Brier predictions for playoff teams and champion
Published
The 2023 Tim Hortons Brier is almost here and that means it's time to make some bold predictions.
This year's 18-team field at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ont., is stacked with elite-level teams with entirely new lineups, so picking playoff teams and a winner for the Canadian men’s curling championship will not be an easy feat.
TSN Curling commentators Vic Rauter, Russ Howard and Cathy Gauthier as well as TSN senior reporter Bob Weeks, Scotties Tournament of Hearts curler Andrea Kelly, Rocky Fourfoot, otherwise known as the Curling Mystic, and TSN.ca's Ryan Horne are here to make their predictions for the playoff teams as well as the champion for the March 3-12 event.
TSN's Bob Weeks gets you set for the Brier with the latest episode of Rock Talk.
Let the fun begin!
Cathy Gauthier, TSN Curling Analyst
Pool A Playoff Teams
Matt Dunstone (Manitoba) – This team has finalist written all over them. One of the most “under the wire” talents in the game – Colton Lott – is back with his junior skip and they are magic. B.J. Neufeld at third is the voice of reason and Ryan Harnden completes this All-Star team. They will be a force.
Kevin Koe (Alberta) – They had a slow start, but their chemistry is improving. They had some bumpy ends in Alberta playdowns but found a way to win. Anytime Koe is at a Brier, he finds a gear no one else has.
Tanner Horgan (Northern Ontario) – Early on, this team did not get the reps of a four-person team they hoped for. They stumbled at provincials but pulled through with grit. Darren Moulding plays with passion and is a smart player who will support Tanner. Tanner needs to find draw weight early.
Pool B Playoff Teams
Brendan Bottcher (Wild Card 1) – From the outset, we have talked about this being the best team on paper. But it’s played on ice. They struggled early to find how to bring out the best in each other and I believe they now have. What these four have done at past Briers is stunning. This is where they will shine.
Brad Gushue (Canada) – One of the smartest and most controlled skips, Brad rarely makes a misstep. His success in recent years means he is not only defending champion but a massive threat. EJ Harnden has refreshed this long-standing threesome and fits in seamlessly.
For third spot, it’s a shoot-out at the OK Corral between Karsten Sturmay, Felix Asselin, Mike McEwen and Jacques Gauthier. You have a CIS champion, a Canadian mixed champ, a team of cagey Brier vets from Ontario and a team of world junior champs. I can’t wait to see who comes through.
Final – Bottcher over Dunstone
Final will be Dunstone and Bottcher with Bottcher winning. I think the final will be about control and precision shot making. Experience through the lineup for that style of game is Bottcher.
Russ Howard, TSN Curling Analyst
Pool A Playoff Teams
Matt Dunstone (Manitoba) – They’re the No.1-ranked men’s team in Canada. Colton Lott, B.J. Neufeld and Matt Dunstone being almost identical out of the hack is an advantage for this group.
Kevin Koe (Alberta) – They’ve had an average Tour season, but it’s the Brier – enough said!
Reid Carruthers (Wild Card 2) – Reid was impressive at the provincials. He’s a very smart skip, on a roll. If Carruthers fails to qualify, it’s because he’s lost to either to Darren Moulding or Kelly Knapp.
Pool B Playoff Teams
Brendan Bottcher (Wild Card 1) – A new team that understandably took a few spiels to figure it out. Only lost one game in the last two Grand Slams and clipped at the wire by Kevin Koe in the Alberta provincials. They are trending in the right direction.
Brad Gushue (Canada) – Gushue hasn’t missed a beat with the addition of EJ Harnden. First, third, third and fifth in the four Slams.
Mike McEwen (Ontario) - This is a toss-up with Sturmay and Gauthier. I’m going with the experience, plus the change at lead with Joey Hart.
Final – Bottcher over Dunstone
Defence wins championships. Two of the best in that category as Team Bottcher win in a low scoring classic.
Vic Rauter, TSN Curling Commentator
Familiar faces in new places and things still look very much the same. Or said another way, nothing makes up for talent wherever it plays.
Pool A Playoff Teams
Matt Dunstone (Manitoba) – You can go home again. Dunstone wins Manitoba and if there is going to be a changing of the guard, my bet is it will be Dunstone.
Kevin Koe (Alberta) – When they first got together I wondered if anybody would talk on the team. Silence is golden. But here they are, all have found their voice and were chatty curlers in the Alberta Final.
Tanner Horgan (Northern Ontario) – Third will be a battle between Wild Card 2’s Reid Carruthers, Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan and Kelly Knapp of Saskatchewan. Thinking the Darren Moulding factor with Horgan may be the difference.
Pool B Playoff Teams
Brad Gushue (Canada) – Gushue played a limited schedule and that extra rest could pay dividends in a long week of physical and mental pressure.
Brendan Bottcher (Wild Card 1) - Here you go. Familiar faces, new places and all they do is win. Lost Alberta final but still too good not to be there at the end.
Third spot is a pick 'em between Ontario’s Mike McEwen, Wild Card 3’s Karsten Sturmay, Quebec’s Felix Asselin, B.C.’s Jacques Gauthier. This is a small round robin within the round robin with the winner likely getting the third spot.
Final – Gushue over Dunstone
If there is to be a changing of the guard, Dunstone will have to avoid crashing on it. My money is still on the defending champion Gushue.
Bob Weeks, TSN Senior Reporter
Pool A Playoff Teams
Matt Dunstone (Manitoba) – Having a strong year, these guys seem to really enjoy every rock and every game. Not hard when you play as well as they do.
Kevin Koe (Alberta) – The winners of the Alberta title, the Koe gang seems to be rounding into shape at the right time.
Tanner Horgan (Northern Ontario) – A good young skip with some experience behind him, this team will surprise a lot of folks.
Pool B Playoff Teams
Brad Gushue (Canada) – This team is still the reigning champ and it will be exceptionally tough for anyone to take the crown away.
Brendan Bottcher (Wild Card 1) – Loaded with experience and played well on the Tour, any team that beats these guys will have to earn it.
Mike McEwen (Ontario) – Veteran team with a spark plug at lead, this squad will provide some upsets.
Final – Gushue over Dunstone
Just like the Scotties, the defending champions will retain the title.
Andrea Kelly, Skip of New Brunswick at Scotties Tournament of Hearts
Pool A Playoff Teams
Matt Dunstone, Reid Carruthers, Kevin Koe
Pool B Playoff Teams
Brendan Bottcher, Brad Gushue, Mike McEwen
It’s an interesting field, but the seedings definitely support where I anticipate the teams finishing by the end of week! There are a few Brier debuts and teams with potential but don’t see them getting past the top teams in each pool this year.
Final – Gushue over Bottcher
It’s a bit of a wild card itself but my prediction this year is the always steady Brad Gushue.
Rocky Fourfoot, Curling Mystic
Pool A Playoff Teams
Matt Dunstone, Kevin Koe, Tanner Horgan
The Brier field feels very top heavy so hard to go against the chalk. The veteran skips, Dunstone, Koe and Reid Carruthers, are heavily favoured to move on but for fun Rocky is taking a longer shot and predicting Manitoba (Dunstone), Alberta (Koe) and Northern Ontario (Tanner Horgan) will reach the final six. Darren Moulding and Horgan will follow the footsteps of Brad Jacobs and continue the tradition of the Green and Gold reaching the playoffs.
Pool B Playoff Teams
Brendan Bottcher, Brad Gushue, Karsten Sturmay
You have to think Bottcher and Gushue are locks to lead their teams to the playoff round. Who takes the third spot in this pool is the question. Mike McEwen's veteran Ontario team (just sounds so weird after all of Mike's appearances representing Manitoba) has home court advantage, but I think Alberta will send a third team to the final six with Wild Card 3’s Sturmay.
Final – Bottcher over Gushue
Only three different skips have appeared in the Brier Final in the last seven years and I don't think that will change this year. Give me Bottcher over Gushue in what could be a great battle between two of the best curling minds in the game
Ryan Horne, TSN.ca Curling
Pool A Playoff Teams
Matt Dunstone (Manitoba) – Team Dunstone is ranked first in Canada and they’ll be a lock to make the final six. The new rink has reached six finals in 10 events this season and are ready to contend for a Tankard.
Kevin Koe (Alberta) – An up-and-down season so far, but they’re coming in confident after winning Alberta. They’ll reach the playoffs in London as Koe brings it every year at the event.
Reid Carruthers (Wild Card 2) – A curious team shakeup right before Christmas might have given some doubt about Team Carruthers potential at the Brier. However, strong performances at a few recent bonspiels and Manitoba playdowns is enough to show they belong in the top three of Pool A.
Pool B Playoff Teams
Brendan Bottcher (Wild Card 1) – This new foursome features a combined 12 Brier Tankards, five world championships and three Olympic medals. That’s more than enough to reach the playoffs for Team Bottcher.
Brad Gushue (Canada) – Like Team Kerri Einarson at the Scotties, the Brier will go through Canada’s Brad Gushue one way or another. Expect his side to have no problem making the second weekend in London.
Mike McEwen (Ontario) – A lineup change ahead of the Ontario Tankard proved to be the difference for Team McEwen and the hometown team will ride that momentum to the Brier playoffs in London.
Final – Dunstone over Gushue
Matt Dunstone will take a major step forward in his already impressive curling career at the London Brier. Dunstone, who will be playing with the Buffalo on his back for the first time at the national championship, has already won two Brier bronze medals, but now’s he’s on a team that is even better. That extra support will get him over the hump with a win over Gushue in the gold-medal game.