Brad Gushue watches his team’s stone during the 2024 Hearing Life Tour Challenge in Charlottetown. (Anil Mungal/GSOC)
Analysis: Who would be the best fit for Team Gushue at second?
Team Brad Gushue sent shockwaves when news dropped Thursday that the St. John’s, N.L., crew had parted ways with second E.J. Harnden.
The announcement came just four days after Gushue finished runner-up in the Hearing life Tour Challenge following a 10-3 loss to Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat in the final.
Team Gushue, No. 2 in the world rankings behind Mouat, won back-to-back Brier titles, two world championship silver medals and two Grand Slam of Curling titles since Harnden came aboard full-time in 2022.
The move raises several questions, but for now, let’s examine who would be the best fit to join Team Gushue.
Curling team changes typically happen during the off-season, so although October isn’t the ideal time to switch things up, there are a few interesting options available for the short term at least.
BRENDAN BOTTCHER
The best curler available on the open market. Bottcher has won five Grand Slam titles and is a one-time Brier champion as a skip. The 32-year-old from Spruce Grove, Alta., was left without a men’s team this season after third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert chose to go in a different direction and linked up with skip Brad Jacobs. Bottcher is currently playing mixed doubles with Rachel Homan and is also coaching Homan’s women’s team. Team Gushue already has an Alberta flavour with lead Geoff Walker and newly minted coach Jeff Hoffart from the province.
Bottcher is a natural skip though — having only played the position at the top level — and the team would also take a hit in the sweeping department wherever he’d slot. Although Bottcher has experience sweeping in mixed doubles, it’s not at the level that Harnden brought to the team.
