Out of the Hack: McEwen anxious to make overdue Brier debut

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/03/2016 (3759 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Welcome to the Brier, Mike McEwen.

Your reward? A date with Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue in the opening draw of the Canadian men’s curling championship on Saturday. Oh, and if that doesn’t float your fancy, four-time Brier champ Glenn Howard of Ontario waits in the wings Sunday morning.

Yes, the fight for a national championship will get easier as the week progresses for the Brier rookie. Wait. Does it?

McEwen will face Alberta’s Kevin Koe — twice a Brier winner — on Monday evening, two-time defending champion Pat Simmons, which includes former Brandonite Nolan Thiessen at lead, on Tuesday evening, 2013 Brier champ Brad Jacobs (Northern Ontario) and 2006 winner Jean-Michel Ménard a week from today.

Jim Cotter (British Columbia), Steve Laycock (Saskatchewan), Adam Casey (Prince Edward Island) and Mike Kennedy (New Brunswick) are also in the field. Nova’s Scotia’s Jamie Murphy, Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories, Bob Smallwood of the Yukon and Wade Kingdon of Nunavut, making its first-ever appearance at the Brier, will all be looking to secure the lone spot in the main draw in the pre-qualification round which begins today at TD Place in Ottawa.

Some field, eh?

“I’ve watched a ton of Briers from my couch and just dreamt of winning the Brier from when I was a little kid. I don’t ever recall seeing a Brier this stacked with quality teams and anyone I’ve talked to seems to share the same thoughts. So wow, just a heck of a lot of good curling for fans to watch,” McEwen said.

The Brandon product, who lives in Winnipeg and curls out of the Fort Rouge with third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak and lead Denni Neufeld, finally earned the coveted Manitoba purple heart at the Viterra Championship in February, beating Canadian junior champion Matt Dunstone 4-2 in the final at Selkirk. With Dunstone already committed to the world juniors in Denmark, which overlaps the Brier, McEwen already earned the Brier berth before the final began. Still, he shelved the heartbreak of losing five of the previous six provincial finals with the victory.

“It hasn’t really sunk in because life kind of started up right after. I have the wife (Dawn McEwen) who curls at the highest of levels and she was off right away to the Scotties and I had to be a single parent and practice, go to the gym and do lots of interviews. It was really busy the past couple of weeks,” McEwen said.

He and six-month-old Vienna did make it to Grande Prairie, Alta., to catch the last half of the Scotties, but his focus has shifted back to what’s on the line in the nation’s capital.

“It’s a short turnaround from provincials to the Brier, but 99 per cent of the work was done before knowing that we were going,” McEwen said. “We really feel good and feel confident about how we prepared.”

Nonetheless, McEwen admits there might be a few butterflies before the opening draw.

“Come Saturday I’ll definitely feel some nervousness before the first game, but more excitement than anything,” he said.

However, the environment in the arena, especially with all of the provincial rivalries and fans dressing accordingly, is something the McEwen foursome hasn’t experienced but is looking forward to seeing in all its splendour.

“I think we’re aware that these opportunities might not come around a whole bunch of times, so we’re definitely going to seize the moment and … be really mindful about the things that we want to do as far as maximizing our performance,” he said.

“But in the same sentence we want to make sure we enjoy the event, too.

“We’re definitely not taking anything for granted,” McEwen said. “We want to maximize our experience, especially on the ice and still be able to take in what the Brier is beyond the ice surface.”

And while the field is crazy good, leaving Ottawa as Canadian champions is McEwen’s focus.

“We expect to win all of the time, and that’s not always realistic, but you go in with that mindset. We know we are going to be competitive,” he said. “Goal number one will be making the playoffs and then go from there. We have every intention of trying to win this thing in the first go around.”

UNDER-18: Several Westman teams will be in the field at the under-18 provincial championships starting today and running until Sunday in East St. Paul.

Carberry’s Camryn McMillan is joined by three Dauphin squads — Stacy Sime, Hanne Jensen and Emma Jensen — in the eight-team women’s event, while Brandon’s Chase Dusessoy is in the men’s event. Dusessoy and Mackenzie Elias are also in the mixed doubles field.

The winners of the men’s and women’s events will earn the right to represent Manitoba at the international under-18 curling championship in Edmonton from March 30 to April 3.

MIXED: Three berths to the provincial mixed curling championship will be on the line at the Westman regional qualifier in Carberry from Friday to Sunday. The field is comprised of Killarney’s Don Chatham, Neepawa’s Jeff Stewart, Riverview’s Jeremy Short, Boissevain’s Neil Bugg, Brandon’s Myles Olmstead and Shayne MacGranachan and , as well as Carberry’s Chad Malfait and Lee Robins.

Ray Baker (Dauphin) and Kelly Marnoch (Carberry) have already earned berths to provincials, which will be held in Neepawa from March 24 to 27.

EXTRA ENDS: Rivers is hosting a St. Paddy’s Open event on March 12. The entry fee is $80 per team. Contact Al MacDonald at 204-382-7903 … Killarney is hosting a men’s bonspiel from March 18 to 20, and an open bonspiel from April 1 to 3. Contact Don Chatham at 204-523-8412 for more on the men’s event and Derek McGill at 204-523-6663 for more on the open event … Neepawa’s spring mixed bonspiel is set for March 18-20. The cost is $120 per team and a meal is included. Contact Wanda at 204-476-3545 … Souris is hosting a Survivor Bonspiel from March 29 to April 3. Men’s teams cost $160, ladies, senior ladies and master men’s teams cost $120, and junior teams cost $60. Contact Karen Dunbar at 204-483-3534 for more on the ladies events and the Souris club at 204-483-3669 for more on the men’s events.

Nathan Liewicki is the Brandon Sun’s curling reporter. He can be reached at 204-571-7386.

» nliewicki@brandonsun.com

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