Unfamiliar field headlines 2016 Scotties

With her main two competitors in Homan and Sweeting out of the Canadian championship, 2014 Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Jones will be the favourite in Grande Prairie as she tries to secure her sixth Scotties title. Jones, 41, beat Sweeting in the 2015 final. The foursome from Winnipeg won the DEKALB Superspiel in Morris, MB and then took home $54,000 at the Pinty's All-Star Curling Skins Game earlier this season. Jones lost in the quarterfinals at the Masters of Curling and The National on the Grand Slam circuit, and lost to Homan in the Canadian Open final. She fell to Sweeting in the semifinals of the Canada Cup. Jones is easily the most decorated curler in the field and should have no problem making the playoff round, but it will be interesting to see how Jones handles the pressure of being a big-time favourite. Jones has been in this type of situation before, like at the Sochi Olympics, and prevailed, but as we saw with Team Homan at the Ontario Scotties, sometimes the pressure can lead to nerves and, as a result, upset losses. Jones might be her own biggest competition in Grande Prairie. 

Final Word: Team Jones will be the undisputed favourites in Alberta.

This will be Chelsea Carey's second Scotties appearance and first representing the province of Alberta. She competed in her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2014 as a member of Team Manitoba and ended up winning the bronze over Saskatchewan's Stefanie Lawton. The 31-year-old native of Winnipeg upset Val Sweeting 8-5 in the Alberta final. The foursome has not won an event on the WCT this season, but has made two finals and four semifinals. This is the third season in a row Carey is skipping a different team. After leaving her Winnipeg rink at the end of the 2013-14 season, Carey took over the young squad of third Laura Crocker, second Taylor McDonald and lead Jen Gates. The foursome looked as though they would take a run at the 2018 Olympics, but Carey, to the surprise of some, left at season's end. She now helms the group previously led by Heather Nedohin, who is taking a break from competitive curling this year.

Final Word: Carey and her rink have played a full schedule in 2015-16 and seem to be playing their best curling at the right time. With Homan and Sweeting gone, Carey will likely be Jones's toughest competition and probably have the best shot at beating her in a one-game final.  

Kerri Einarson beat fellow Winnipegger Kristy McDonald in the Manitoba final, 7-5, to punch her ticket to her first ever Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The 28-year-old kicked off the season right with a victory at the inaugural Tour Challenge Tier 2 in September on the Grand Slam circuit. Team Einarson has won the third most money on Tour this season (behind Jones and Carey) out of all the teams at the Scotties.

Final Word: Einarson has a good chance of finishing in the top four after the round robin and could surprise a few rinks in the playoffs.

If you said a rink from the Ottawa Curling Club that has a skip whose last name started with "H" would represent Ontario at the Scotties, almost everybody in the curling community would have thought of Team Rachel Homan. Not so fast. Team Jenn Hanna upset the two-time national champ in the final of the Ontario provincials and will make her second career Scotties appearance in Grande Prairie. Hanna's first and only appearance came in 2005 in St. John's, Nfld., where she made a surprising run (which included winning a pair of tiebreakers) to the final against Jones. She would have won the title too, if not for a once-in a-lifetime shot from the Winnipeg skip. Interesting side note: Dawn McEwen, who now plays on Team Jones, was a member of that 2005 Hanna squad. Hanna, 36, had her best finish this season at the Royal LePage OVCA Women's Fall Classic where she lost in the semifinal to eventual champion Jacqueline Harrison.

Final Word: Team Hanna is riding high with confidence after their upset over Homan and really has nothing to lose. With no pressure on them, this foursome from Ottawa could see their success continue all the way to a playoff berth or beyond.  

Thunder Bay's Krista McCarville made her return to competitive curling this season and has had some great success. The 33-year-old and her young rink have posted a record of 26-6 on the WCT, including four event wins in five played. McCarville has not faced any of the "big names" like Jones, Homan or Sweeting, but her record is still very impressive. She beat Sudbury's Tracy Fleury, last year's Northern Ontario champ, 8-4 in the provincial playdown. McCarville's last appearance at a Scotties came in 2010 where she finished in third place.

Final Word: Even without Homan and Sweeting, the Scotties' field is still stronger than the competition Team McCarville has played this season. It will be interesting to see if the foursome can keep the good times rolling against tougher competition.  

Marie-France Larouche of Levis, QC will make her ninth Scotties appearance and first since 2012 in Grande Prairie. This is Larouche's first year back to curling after taking some time off following the 2012-13 season. At the 2004 Scotties in Red Deer, she made it to the championship game, but fell to Colleen Jones, and won a bronze medal in 2009 in Victoria. Larouche's best finish this season came at the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in September where she finished fourth. She beat Lauren Mann, the 2015 Quebec champ, in the final 8-5 to qualify for the Canadian championship.

Final Word: The Quebec foursome led by Larouche hasn’t been on the mainstream curling circuit for a few years now, but could do some damage this time around. 

Halifax's Jill Brothers beat 12-time Nova Scotia champion Mary-Anne Arsenault, 8-5, in the Maritime province's final. The 32-year-old last appeared at the Scotties in 2014 as the vice for Nova Scotia's Heather Smith. They finished with a 4-7 record. This year, Team Brothers won the Dave Jones Northbridge Mayflower Cashspiel in November. This is Brothers' first season back throwing skip stones after two seasons of playing the third position. 

Final Word: Team Brothers will be a wild card rink in Grande Prairie. 

Charlottetown's Suzanne Birt has become a regular at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts as she's qualified four of the past six years. Birt, 34, finished with a 4-7 record at last year's Scotties in Moose Jaw, SK. Her best finish came at the 2003 championship in Kitchener, ON when she finished third. Birt went undefeated at the Sobeys Classic earlier this year in New Glasgow, NS for her only event win of the WCT season. 

Final Word: Birt has a lot of Scotties experience and will look to improve on her record from last year. A playoff berth could be in store if she's able to upset some rinks during the round robin. 

Jolene Campbell and her foursome from Regina upset two-time defending Saskatchewan champion Stefanie Lawton in the province's final. This will be Campbell's first appearance at the Scotties as a skip after three previous appearances as an alternate for Amber Holland. Team Campbell has played in two events on the WCT this season, failing to get past the quarterfinal stage. Her vice, Ashley Howard, is the daughter of legendary curler and TSN broadcaster Russ Howard.

Final Word: It is a surprise that the 34-year-old Campbell will be in Grande Prairie. Like a number of rinks in this field, anything is possible if they can find their groove early.

Moncton's Sylvie Robichaud will make her second consecutive Canadian championship appearance after beating Melissa Adams of Fredericton in the New Brunswick final, 7-6. Robichaud finished with a 4-7 record at last season's Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The foursome has played in a handful of events in 2015-16, getting as far as the quarterfinals of the Grand Slams' Tour Challenge (Tier 2) and the Dave Jones Northbridge Mayflower Cashspiel.

Final Word: Robichaud won't be a favourite to make the playoffs, but will try to stay in the mix as long as possible. 

St. John's Stacie Curtis beat the likes of Shelley Hardy and 12-time provincial champ Heather Strong in the Newfoundland and Labrador Scotties. This will be her third national championship as she finished with a 1-10 record in 2011 and a 2-9 record in 2013. The 29-year-old has played in only two events this season on the World Curling Tour, failing to make a playoff round.

Final Word: Curtis will look to improve on her record from her previous two Scotties. 

Karla Thompson had a very interesting route to her BC championship. In the Page 1 vs 2 game, Thompson found herself trailing two-time Scotties champ Kelly Scott 7-0 after just three ends, an almost insurmountable deficit in the game of curling. Thompson battled back and trailed 10-9 heading to the 10th and final end. There, the 31-year-old scored two with the hammer to complete the comeback and punch her ticket to the final. Thompson would face Scott again, this time hammering the Kelowna rink by a score of 11-3. On the WCT this season, the foursome has made two semifinals, losing to Diane Gushulak both times. 

Final Word: Thompson will be a favourite to make the qualifier final and could do some damage if she's able to make it to the main draw. 

Kerry Galusha is no stranger to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The native of Yellowknife, NWT beat Judy Goucher, 10-6, in the Territorial final and will appear in her 13th career Canadian championship. Galusha lost in last year's pre-qualifying final to Northern Ontario's Tracy Fleury. Galusha has played in just one event this season, the Crestwood Ladies Fall Classic, and lost in the quarters. The 38-year-old is the sister to curlers Kevin and Jamie Koe.  

Final Word: Galusha is likely to find herself in the pre-qualifier final against Thompson of Team BC. The match will be a tossup.

Nicole Baldwin beat Jenna Duncan in a three-game series and will represent Yukon at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Sarah Koltun appeared at the national championship the past two years, but took a break from competitive curling this season to focus on school.

Final Word: It will be a challenge for Baldwin to get out of the qualification round. 

Nunavut will make their first appearance at the Scotties this year in Grande Prairie.

Final Word: After the Nunavut men's and women's rinks broke their respected losing streak at the Canadian juniors, the territory is starting to get some attention in the curling world. It will be interesting to see how they fair on the big stage.