Burgess joins Team Einarson as Birchard out for year with injury
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Less than 24 hours after departing from Team Chelsea Carey, Karlee Burgess has found a new home and will play second for Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., for the rest of this season.
Burgess, 26, will play second as Team Einarson also announced on Friday that Shannon Birchard will miss the rest of the season with the injured sliding knee she has been hampered with throughout the 2024-25 campaign.
The 30-year-old Birchard, who has won five Scotties Tournament of Hearts, including four with Team Einarson, has missed almost all of this season with the injury. She attempted to return at the RBC Dominion Securities Western Showdown last month in Swift Current, but couldn't finish the bonspiel.
Team Einarson said a decision was made to focus on rehabbing the knee for next season and look for a replacement player.
Despite the loss of Birchard, Team Einarson will still keep their pre-qualified spot for next month's Scotties in Thunder Bay.
"After consultation with medical personnel, she [Birchard] has been granted an injury exemption by Curling Canada, which allowed us to seek out a replacement player for the remainder of this season and retain our eligibility for the 2025 Scotties," Team Einarson said in a release.
Burgess announced her departure from Team Carey on Thursday after appearing in the last two Tournament of Hearts finals with Jennifer Jones skipping the rink.
"We then approached Karlee, whom we consider one of the game's best young players, and we were thrilled when she accepted our offer to join the team," said Team Einarson.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Burgess won three Canadian and world junior curling championships before turning pro in 2020-21.
Einarson, third Val Sweeting and lead Krysten Karwacki have used a handful of notable replacements in 2024-25, including Dawn McEwen, Laura Walker, Joanne Courtney and Brittany Tran.
They've also been without regular lead Briane Harris for almost a full calendar year as the 32-year-old is still waiting to hear a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding her appeal of a drug suspension.
Despite the constant lineup changes, Team Einarson is putting together a solid season on the pebbled ice, sporting a 24-14 record with two event victories, including February's Tour Challenge on the Grand Slam circuit.
Einarson's rink captured four straight Canadian championships from 2020-2023.