Samagalski fired up about new rink

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This article was published 06/04/2022 (1556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Carberry’s Derek Samagalski started chatting with long-time teammate Reid Carruthers about potential players to curl with for the next four years, two names immediately came to mind.

As it turned out, they were able to land them both.

In an announcement that was made on social media Wednesday afternoon, it was revealed that Carruthers will be skipping his own rink starting next fall, with Jason Gunnlaugson at third, Samagalski at second and Connor Njegovan at lead.

“I’m pretty fired up about it,” Samagalski said.

“Jason and Connor are two of the best guys in their positions in the world and they were on Reid and I’s radar right away. To be able to get both of them on our team is something we’re pretty excited about.”

Carruthers and Samagalski have curled with Gunnlaugson before.

The trio and Tyler Forrest reached the provincial men’s final in 2006, but lost out to Jeff Stoughton in Steinbach.

All four curlers were looking for a new rink after their current sides broke up.

Gunnlaugson’s rink from the Morris Curling Club, which featured Adam Casey at third, Matt Wozniak at second and Njegovan at lead, parted ways on Monday.

The Mike McEwen squad — which included Caruthers, Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson — announced the end of their four-year run last Thursday.

“Mike, Reid, Colin and I are all good buddies and we had some pretty high expectations for our team when we formed it,” Samagalski said.

“We were able to make the Brier in all four years and we made it to the Olympic Trials, but we didn’t reach the goals that we set out for ourselves. I think the (COVID-19) pandemic played a part in affecting what we could do, which is obviously disappointing, but at the end of the day we’re still great friends and we’re all looking forward to our new starts.”

The Carruthers foursome is one of a bevy of new sides that have formed over the course of the last month as teams gear up for the next Olympic cycle.

While McEwen and Hodgson have yet to officially announce what their plans are, both Casey and Wozniak are taking a step back from the game.

The Manitoba men’s scene will also see Matt Dunstone returning to the province to skip a team that includes B.J. Neufeld, Colton Lott and Ryan Harnden.

Meanwhile, Jacques Gauthier will be playing out of British Columbia to skip a rink that was previously led by Tyler Tardi, who is rumoured to be teaming up with Kevin Koe this fall.

“I think if you ask the teams, there probably isn’t a whole lot of upset feelings among the players,” Samagalski said. “However, a change of pace is good once in a while, and I think that’s what you are seeing right now.

“If you look online, there are 10 to 15 new teams that people are pretty excited about being a part of and we’re one of them.”

Before the new Carruthers rink takes to the ice, the McEwen quartet has one last event together as they’ll complete in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling’s Players Championship in Toronto next week.

“I remember four years ago when Mike’s previous team had announced that they were going to be finishing up and they went out and just dominated the Elite 10 event in Winnipeg,” Samagalski said.

“We’re hoping to do the same thing in Toronto and we’re going to have a lot of fun in our last event together.”

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