Edited to correct Gushue's schedule
It’s a not a whole lot, but Brad Gushue and his rinkmates probably will have gotten a bit of rest before beginning play at the Players Championship Grand Slam of Curling event in Toronto today.
The St. John’s skip, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker are back operating under the Team Gushue label after playing as Team Canada and the defending champions at the world men’s curling championship in Las Vegas, where they lost their title with a setback at the hand of Sweden’s Niklas Edin in Sunday night’s final.
Now, after travelling across three time zones, they are getting to ready to compete in the Players Championship, which Gushue has said is his favourite event on the tour.
The competition began Tuesday night at Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre (formerly Maple Leaf Gardens), but Gushue and Co. don’t start until today when they take on Alberta’s Brendan Bocchter, who they downed in last month’s Briuer final, and Canadian Olympic representative Kevin Koe.
Bruce Mouat of Scotland, the bronze medallist in Las Vegas, also begins play tonight, while Edin is also competing in Toronto, but not getting any favour as the new world champ — his first game is at noon today.
There are 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams in the Players. Each will go through a four-game preliminary schedule leading into weekend playoffs.
Besides Koe, Gushue’s pool includes John Epping of Ontario, Reid Carruthers of Manitoba and reigning Olympic champion John Shuster of the United States.
