Saskatchewan’s men’s curling title up for grabs at tankard

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There will be a new Saskatchewan men’s provincial curling champion this year.

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With Mike McEwen’s team having already qualified for the Brier, the second Saskatchewan representative will be decided next week at the SaskTel Tankard inside Kindersley’s West Central Events Centre from Jan. 21-26 with the top nine men’s curling teams from Saskatchewan competing for the provincial title. Also this year, the SaskTel Tankard will be played over the same week in the same rink as the women’s provincials.

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The eight-game round robin gets underway with the opening draws on Jan. 21 at 12 p.m. The provincial final is set for Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. The winner will join McEwen at the Montana’s Brier in Kelowna from Feb. 28 to March 9.

The Canadian champ will then wear move on to the World Men’s Curling Championship from March 29 to April 6 in Moose Jaw.

Team Kleiter (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

Skip Rylan Kleiter, third Joshua Mattern, second Matthew Hall, lead Trevor Johnson, coach Dean Kleiter

Kleiter, who recently competed at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, was the runner-up to McEwen last year in the provincial final losing 7-3. This year, the up-and-coming Saskatoon squad will look to get over the hump this year as one of the favourites.

Team Knapp (Regina Highland Curling Club)

Skip Kelly Knapp, third Brennen Jones, second Mike Armstrong, lead Trent Knapp, alternate Dustin Kidby, coach Brian McCusker

After missing the playoff round last year at the Tankard, the 2023 provincial champions are back again this year with the same lineup looking for their second trip to the Brier.

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Team Kalthoff (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

Skip Dustin Kalthoff, third Josh Heidt, lead Mat Ring

Kalthoff and company had a good showing at provincials last year but lost in the playoff tiebreaker to Steve Laycock. This season, they were among the top three Saskatchewan-based teams on the Canadian Team Ranking System standings but earlier this month, the team announced second Sam Wills was stepping away due to personal reasons.

Team Jacobson (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

Skip Jason Jacobson, third Jason Ackerman, second Jacob Hersikorn, lead Quinn Hersikorn, alternate Brent Gedak

Jacobson, who curled with Kalthoff for several years, has been a Tankard regular but has yet to book his ticket to the Brier. In 2023, the squad lost to Laycock in the semifinals after losing in the Page 3-4 playoff game in 2022 and 2020.

Team Ede (Martensville Curling Club)

Skip Logan Ede, third Matthew Drewitz, second Dustin Mikush, lead Brayden Heistad, coach Patrick Ackerman

A new team this season, the Ede rink qualified for the Tankard through the Saskatchewan Curling Tour rankings. They also recently brought in Ackerman, the 2024 coach for Saskatchewan’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts team, as their new coach.

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Team Moser (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

Skip Brad Moser, third Bryden Tessier, second David Baum, lead Cole Macknak, alternate Darren Camm

After making three straight Tankard trips, skip Daymond Bernath stepped away from the game this off-season while Moser took over as skip of this team which has a bit of a new look for 2025.

Team Laycock (Swift Current Curling Club)

Skip Steve Laycock, third Shaun Meachem, second Chris Haichert, lead Brayden Grindheim

Laycock, who has 10 Brier appearances in his career, earned his Tankard ticket this year in a last-chance qualifier. Last year, Laycock lost to Kleiter in the Page 3-4 playoff game after losing to Knapp in the final in 2023.

Team Thomas (Langenberg Curling Club)

Skip Charley Thomas, third Tyler Hartung, second Jayden Shwaga, lead Matthew Lang

Thomas, an Alberta product and two-time world junior gold medallist, is skipping this Langenburg rink also featuring Hartung and Shwaga, who played alongside Kody Hartung at the Tankard last year.

Team Derksen (Martensville Curling Club)

Skip Dylan Derksen, third Logan Sawicki, second Tyler Derksen, lead Gavin Martens, coach Brad Kennedy

This young team from the Martensville Curling Club will be making their Tankard debut after competing at U18 nationals in 2023 and 2024, where they won the silver medal.

tshire@postmedia.com

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