Storylines abound in loaded field at Scotties Tournament of Hearts
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The Scotties Tournament of Hearts returns this year the way it was meant to be played: In front of fans.
For the first time since 2020 when it was held in Moose Jaw, Sask., the annual Canadian women’s curling championship will be played in front of a packed arena at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C., from Feb. 17-23.
Amid the global pandemic, the 2021 event was played inside the Calgary bubble while the 2022 Scotties in Thunder Bay, Ont., allowed a small number of fans for the championship weekend, still far removed from the regular atmosphere Canadians had become accustomed to.
With COVID-19 restrictions gone, 18 of Canada’s best rinks will get to compete for the coveted Hearts title in front of an audience that should be hungry for live elite-level women’s curling.
Similar to the previous two years, Curling Canada has axed the do-or-die Wild Card game and replaced it with three Wild Card teams who all have a real shot at making a deep run.
TSN's Bob Weeks gets you set for the Scotties with the latest episode of Rock Talk.
The format has two pools of nine teams competing in a round robin with the top three teams in each pool advancing to the playoffs. The top seed in each pool will earn a bye to the page playoff while the second- and third-ranked teams will crossover to play each other in a qualifier to complete the final four.
With no Olympic commitments or COVID-19 withdrawals to speak of, this year’s field seems to be the strongest in a long time.
The three-time defending champs led by Kerri Einarson as well as Ontario’s Rachel Homan, Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones, Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville and Wild Card 1’s Kaitlyn Lawes all remain top contenders, but there are plenty of rinks that could potentially throw a wrench into their plans of standing atop the podium.
Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik and British Columbia’s Clancy Grandy are having great seasons and will be Scotties rookies in Kamloops while Wild Card 2’s Casey Scheidegger and Saskatchewan’s Robyn Silvernagle return for the first time in a few years.
And don’t forget about New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly, Nova Scotia’s Christina Black and Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories, who all made the six-team playoff round at the 2022 Scotties.
The winner will represent Canada at the World Women’s Curling Championship in Sandviken, Sweden, from March 18-26.
Let’s take a closer look at the field.
POOL A
Canada (Team Kerri Einarson)
Kerri Einarson
Club: Gimli Curling Club
Skip: Kerri Einarson
Third: Val Sweeting
Second: Shannon Birchard
Lead: Briane Harris
Alternate: Krysten Karwacki
Coach: Reid Carruthers
Scotties Seed: 1
Record: 35-13
CTRS: 1
World Rank: 1
Events Won: Masters (Grand Slam)
Scotties Outlook
To be the champion, you have to beat the champion. And nobody has been able to do that over the last three years at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Gimli’s Team Kerri Einarson will look to claim a fourth consecutive Canadian champion this year which would put them in the same company as Colleen Jones’ Halifax crew as the only teams to accomplish that feat.
Einarson and company haven’t missed a beat in 2022-23. Over seven events, they’ve made an incredible five finals, including all four Grand Slams. They haven’t had much success in those Grand Slam finals, losing three out of the four, but their consistency throughout the cashspiel season will make them frontrunners once again in Kamloops.
The Tournament of Hearts will once again go through Team Einarson as they look to make history.
Wild Card 1 (Team Kaitlyn Lawes)
Kaitlyn Lawes
Club: Fort Rouge Curling Club, Man.
Skip: Kaitlyn Lawes
Third: Laura Walker
Second: Jocelyn Peterman
Lead: Kristin MacCuish
Parental Leave: Selena Njegovan
Coach: Lisa Weagle
Scotties Seed: 4
Record: 47-20
CTRS: 4
World Rank: 7
Events Won: Mother Club Fall Curling Classic, Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic
Scotties Outlook
In their first year as a foursome, Team Kaitlyn Lawes are going through a baby boom.
Lawes gave birth to her first child, Myla, in December while Jocelyn Peterman is expecting her first baby in June. Selena Njegovan’s due date is coming up in March and, as a result, won’t be participating at this year’s Scotties.
Laura Walker, who has made three Scotties appearances as a skip, will spare for Njegovan in Kamloops.
The lineup change led to anger on social media when Curling Canada announced Team Lawes received a pregnancy exemption to add Walker, an out-of-province curler, because they are a top-five team on the Canadian Team Ranking System. Fellow curlers - including Team Lawes - and fans alike took to Twitter to show their displeasure for the rule, saying that all teams should be eligible for the exemption, not just the top-five.
Curling Canada soon changed course and made all teams eligible. Njegovan will also be allowed to join the team on the bench during games.
Lisa Weagle is also joining the squad as a coach.
The 32-year-old Walker took a step away from full-time four-person curling this year, but spared for Lawes in a few events earlier this season when Lawes was nearing her due date, including helping them win the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic.
Despite this season being a very busy time away from the rink, Team Lawes has found time to play nearly 70 games and have put up some strong results.
Lawes, 34, is skipping for the first since her junior days and appears to have made the transition back to last-rock duties just fine.
Lawes and former teammate Jennifer Jones are in opposite pools, so a potential clash between the two will have to wait until the playoffs. Get your popcorn out for that one if it happens.
Team Lawes, with their deep lineup, will be top contenders at the Scotties.
British Columbia (Team Clancy Grandy)
Clancy Grandy
Club: Vancouver Curling Club
Skip: Clancy Grandy
Third: Kayla MacMillan
Second: Lindsay Dubue
Lead: Sarah Loken
Coach: Katie Witt
Scotties Seed: 5
Record: 52-27
CTRS: 5
World Rank: 11
Events Won: Martensville International, Tour Challenge Tier 2 (Grand Slam), B.C. Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Team Clancy Grandy’s season so far has been busy and dramatic to say the least.
Not only has the new foursome played 79 games this season – the most in the Scotties field – but their provincial final against Team Corryn Brown was one of the most compelling championship tilts in some time.
The B.C. women’s final saw ups and downs for both sides, including a five-spot in the third end for Brown and Grandy’s single point in the extra to capture their ticket to Kamloops with a 10-9 win.
Grandy, a 32-year-old from Oshawa, Ont., joined this rink as an import this season after they lost to Mary-Anne Arsenault’s veteran rink in last year’s B.C. final.
Something has clicked with Grandy at the helm this season as the rink out of Vancouver have played well with three wins, including beating defending world champ Silvana Tirinzoni at the Martensville International and Jessie Hunkin at the Tour Challenge Tier 2 on the Grand Slam circuit.
Grandy has been to one Scotties – 2021 as an alternate for Chelsea Carey – and the other three members are rookies, so it will be interesting to see how they handle the bright lights of being the home province team at a national championship.
Count on Team Grandy being a dark horse in Kamloops and possibly sneaking into the six-team playoff.
Nova Scotia (Team Christina Black)
Christina Black
Club: Dartmouth Curling Club
Skip: Christina Black
Third: Jennifer Baxter
Second: Karlee Everist
Lead: Shelley Barker
Alternate: Carole MacLean
Coach: Stuart MacLean
Scotties Seed: 8
Record: 34-7
CTRS: 9
World Rank: 19
Events Won: New Scotland Clothing Women’s Cashspiel, Tim Hortons Spitfire Arms Cashspiel, Bogside Cup, Nova Scotia Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Nova Scotia’s Team Christina Black have won 34 of 41 games in 2022-23 as the Dartmouth rink have maintained their strong play after qualifying for the playoffs at last year’s Scotties in Thunder Bay.
Team Black’s 5-3 round-robin record was good enough to advance to the championship round where they’d meet up against Team Krista McCarville. After falling to a 9-1 deficit through four ends, Black battled back to make it 9-8 before eventually losing 11-8.
This season, they’ve won three Tour events out East and dropped the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic final to Team Kaitlyn Lawes in what was probably the strongest field they’ve competed in this season.
Team Black are likely in the second tier of contenders for the Kamloops Scotties, but can find themselves back in the playoff mix with a couple of upset victories.
Alberta (Team Kayla Skrlik)
Club: Garrison Curling Club
Skip: Kayla Skrlik
Third: Brittany Tran
Second: Geri-Lynn Ramsay
Lead: Ashton Skrlik
Alternate: Crystal Webster
Coach: Shannon Kleibrink
Scotties Seed: 9
Record: 33-19
CTRS: 10
World Rank: 25
Events Won: Ladies Alberta Open, Alberta Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Kayla Skrlik and her rink out of the Garrison Curling Club easily had the most memorable and energetic winning shot during this year’s national championship playdown season.
Taking on a veteran squad led by Casey Scheidegger in the Alberta Scotties final, Team Skrlik found themselves trailing 8-7 in the 10th end. With the last shot of the game, Skrlik was facing two shot Scheidegger stones, including one that was almost fully buried on the button. Somehow, the 25-year-old managed to paper her guard and make the thin double takeout for the highlight reel game winner and the Alberta Scotties title.
The winning shot was almost as good as the epic celebration that followed.
Sister Ashton Skrlik screamed in delight before tossing her broom. Geri-Lynn Ramsay followed suit as the foursome embraced, knowing they had just punched their first ticket to the Canadian championship as a foursome.
Team Skrlik went a perfect 8-0 at the Alberta Scotties and have qualified for the playoffs in six of nine events this season.
The Skrlik sisters will be Scotties rookies in Kamloops while Ramsay will make her second appearance and Brittany Tran her third.
Originally from Summerside, the 34-year-old Ramsay played third for the 2010 Prince Edward Island team – skipped by Kathy O’Rourke - that surprisingly made it all the way to that year’s Scotties final where they lost an 8-7 extra end heartbreaker to two-time defending champion Jennifer Jones.
This squad may not be household names in the world of curling quite yet, but if they bring the same drama and energy as they did in their provincial final, that should change fairly quickly.
Prince Edward Island (Team Suzanne Birt)
Suzanna Birt
Club: Cornwall Curling Club
Fourth: Suzanne Birt
Skip: Marie Christianson
Second: Michelle Shea
Lead: Meaghan Hughes
Alternate: Sinead Dolan
Coach: Danny Christianson
Scotties Seed: 12
Record: 24-10
CTRS: 26
World Rank: 48
Events Won: Superstore Lady Monctonian, Jim Sullivan Curling Classic, PEI Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Scotties veteran Suzanne Birt returns to the Canadian championship for a fifth straight year and the 14th time in her career.
Team Birt has posted back-to-back 4-4 records at the Tournament of Hearts after making the championship pool in both 2019 and 2020.
A 2001 world junior champion, Birt’s best finish at the Scotties came 20 years ago in Kitchener, Ont., when she finished third.
This season, Birt and company have won three bonspiels out East.
The Summerside rink isn’t afraid to have rocks in play as their games are usually high scoring, making for an exciting brand of curling.
According to Curling Canada, Marie Christianson will actually call the game as the team’s skip while Birt will be the last rock thrower.
Birt will be a fringe playoff team in Kamloops if they can find a way to add a few more wins to last year’s total.
Saskatchewan (Team Robyn Silvernagle)
Robyn Silvernagle
Club: Twin Rivers Curling Club
Skip: Robyn Silvernagle
Third: Kelly Schafer
Second: Sherry Just
Lead: Kara Thevenot
Alternate: Skylar Ackerman
Coach: Pat Simmons
Scotties Seed: 13
Record: 12-3
CTRS: 49
World Rank: 79
Events Won: Saskatchewan Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Robyn Silvernagle is returning to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Saskatchewan green.
The 35-year-old from Biggar, Sask., had strong performances at the 2019 and 2020 Scotties, but has played sparingly over the past couple of seasons following the birth of her first child, Kolt, in September of 2021.
Born six weeks prematurely, Kolt has dealt was numerous health problems, making Silvernagle’s win over Nancy Martin in the Saskatchewan final very emotional for the foursome out of the Twin Rivers Curling Club.
As a Scotties rookie in 2019, Silvernagle led her squad to an 8-3 record through championship pool play before finishing third after a close loss to Team Rachel Homan in the semi-final.
Silvernagle went 6-5 the following year in Moose Jaw, missing the playoffs.
Silvernagle and lead Kara Thevenot have been teammates for their two prior Tournament of Hearts appearances while Kelly Schafer and Sherry Just will be making their debuts at the event.
Schafer, who lives in Swift Current, Sask., is no stranger to prime-time curling as the 41-year-old native of Scotland represented Great Britain at both the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics. She also won a silver medal at the 2010 Women's World Curling Championship as part of Eve Muirhead's squad.
Team Silvernagle don’t have many reps this season but should still be fully capable of competing for a playoff spot in a tough Scotties field.
Quebec (Team Laurie St-Georges)
Club: Glenmore/Laval-sur-le-Lac
Skip: Laurie St-Georges
Third: Emily Riley
Second: Alanna Routledge
Lead: Kelly Middaugh
Alternate: Émilie Desjardins
Coach: Michel St-Georges
Scotties Seed: 16
Record: 12-15
CTRS: 82
World Rank: 128
Events Won: Quebec Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Fan favourite Laurie St-Georges is back at the Canadian championship, this time sporting a new lineup.
Former second Emily Riley is now playing vice while former alternate Alana Routledge is in the second position. Kelly Middaugh, the daughter of famous curlers Wayne and Sherry Middaugh, will make her Scotties debut in Kamloops as Team St-Georges’ lead.
The 25-year-old skip, who broke out onto the curling scene during the Calgary bubble Scotties in 2021, will make her third straight appearances at nationals, but first as a provincial champion. St-Georges was named Quebec’s representative at the past two Scotties as playdowns were called off in 2021 and 2022 because of COVID-19 restrictions. The Quebec Scotties returned this year as the Laval foursome went 6-1 to capture the title. They saved their best for the right time as Team St-Georges are three games under .500 for the 2022-23 season and have only qualified for the playoffs in two of six events.
St-Georges and Riley were both apart of Quebec's mixed squad that won the province's third straight Canadian Mixed Curling Championship in November.
They’ll need to find their provincial form once again in Kamloops to have a chance at the playoffs. St-Georges missed the six-team playoff last year in Thunder Bay, Ont., after going 3-5 in the round robin.
Nunavut (Team Brigitte MacPhail)
Brigitte MacPhail
Club: Iqaluit Curling Club
Skip: Brigitte MacPhail
Third: Sadie Pinksen
Second: Kaitlin MacDonald
Lead: Alison Taylor
Alternate: Leigh Gustafson
Coach: Donalda Mattie
Scotties Seed: 17
Record: 3-11
CTRS: 117
World Rank: 191
Events Won: Nunavut Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Halifax native Brigitte MacPhail defeated Angela Dale in the territorial final and will skip Nunavut for the second straight season at the Scotties.
The 35-year-old is bringing back the same group that went 0-8 last year in Thunder Bay.
On the season, Team MacPhail have played in four events outside of Nunavut playdowns, winning only three of 14 games.
POOL B
Ontario (Team Rachel Homan)
Team Rachel Homan
Club: Ottawa Curling Club
Fourth: Rachel Homan
Skip: Tracy Fleury
Second: Emma Miskew
Lead: Sarah Wilkes
Alternate: Kira Brunton
Coach: Ryan Fry
Scotties Seed: 2
Record: 39-9
CTRS: 2
World Rank: 2
Events Won: Tour Challenge (Grand Slam), Red Deer Classic, Ontario Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Rachel Homan’s Ottawa foursome has arguably had the most positive impact following their lineup changes this off-season.
With sweeping star Joanne Courtney taking a step away, Team Homan picked up sharp-shooter Tracy Fleury, who was inches away from representing Canada at the Winter Olympics last season. They’ve also decided to change their throwing order with Fleury calling the game while shooting vice stones and Homan throwing the last two. Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes, who have both won Canadian championships as vices, are now front-end players.
All these changes have clicked and have seemingly rejuvenated Homan’s crew, who are in search of their first Canadian title since 2017 after losing in three straight finals from 2019 to 2021.
This will be Homan’s ninth appearance at the Tournament of Hearts.
Team Homan have qualified for all four Grand Slams, making two finals with a win at the Tour Challenge in October.
The on-and-off ice chemistry has been evident, too, as seen in their creative and increased social media presence this season.
Homan and company might have put together the strongest Tour season this year in Canadian women’s curling and we’ll see if that transfers under the bright lights at the Scotties.
Manitoba (Team Jennifer Jones)
Jennifer Jones
Club: St. Vital Curling Club and Altona Curling Club
Skip: Jennifer Jones
Third: Karlee Burgess
Second: Mackenzie Zacharias
Lead: Emily Zacharias
Alternate: Lauren Lenentine
Coach: Glenn Howard
Scotties Seed: 3
Record: 53-27
CTRS: 3
World Rank: 6
Events Won: Saville Shoot-Out, PointsBet Invitational, Manitoba Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Jennifer Jones, considered by many as the curling G.O.A.T, will wear the Buffalo at her 17th career Tournament of Hearts after capturing the Manitoba Scotties crown.
Team Jones went a perfect 9-0 at playdowns, a testament of how a good portion of their season has gone thus far.
Jones, 48, joined the 2022 Manitoba champs in Team Mackenzie Zacharias this off-season and the five-player squad has clicked, winning three events, including the March Madness-style PointsBet Invitational in September.
Team Jones have been one of the busiest teams on Tour with 80 games played since late August. And they’ve been consistent as well, qualifying for the playoffs in 11 of 13 events.
Jones, a two-time Olympian, last won the Scotties in 2018 in Penticton, the most recent time the event was held in British Columbia. A seventh national title will pull her ahead of Colleen Jones for the all-time lead.
Will the West Coast once again be sweet for Jones and company?
Wild Card 2 (Team Casey Scheidegger)
Casey Scheidegger
Club: Lethbridge Curling Club, Alta.
Skip: Casey Scheidegger
Third: Kate Hogan
Second: Jessie Haughian
Lead: Taylor McDonald
Coach: Joan McCusker
Scotties Seed: 6
Record: 41-21
CTRS: 6
World Rank: 10
Events Won: N/A
Scotties Outlook
Casey Scheidegger returns to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for the first time since 2019, this time with a tweaked lineup.
Scheidegger’s sister, Jessie Haughian, still plays second while third Kate Horgan and lead Taylor McDonald joined the team this season.
Team Scheidegger have yet to win an event, but have had plenty of solid finishes.
They’ve lost in four finals, including September’s PointsBet Invitational to Team Jennifer Jones and January’s Alberta Scotties to Team Kayla Skrlik.
Scheidegger and company have struggled a bit at the Grand Slams, missing the playoffs in all three events with a 4-8 total record.
In her previous two Tournament of Hearts appearances in 2018 and 2019, Scheidegger entered championship pool play with a 6-1 record, but was on the outside looking in come playoff time.
Team Scheidegger is third-highest ranked team in Pool B and should be in the mix for the playoffs.
Wild Card 3 (Team Meghan Walter)
Team Meghan Walter
Club: East St. Paul Curling Club, Man.
Skip: Meghan Walter
Third: Abby Ackland
Second: Sara Oliver
Lead: Mackenzie Elias
Coach: Howard Restall
Scotties Seed: 7
Record: 40-26
CTRS: 7
World Rank: 14
Events Won: DEKALB Superspiel
Scotties Outlook
Meghan Walter and her team out of the East St. Paul Club are going to the Canadian Championship for the first time in their young curling careers.
Thanks to their seventh-place ranking on the CTRS, highlighted by a win at the DEKALB Superspiel and two other final appearances, Team Walker will represent Wild Card 3 in Kamloops.
Team Walter recently made it all the way to the Manitoba Scotties final, beating Team Kaitlyn Lawes in the semis, where they were defeated by Jennifer Jones’ rink.
This young foursome has proven they can hang with the best in the women’s game and could be a dark horse to make the playoffs out of Pool B.
New Brunswick (Team Andrea Kelly)
Andrea Crawford and third Sylvie Quillian New Brunswick
Club: Capital Winter Club
Skip: Andrea Kelly
Third: Sylvie Quillian
Second: Jill Brothers
Lead: Katie Forward
Coach: Daryell Nowlan
Scotties Seed: 10
Record: 32-11
CTRS: 14
World Rank: 31
Events Won: New Brunswick Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Andrea Kelly went 7-0 at the New Brunswick Scotties and will represent the province at the national championship for the 11th time in her career.
Kelly put together a career performance at the 2022 Scotties as she led New Brunswick to their first playoff appearance since Heidi Hanlon did it in 1991. Team Kelly dropped both the 1 vs. 2 game against Northern Ontario’s Team Krista McCarville and the semi-final to Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson, but still went home with the bronze medals around their necks.
After the Scotties, second Jillian Babin left the squad and was replaced by former Nova Scotia second Jill Brothers.
Outside of provincial playdowns, Team Kelly do not have a win on Tour, but have qualified in all six of their bonspiels.
New Brunswick may be even stronger this season and have a real chance at returning to the playoffs at the Sandman Centre.
Northwest Territories (Team Kerry Galusha)
Kerry Galusha
Club: Yellowknife Curling Club
Fourth: Jo-Ann Rizzo
Third: Margot Flemming
Second: Sarah Koltun
Skip: Kerry Galusha
Alternate: Megan Koehler
Coach: Shona Barbour
Scotties Seed: 11
Record: 25-13
CTRS: 19
World Rank: 35
Events Won: Northwest Territories Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Including two appearances as an alternate, the Kamloops Scotties will mark Kerry Galusha’s 20th appearance at the national championship.
It will be the 45-year-old’s 18th showing as a regular player, tying Kim Kelly for second-most all-time. Colleen Jones leads with 19 appearances.
Galusha, who calls the game and throws lead stones, has saved some of the best performances for the twilight of her career. Last year in Thunder Bay, Team Galusha went 5-3 in the round robin and then beat Team Mackenzie Zacharias in a tiebreaker to become the first team representing solely Northwest Territories to make the playoffs in Scotties history. The only time the territory qualified for the playoffs previously was in 1983 when Shelly Bildfell led the joint Northwest Territories/Yukon team to an 8-2 record in the round robin before losing to Cathy Shaw and Team Alberta in the semifinals.
Galusha lost to New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly in the first playoff game.
Veteran curler Jo-Ann Rizzo has definitely added something special to this squad over the past few seasons and the team from Yellowknife will need some major upsets if they want to contend for a playoff spot in a stacked Pool B.
Does Galusha have some Polar Power left in what could be her final Scotties?
Northern Ontario (Team Krista McCarville)
Krista McCarville
Club: Fort William Curling Club
Skip: Krista McCarville
Third: Kendra Lilly
Second: Ashley Sippala
Lead: Sarah Potts
Coach: Rick Lang
Scotties Seed: 14
Record: 22-17
CTRS: 61
World Rank: 68
Events Won: Northern Ontario Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Krista McCarville will make her 10th career Tournament of Hearts appearance this February.
It will be the sixth appearance since McCarville’s current foursome came together in 2015 as the Thunder Bay crew have experienced their fair share of success over the years.
It peaked last year when they qualified for the Scotties final in their hometown before falling to the two-time defending champs led by Kerri Einarson. They also lost to Chelsea Carey in the 2016 final in Grand Prairie.
Team McCarville are perennial playoff contenders, having reached the final four in each of their previous five showings at the Scotties.
Will this be the year McCarville wins the big one?
Newfoundland and Labrador (Team Stacie Curtis)
Newfoundland and Labrador
Club: St. John's Curling Club/RE/MAX Centre
Skip: Stacie Curtis
Third: Erica Curtis
Second: Julie Devereaux Hynes
Lead: Camille Burt
Coach: Eugene Trickett
Scotties Seed: 15
Record: 18-11
CTRS: 60
World Rank: 96
Events Won: Rick Rowsell Classic, Newfoundland and Labrador Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Stacie Curtis is headed to her sixth career Scotties and first since 2018.
The 36-year-old finished round-robin play with a 4-3 record in 2018 before losing to Ontario’s Team Hollie Duncan in a tiebreaker.
Team Curtis will be in tough to make the playoffs in Kamloops.
Yukon (Team Hailey Birnie)
Hailey Birnie
Club: Whitehorse Curling Club
Skip: Hailey Birnie
Third: Chelsea Jarvis
Second: Kerry Campbell
Lead: Kimberly Tuor
Alternate: Jenna Duncan
Scotties Seed: 18
Record: N/A
CTRS: N/A
World Rank: 165
Events Won: Yukon Scotties
Scotties Outlook
Hailey Birnie is returning to the Scotties for the fourth time in her career, including the third as a skip.
Team Birnie was awarded the spot after no other teams signed up for Yukon playdowns.
Birnie, who is an actress, making appearances in Supernatural and Smallville, is 1-21 all-time at the Scotties and has never won as a skip.
Yukon hasn’t won a game at the Scotties since 2019. Will Birnie and company change that in Kamloops?