying ourselves out there, having some laughs,” said Einarson by phone from Calgary Monday morning. “For me, being my first time, he’s been helping me along the way. We’ve figured out a strategy and I think we’re been doing a pretty good job of it.”

The transition from the four-person game to doubles hasn’t gone off without a hitch.

“It’s definitely not easy,” said Einarson. “It may look like it on TV but the strategy is totally different. You only have the one sweeper, sometimes not even a sweeper and you’re making a lot of really difficult and precise shots. And you can get yourself into a lot of trouble. Sometimes I’ve had to shoot against four or five (stones), so it’s stressful.”

Surely strong-willed competitors are bound to conflict in the heat of competition, right?

“There hasn’t been any,” said Einarson. “We’re usually on the same page strategy-wise, which is good and then if he does see something, I’m like, ‘Sure, play it.’ And then if I see something he lets me play it. So we’re working well together.”

Managing her curling career and her life outside the game comes with complications, too. Einarson went home after her team repeated as Scotties champs on Feb. 28, stayed for two weeks.

She returned to Calgary last week and will remain in the bubble for two weeks, return home for another two-week stay before travelling to Calgary for the women’s world championship, which was recently rescheduled for April 30-May 9.

In fact, the original dates for the women’s worlds conflicted directly with the mixed nationals. A postponement helped make the Einarson-Gushue team a reality.

And what about life in the bubble?

“It’s been fairly easy — but you definitely get bored,” she said. “But I FaceTime with my family lots and been taken in a lot of Netflix and some other shows. So I just try and keep myself busy and we go to watch some of the mixed doubles draws.”

The incentive to succeed is considerable. A field of 35 teams is in the chase for a national title with a $50,000 prize awarded to the winners and the right to represent Canada at the 2021 world mixed doubles championship.

There is a physical toll to be paid, however. Einarson took a tumble on the ice during the opening practice session, emerging unscathed, but said her shoulders are taking the brunt of all the extra sweeping. 

“I knew what I was getting into coming into this and I knew it was going to be a bit of a grind because I’m doing a lot of sweeping out there but my body’s holding up pretty well,” she said. 

“I’ve played mixed a lot with my husband (Kyle) and I’ve done a lot of sweeping there — we’ve gone to four mixed nationals together. So I definitely have the experience with that.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14