An in-season lineup change by Team Gushue surprised the curling world. The new addition to the roster was also a stunner.
The St. John’s, N.L.-based team said Tuesday that Brendan Bottcher will move into the second role previously held by E.J. Harnden, who left the squad last week.
Bottcher will make his debut with skip Brad Gushue, vice Mark Nichols and lead Geoff Walker at the Oct. 27-Nov. 2 Pan Continental championship in Lacombe, Alta.
“Together they’re building a legacy and they just have all the pieces,” Bottcher said. “They’ve done so much and they still have the drive to continue to win.
“Every week they step out on the ice, they want to put a team out there that they feel can win and I’m just excited to be a part of that.”
Bottcher, a longtime skip, was let go by his team last April and replaced by Brad Jacobs. The 32-year-old decided to shift focus this season to mixed doubles with Rachel Homan and coaching her top-ranked women’s team.
“As has been the case more often than not in the last few years in curling, things change,” Bottcher said. “So I think I was always open to the right opportunity. When Brad reached out, I had a good chat with him, had a chat with each of the guys, and I think it really solidified for me that this could make sense.”
Bottcher said he’ll continue to play with Homan but is stepping away from coaching duties. He noted that the members of Team Homan were “incredibly supportive.”
“They are amazing athletes and I think they each wanted this for me as much as I wanted it for myself,” he said.
Gushue has won three straight titles at the Montana’s Brier and six overall. An Olympic champion in 2006 and bronze medallist at the 2022 Games, he anchors a team that’s ranked third in the world.
Bottcher, meanwhile, has reached the podium at seven of his eight appearances at the men’s national championship with his lone title coming in 2021.
While the transition to regular sweeping is a work in progress, his ability to throw runbacks and make quality draws is elite.
“To get him at second stone and to have that shooting ability was intriguing for us,” Gushue said. “But just as intriguing was the opportunity to have a player that could go with Geoff and train with him (in Edmonton) on a daily basis.”
Gushue said they considered a number of potential replacements for Harnden – including former teammate Adam Casey, who will sub in this week at a bonspiel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. – but the team kept coming back to Bottcher.
“For a lot of people, it may seem a little bit of a different choice having a skip (at second),” Gushue said. “But we’ve seen skips transition over the last number of years to be very successful.
“You just have to look at Team (Kerri) Einarson and all four of them were skips when the team came together.”
Gushue added that sweeping expectations for Bottcher will be kept “very realistic.”
“We certainly don’t expect him to come in and all of a sudden be the best sweeping second in the world,” he said. “Really the skillset that Brendan brings is a world-class shotmaker. In my opinion, he’s a top-five or top-10 shooter in the world.
“To get a guy like that to be able to do that at second stone is a rare opportunity and one I’m excited about. You know what, if he turns into an average sweeper, I think we’ve got a great situation for ourselves.”
Harnden joined the team after the 2021-22 season. Even though that lineup was successful, Gushue said there were discussions in recent months about getting everyone “all on the same page.”
The team decided to “give it another go” after making e a few adjustments, he added, but things didn’t work out.
“It certainly wasn’t a rash decision,” Gushue said. “This is something that’s been discussed between the four of us for a long stretch.”
Bottcher did not reach the podium at his lone appearance at the world men’s curling championship in 2021. He won national and world junior titles in 2012.
“We’re all 100 per cent confident that it’s a good decision, it’s the right decision and it’s the best decision that we had available to us,” Gushue said. “I’m excited with the talent level that Brendan brings to the team.
“I’ve seen him make so many great shots against us over the years. Now he’s going to be making those great shots for us.”