Just two days after the World Championships ended in Switzerland, Team Mouat are on the road again as part of a powerful Scottish representation that will line up in the men’s event at the Princess Auto Players’ Championship which takes place on the other side of the Atlantic this week (April 9-14).
Skip Bruce Mouat had admitted that the loss of their title had been all the more painful when Italy’s World No.1 ranked Team Retornaz made a late comeback to win the bronze medal decider.
However, as Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan prepared to set off for Toronto he said they were relishing the chance to get right back into action, having won the most recent of the Grand Slam of Curling events at the Canadian Open in January.
“We’re just diving right back into the Slams and excited to get back into the Players Championship,” he said
“It’s always been quite a fun event to play in and a nice way to round off the season.”
They have been drawn in an extraordinarily tough six team group which includes the only skips to have won the World Championships in the past decade – Mouat, Niklas Edin, Brad Gushue and Kevin Koe – as well as the current top ranked Canadians Team Bottcher and 2014 Olympic winning skip Brad Jacobs.
“It looks like we’ve got a pretty tough section, with a lot of good teams,” Mouat acknowledged.
“That’s always going to be the case when you’ve got the top 12 teams in the world, but we’re just looking forward to getting going and hopefully ending the season with a high.”
Both Scottish rivals in this event, Teams Whyte and Craik, have been drawn in the other group and they open their campaigns facing one another in a re-match of this season’s Scottish Championship final.
For Ross Whyte, as well as regular teammates Robin Brydone and Duncan McFadzean, the event is their first opportunity to perform in Canada since they claimed their first Scottish title by edging out Craik’s men.
“It is a nice confidence booster knowing we can go toe-to-toe,” said Whyte.
“We made a Slam final earlier this season and hopefully we can go deep in this competition.
“It feels good coming to this event knowing that we’re our national champions and that we got over the line in that event.
“That was a very tough week, topped off by a very hard final against Team Craik, who we play in the first game, which will be a good re-match.
“It is a bit odd playing them here first, considering we can play then in the NCA (National Curling Academy in Stirling) any time we want, but that’s how it landed.
“We know they’ll be gunning for us, but likewise we want to get off to a good start in this competition, hopefully win that first game and get onto a good path to try to do well here.
“We always know it’s a tough game against those boys and they’re in the top 12 in the world for a reason.
“It will be a meeting of ambassadors for Scotland and hopefully all three Scottish teams will do well this week.”
Team Whyte will, however, line up without their regular lead Euan Kyle who has been ruled out by injury and is replaced by Craig Waddell.
“It is a little bit different not having Euan this week, however we’ve had a couple of sessions with Craig in the team and he fits in really well, so we’re not expecting too much disruption for the event and we’re looking forward to having a new dynamic just for the week,” said Whyte.
Waddell is performing a similar role to that undertaken a year ago by James Craik, when the 2022 World Junior Championship winning skip helped out an international rival.
“It’s really exciting to play at the pinnacle of the Grand Slams, it’s such a great event,” said Craik.
“I played last year with Team Ramsfjell, the Norwegians when one of them was ill at the last minute, so I kinda know what to expect here, but it’s great to have my own team here this time and hopefully we can do some damage.”
They have made a significant impact in their first full season on the Grand Slam circuit, reaching the knockout stages at two of the four they have played in, which has helped them climb the world rankings and they are keen to end this breakthrough season in style.
“We’re super excited to get going,” said Craik.
“This event has been a secondary target for us after the good season we’ve had.
“To be able to qualify for it as one of the top 12 in the world is something we’re really proud of and we want to make the most of it whilst we’re here.
“We’re playing against Ross Whyte and his guys in the first game and they’re such a great team, so we’re looking forward to hopefully trying to get one over on them this time and we know it’s going to be a great game.”
While he remains fully aware of the scale of the challenge, Craik clearly believes he and teammates Mark Watt, Angus Bryce and Blair Haswell have demonstrated their readiness to compete at this level.
“Over the season we’ve grown so much as a team and with playing in these Slams we’ve learned so much,” said Craik.
“I don’t think we would say we’re comfortable in the environment, because we’re playing against the best teams in the world, so it’s pretty intense when you’re on the ice.
“However, I’d say the fear factor’s maybe gone away slightly and we’re starting to really have belief that whoever we step on the ice against we can beat.
“We’ve managed to prove that this year with some really big wins against a few of the top five teams in the world, which is great.”
Craik’s team is also ending the season powerfully supplemented by the recruitment to their ranks of an Olympic gold medallist in the shape of fellow British Curling squad member Jen Dodds, who is accompanying them at this event.
“We just want to round off a great, great season with some good performances here and we’re also really excited to have Jen as our coach, which can bring a new dynamic into the team,” he said.
“She’s such a great player, who’s achieved so much, so we’re delighted to have her on board with her energy.
“She will be a great fit for our team and we can’t wait to get working with her.”
Please click here for more event information and results.
Team Mouat
Bruce Mouat
Grant Hardie
Bobby Lammie
Hammy McMillan
Team Whyte
Ross Whyte
Robin Brydone
Duncan McFadzean
Craig Waddell
Team Craik
James Craik
Mark Watt
Angus Bryce
Blair Haswell
Images: Anil Mungal/Grand Slam of Curling
