Neufeld rides roaring-game roller-coaster to Brier

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This article was published 26/02/2025 (206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BJ Neufeld might be the newest member of his squad, but when it comes to this week’s Brier, he was always way ahead of his teammates.

When Reid Carruthers won the Manitoba men’s curling championship earlier this month, a scramble to reserve flights and hotels for the national championship ensued.

Everyone except the team’s third. Neufeld’s wife, Sarah, booked their trip last May.

Neufeld was playing for Matt Dunstone at the time, and their team had pre-qualified for the tournament owing to its standing in the Canadian Team Rankings System. In December, however, Team Dunstone parted ways with Neufeld, leaving his trip to a 10th Brier in doubt.

After nearly two months as a free agent, Neufeld joined Carruthers, second Catlin Schneider and lead Connor Njegovan ahead of the Manitoba playdowns. They went 8-1 and punched their ticket to the Canadian championship, which begins Friday at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C.

Neufeld’s tickets were refundable had they been dealt a different fate, but there was a sense of relief for he and his wife as a tumultuous year came full circle.

“It’s not like I was playing to save a bunch of money or anything like that. But, yeah, you think you’re going and then you’re not, and then now you’re going again. So, I mean, it was emotional in that regard and feeling like you’re most likely not going to be there,” Neufeld said.

You could say he’s reached his destination, despite some turbulence.

“Getting the chance to play with these guys for the event, took a chance on me and it was a really great event for us and to be able to win. I mean, winning Manitoba is always special but just in the way it all went down, it just made it a little bit extra special for myself.”

Neufeld didn’t need much time to acclimate to the experienced team.

Getting his first taste of competitive action in weeks, in a high-leverage spot, he did more than just survive. He looked every bit of a player who had something to prove.

“I just love competing. I definitely wasn’t ready to stop competing and to kind of have that taken away, it hurt a lot, so going into that provincials I was obviously very motivated, very focused, and it seemed to bring the best out of me,” he said.

The addition of Neufeld, who is one of the best thirds in the country, provided the nationally ranked No. 10 team a renewed sense of belief in an underwhelming year. Before winning provincials, Team Carruthers’ best result was third place, which came in its first event of the season.

“BJ’s ultra motivated. He’s incredibly hard-working. It gave us that fire, it lit a fire under us,” said Carruthers.

“We’ve had a very up and down year, and at some points, it’s hard to stay positive and to have that fire when things really haven’t gone your way at certain points. It was the right guy to add at the right time.”

Carruthers will make his 13th appearance at the Brier. He won in 2011 as a second with Jeff Stoughton — they triumphed at the world championship that year too — but hasn’t reached the podium since capturing bronze in 2014.

He enters this year’s tournament as the ninth seed, in a group with some heavy hitters that include Team Canada representative Brad Gushue, Alberta’s Kevin Koe and fellow Manitoban Matt Dunstone. It’s an opportunity Carruthers never takes for granted.

“It all kind of goes hand in hand. If you’re playing in the playdowns, you’re always hoping to get to the Brier, and I’m one of those people who are not just gonna play to not get a chance to go to the Canadian championship and try to win. So, yeah, it’s a special feeling the night before leaving. You’re obviously anxious, trying to get things together, but we can’t wait to get started,” he said.

Carruthers got a taste of the high-stakes atmosphere while coaching Kerri Einarson during the women’s national championship. He nearly experienced another gold medal before Einarson fell to Rachel Homan in the final.

“To see all the athletes just out there crushing it, giving it their all, it’s inspiring. Gets me excited,” Carruthers said. “It’s a different kind of tune-up before my own national championship. It gets you thinking about the tactical side of things, the strategy, the things that maybe you want to implement with your own team.”

As for Dunstone, things have worked out well for his team since the surprising decision to part ways with Neufeld. He shuffled the lineup, sliding Colton Lott up to third and bringing on second E.J. Harden to reunite him with brother Ryan Harnden, who plays lead.

The foursome has played three events together, reaching the semis in every event and winning one. They are the top-ranked team in the country and one of the betting favourites at the Brier.

“We’ve been on a really good stretch,” said Dunstone. “I think we all kind of got the rejuvenation, sort of the excitement, that I think we were looking for, and I think you’re seeing that in the results that we’ve had as of late. We knew what E.J. was bringing to the table and that was something that we thought our team needed, and he’s brought exactly that and we feel like we’re in a pretty good spot.”

Dunstone is the fourth seed in the tournament and carries high expectations as one of four teams to receive a pre-qualification berth (Gushue, Mike McEwen, Brad Jacobs). He’s reached the podium three times, with the best finish being runner-up in 2023.

“We’ve done everything we can over the six weeks to best prepare ourselves,” said Dunstone, whose team hasn’t played since Jan. 19. “Come Friday night, it’s just a matter of whatever team gets comfortable first is going to be the team that starts winning games early.”

Dunstone understands nothing is guaranteed on the pebbled ice, much less at a national championship, but that doesn’t discount the way he feels about his team’s chances.

There’s a certain belief that is beyond what he’s felt before.

“I would say it’s right up there with the highest it’s ever been, for sure. I think last year in Regina was very high — I think the last three years, the confidence has been very high — but this one has a little bit of a different feel to it,” he said.

“This is definitely the hottest streak that any of my teams have been on going into a Brier, so obviously taking a lot of confidence in that.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca