Manitoba roster shuffle

Manitoba roster shuffle

May 3, 2008

With the book closed on the 2007-08 curling season, now comes the interesting part. Teams have already been juggling players and making changes to their rosters, all in hopes of finding that magic combination that will carry them to the Olympic trials and ultimately to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Brad Gushue's team was the first to make a splash with the announcement that second Chris Schille and lead Dave Noftall were moving from the team, and that Ryan Fry and former Team Gushue member Jamie Korab would be filling the void.

Fry, who played with Jeff Stoughton last season, will be leaving Winnipeg to live in Newfoundland so he could play with Team Gushue and represent Newfoundland at the Tim Hortons Brier. Stoughton, who curls out of Manitoba, has announced that Kevin Park from Edmonton, Alberta will replace Fry. Park has played with some great Albertan teams, including Kevin Martin in the 90's, and Kevin Koe in 2007. Now Park will move to a new province and look to bring Manitoba the success that Alberta is enjoying now.

In an interview on Dean Gemmell's The Curling Show, Jeff Stoughton said "we probably had eight to ten names on [our list]" when the remaining three members of the team thought of who should be Fry's replacement. "We were trying to figure out the best fit."

With the Olympic trials looming just around the corner, Stoughton said this move was mainly about building a strong team quickly in order to qualify for the trials.

"We need something for the now, not the future," Stoughton said.

For those of you not familiar with the Stoughton-Gushue rivalry, this move was certainly a big surprise. Stoughton fired a shot at Gushue during the 2005 Olympic trails, hinting that Gushue's team might not have what it takes to be Olympians. Gushue struck back by defeating Stoughton in the Trials final and, as we know, went on to win the gold medal in Italy.

"It's a strange world, this little curling community that we've got going," Jeff laughed, acknowledging that it was difficult for him to accept that one of his players would be joining the Gushue rink. "I never thought it'd be quite like that, and we should have some interesting games next year."

But Fry isn't the only Manitoban to stir up news in the roster-changing world. The 2008 Tim Horton Brier representative from Manitoba, Kerry Burtnyk, has also tweaked his lineup. Dan Kammerlock, the young third who played with Burtnyk last season, is being replaced by the legendary Don Walchuk, famous for his role on Kevin Martin's former power-house team that represented Canada at the 2004 Olympics. Walchuk will play the third position for Burtnyk.

Some other big names are popping back up in the curling world. Colleen Jones is looking to get back to the top, this time with a team composed on players from Brittish Columbia and Ontario. Jon Mead, another ex-Stoughton player, will join forces with Ontario's Wayne Middaugh.

And the summer's only just starting. Stick with Curling Scoops for any more team changes or other curling news that takes place during the off-season.

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