McEwen’s eyes firmly set on Brier

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2025 (255 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mike McEwen knows the window to win the one title that’s eluded him is closing, but that’s not slowing him down from chasing his ultimate goal.

So while he’s never felt pressure to perform his best, he might never have wanted to win a Brier as bad as he does this year.

“This is what we live for. I get excited to play against the best,” said McEwen.

The former Brandonite is making his 10th consecutive Brier appearance this week as the skip for Team Saskatchewan.

Having reached last year’s Brier final, he along with lead Dan Marsh, second Kevin Marsh, third Colton Flasch and fifth Brent Laing qualified at the end of last year, so it’s been a far different season to plan and prepare for this championship knowing their spot was secured 12 months in advance.

They played a very busy schedule in the first half of this season, playing in 10 events before Christmas and two more in January.

Since then they’ve had five and a half weeks of training and preparation, but also plenty of time at home.

The father of two, age nine and three, said it was great to be at home in Winnipeg while focusing on different aspects of his game.

He’s competed on behalf of his home province seven times, Ontario once, and now for what will be his second trip on behalf of Saskatchewan.

“We definitely have that familiarity being our second time,” said McEwen. “I don’t think the five and a half weeks off necessarily hurt us. If anything it was a good reset and gave us a chance to work on some things that might have been pushed to the back burner.”

Having spent much of the past decade as one of the top-ranked curlers in Canada, and thus the world, he’s won at every level, starting with his junior days while competing for both provincial and national junior championships while also trying to win a high school title right here in the Wheat City.

Since then his journey has taken him to every corner of Canada and across the globe, saying some of the most fun he’s had curling was in Europe and bonspiels right here in Westman.

He also pointed to trips to China, South Korea, and Japan as some of the most interesting places he’s played, and not just because of the subtle changes in how the game is played, but more so the time zone changes and culture shock that come with a trip to the other side of the world.

With family and work commitments he doesn’t travel quite like he used to, but the chance to play against the best in Canada requires no added motivation, especially considering the 44-year-old is fully aware of his age.

“I can admit I’m getting a little long in the tooth, but still the same age as some of my peers,” said McEwen.

“Look at Brad Gushue. We’re essentially the same age, and there’s nothing that gets me going more than playing against the best.”

“I don’t know how many more chances I’m going to get,” McEwen added.

“That’s the one box that I really want to check.”

While he knows he’s entering the twilight of being one of the top-ranked players in the world, the game came naturally to McEwen as a youngster.

He fondly remembers spending plenty of time in the Brandon and Wheat City Curling Clubs, as he acknowledged he was seemingly born with raw talent in the game, but also a passion that’s both a product of nature and nurture.

“My earliest memories include my dad putting me on a rock at five or six years old and pushing me around the ice. I do that with my kids now and they love it too,” said McEwen.

He would tag along with his parents, referring to the club as his “daycare” in those days, even remembering times at the old Brandon Curling Club, the one prior to the current location attached to the Keystone Centre.

And the Keystone Centre is where he discovered he wanted to not just play the game, but be great at it.

“It really kicked into high gear for me when the world championships in 1995 were in Brandon,” said McEwen. “I would have been about 15, and I just remember my all-time favourite curler growing up, Kerry Burtnyk, winning the worlds in Brandon in 1995, so that event, looking back, is something I’ll never forget.

“Roaming the halls of the Keystone Centre and absorbing everything, both inside the arena and outside the arena. I was a wide-eyed kid, and that really showed me what it took to be the best.”

From a self-described rink rat as a kid to one of the top-ranked curlers in the world, it came from equal parts hard work and raw talent.

But most of all an unbridled passion for the game.

“I don’t know that I would have mapped it out quite like this or having this longevity, but I envisioned being able to play for a Brier title as a kid. That was something that I always wanted,” said McEwen.

While he knows his opportunity to continue competing against the best in Canada is fleeting, he’s not thinking about what’s next just yet.

His focus is simply to keep his head down, work as hard as he can, and fine-tune the intricate details of his game while also being a full-time dad and husband.

But he also doesn’t hold back in hoping at the end of nearly two weeks of competition he’ll be able to finally call himself Canadian men’s champion.

“I’m not taking it for granted,” said McEwen. “We’re ready and preparing like we’re going there to win the Brier. There would be nothing better than ending Saskatchewan’s 45-year drought to be quite honest. If I was the team to do that, I’d love to see that beside my name.”

Manitoba, what we all know to be McEwen’s true home province, will be represented by two other teams that know McEwen very well.

Matt Dunstone’s rink qualified for this year’s Brier after reaching the playoff round last year while Reid Carruthers is this year’s Manitoba champion.

All three have played with and against each other in the pressure cooker environment of a national event, but the biggest difference is Carruthers already has that elusive Brier title, which came in just his second appearance.

After making his first appearance as an alternate to McEwen’s idol Burtnyk in 2008, Carruthers won the 2011 Brier as part of Jeff Stoughton’s team.

The two Manitoba teams are not in the same pool as McEwen for this year, not that it makes much difference. The field is stacked with other championship-calibre teams, so in order to reach Sunday’s final, McEwen will have to beat the best at some point in the 10-day event.

“I’m pumped no matter how stacked the field is. I want to play against the best,” said McEwen.

“When you’re playing against the best under the bright lights, that’s what I live for, and I get very excited the better the teams we play against.

“I have a lot of passion for the game and had the good fortune of great teammates. Loving curling so much and that passion for the game is what has brought me to where I’m at.”

McEwen opens the Brier this Saturday against Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith in Draw 2 action.

Meanwhile, Brandonite Sheldon Wettig and his team representing Nunavut open against Dunstone in Saturday’s late draw.

The Brier officially begins this Friday in Kelowna, with 18 draws wrapping up March 6 before the final set for March 8.