Tankard Top 10

It was Friday night of the Alberta men’s provincial curling championship at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta. This could only mean one thing. It was time for a Tankard Top 10.

1. Rules Are Rules. The bar area (Ice Lounge) is located nearer the house for even ends, providing great seating for close finishes. However, there are only 80 people allowed in this area.

The tricky part is the very-important-patrons needed to walk through this area to get to the VIP section along the far sheet. Volunteers were required at the door to count those entering, while also subtracting those who leave and spot the VIPs who exited at the far end.

Adding to their troubles, the clicker-counter provided only had an add button and no subtract. Drinks were allowed to be consumed in all areas of the arena, so it didn’t appear to have anything to do with liquor control. None of the counters I spoke to had any idea why this rule existed, but they did not waver from their mission.

2. I spotted Ted Appelman filling in for Aaron Sluchinski’s second Kerr Drummond. The Scotsman/Canadian is now a proud father, as his wife Sarah gave birth to Olivia Lindsey at 8:25 p.m. on Feb. 8.

Ted was apparently in retirement and had not thrown a meaningful rock since losing the provincial final last year. Given the rust, his play has been almost as surprising as the fit into Kerr’s jersey.

The team was thankful that Curling Alberta was able to make the player switch despite a pregnancy and the team being ranked outside of the top five in CTRS points (they are eighth).

3. Another missing player is Rolland Robinson of Team Daylan Vavrek. Rollie is in Oslo, Norway for work but did confirm his team has been a five-man outfit all season, and were prepared for this. I chatted with a few old timers, and we prattled on about how “back in our day” most guys would quit their job before missing a chance to compete in the Tankard. Each generation evolves, as we did agree the birth of our own children would be an acceptable reason to miss curling … but our fathers would have been at the rink.

4. This is my first visit to a provincial championship where more than one team is certain to reach the Brier. It’s an odd feeling, as fans lack the excitement for the favourites (teams Bottcher and Koe) and you sense more support for the up and comers who are trying to snatch an elusive purple heart. Good shots are always applauded, but there seemed to be slightly more groans on Thursday night when a Vavrek or Karsten Sturmay missed a close call to score a big end against their top-seeded foes.

It’s easy to pull for an underdog when their superior opponents move on regardless of the outcome. Kevin Koe sits fourth on the current CTRS rankings while Brendan Bottcher is second. With third-ranked Brad Gushue in as Team Canada, both are certain to be in London this March.

Sturmay sits sixth, with Sluchinski eighth. That puts four Alberta teams into Canada’s top 10, along with three Manitoba teams as well (Matt Dunstone is first, Reid Carruthers is fifth and Ryan Wiebe 10th). Team Sturmay looks to be in the driver’s seat to grab a Brier spot, should Dunstone or Carruthers win Manitoba and Koe or Bottcher win Alberta.

5. Speaking of Brendan Bottcher, the slow start to his new squad’s inaugural season feels like light years ago. They won the most recent Grand Slam down the road in Camrose and rolled through the A-side here, winning by scores of 8-1, 9-1 and 8-3. This gives them hammer in the upcoming 1 versus 2 playoff game (yes, the Page playoff still exists). The Killer Bs, Ben Hebert and Brett Gallant, have gelled into a most formidable front end.

6. Team Koe lost early to the Vavrek rink and had to battle through the B-side to gain their spot in the playoff. Friday night’s game against Ryan Jacques included a controversial non-measurement in the 10th end. Two Koe and Jacques stones were millimetres apart and an official was required to make the call on who was shot. 

Initially it appears the Jacques stone is nearest the pin, but the dark spot on the overhead camera is actually part of the Boston Pizza logo. A tie would result in a blank end and a Jacques victory, but after a long deliberation the call eventually went to Kevin.

Jacques missed his final shot of the extra end resulting in a Koe steal and a spot in the 1 versus 2 game on Saturday night. 

7. The Avonair Curling Club is helping host this event and I met a few volunteers who are members. When it was discovered that I host the Curling Legends Podcast, they introduced me to local legend Jimmy Blue Jeans.

Jimmy, as you might have guessed, always curls in a roomy pair of jeans. There is an award at the club where the skip of the top-ranked team Jimmy beats has to wear his jeans. This reminded me that I need to schedule Avonair member and legendary curling coach Jules Owchar for the podcast and get him to validate this story.

The crew were also keen to share a recent video of Jimmy in action pulling of a miracle in-off.

8. Before the Friday evening draw, the Bo Davidiuk Award was handed out to Gabe Dyck, lead for Team Ryan Jacques of Edmonton. The award is given to front end players based on sweeping prowess, team support and sportsmanship. It’s a bit odd it to see this handed out so early in the event. Now there’s nothing stopping Gabe from hammering rocks into the corners, bumping opponents or flipping a bird to the fans. He’s already gotten his trophy for being polite; give ’em hell, Gabe.

9. Friday’s last draw started at 5:00 p.m., just an hour after the previous games. Provincial curling needed to wrap early because country singer Gord Bamford was performing. This might be a bit strange for foreigners to understand, but it’s an unwritten law that all Canadians alter their pre-scheduled plans whenever a “Gord” is performing.

10. Here is James Gordon, master of the Curling Stadium control centre. This gear—which includes X-Box controllers—runs the livestream operation for all four sheets, and can cover every game of the event. 

Celebrity commentators like Don Bartlett, Joanne Courtney, Don Bartlett, and Don again (and again, doesn’t he have something else to do?) provide audio analysis of the feature game from a tiny booth that does, I am told, include air holes.

Finally, some news from Neepawa, Manitoba where the men’s Tankard will also conclude on Sunday. It might be time to shrink the number of teams that reach this storied competition, which predates the Brier by two years (starting in 1925).
The first days of curling involve a double knockout round to weed out 24 of the 32 qualified teams. One of these teams was Super Senior Mark Franklin, bronze medallist at the 2022 Canadian Masters (not the Grand Slam’s “Masters” … this is the one in which you need to be over 60). 

Franklin became one of three players to have competed for the trophy of all four of Manitoba's Men's sponsors; Macdonald Tobacco, Labatt, Safeway and Viterra. The other two are Doug Harrison and Peter Prokopowich.

Mark has had near misses and close calls on Tankard weekends dating back to the 1970s but exited quickly this time around, in bang-bang fashion, losing 13-2 and 10-3.

It’s always great to see some of the legends appear again but this might be closer to exhuming Billy Casper and having him compete in golf’s Masters. Maybe it’s time for a change, Curl Manitoba? If not, good hunting to Franklin and other veterans next year.