Day 6 at the Brier: Next wave of stars in mix for title, Olympic trials berths
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Four years ago, Rylan Kleiter was in the house at SaskTel Centre hoping one day soon to get his chance at Olympic glory.
“Yeah, I was there as a spectator,” said the young Saskatchewan skip, reflecting on the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in his hometown of Saskatoon. “I was just thinking about how I want to be there next time.
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“So we’re just working hard to get there for the next one.”
That next one is right around the corner — only eight months away in Halifax.
And Kleiter and his Nutana Curling Club team are among those in the mix as one of a few young squads in contention for the Olympic qualifier for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
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So, too, is Ontario’s Sam Mooibroek and his Whitby rink, with both looking to help secure berths with big performances at the 2025 Montana’s Brier, now on in Kelowna, B.C.
“There’s definitely points that we’re still looking to capture (for the Olympic trials) here towards the end of the season,” Kleiter, who goes into Thursday’s action at the Canadian men’s curling championship with a solid 3-3 record, told reporters. “So hopefully, let’s have a good end to the event and collect a few more points.”
Those points for the Canadian Team Ranking System are available at the Brier, world championship, any remaining tour events and the Grand Slam of Curling’s finale, the Players’ Championship.
Among men’s teams, it’s Brad Gushue and Brad Jacobs having already qualified for the trials by respectively winning last year’s Brier and topping the 2023-24 CTRS board, while three others — Matt Dunstone, Mike McEwen and John Epping — seemingly have more than enough points to earn berths, which will be announced after the Players’ Championship.
But then comes that push for the other three spots.
While a take of the Brier title would automatically do it, those trials slots will more than likely be filled after a final grab of points late in this 2024-25 curling season.
So it’s hurry hard for those in the mix, including that next wave of curling stars such as Kleiter and Mooibroek.
Although it can’t be easy with nerves likely taking hold as first-timers at the national championship.
“We knew we’d be a little nervous and a little excited, but I think we’ve handled it pretty well,” said Mooibroek, whose team goes into Thursday’s play at the Brier with a healthy 3-3 record.
“It’s just a bigger stage, but it’s still a curling game. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job just keeping that in perspective this week.”
“It’s exciting,” Kleiter agreed. “There’s been great crowds for every draw that we’ve played in. So we’re just feeding off that and we’re enjoying our time out there.”
“I think we’re getting to the point where you think the nerves are sort of going down a bit,” added Matt Hall, Kleiter’s second/vice-skip. “But every time you step out there, it feels like the first time again. The nerves are there.
“You’re playing at the Brier, so I think that’s something that never goes away and something that we appreciate every time we’re out there.”
Even better at the Brier is matching wits and skill with the other young teams in this chase for points and glory.
That’s especially true for Hall in lining up against Mooibroek, a childhood friend from back home in Ontario. They squared off in a key Brier game late Tuesday, with Kleiter, Hall & Co. coming away with a 9-4 victory.
“Back in Little Rocks, he was my vice-skip,” said 27-year-old Hall, of Mooibroek, 25. “Both of us were born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, so we know each other really well.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little extra pumped up for that game, playing my home province and Sam, especially. It was something that I was able to feed off going in and some extra motivation.
“It’s just crazy,” Hall added. “If you told me this was where our careers were going to take us that long ago, I never would’ve believed you. And even to have this happen to us this early in our careers, hopefully this is something that continues on long after this.
“But I think it’s just a really cool story. And it goes to show you that the program at the Westmount Golf and Country Club (in Kitchener) is spectacular and has really inspired us to follow our dreams and to put the work in to get ourselves where we are.”
Where they are, of course, is on the cusp of making noise, possibly as early as this final weekend at the Brier and at the coming Olympic trials.
“I think it’s great for curling in Canada,” Kleiter added about being part of the next wave. “Now we’re all peers who play each other quite a bit and we sort of push each other to get better and grow in the game.”
“Yeah, I hope people realize that we’ve been grinding away on tour for years now — I think we’re up to our 22nd in the world,” Mooibroek added. “So it might be our first time here at the Brier, but it’s not our first time playing teams like this.”
EXTRA ENDS
The schedule wasn’t easy for Kleiter and Mooibroek on Wednesday, with respective matinees against Saskatchewan’s McEwen (7-0) and Alberta’s Jacobs (6-0). In fact, those games didn’t go their way, with both McEwen and Jacobs clinching playoff spots on 7-2 and 11-5 decisions, respectively. That leaves Kleiter, Mooibroek, Nova Scotia’s Owen Purcell (3-3), Québec’s Félix Asselin (3-3) and Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin (2-4) all in a dogfight for the final playoff spot from Pool B … Wednesday’s other afternoon games saw: Nova Scotia upend Québec 7-6; and Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith (1-6) earn his first win of this Brier with a 10-5 double up of Northwest Territories’ Aaron Bartling (0-6) … In Pool A, Canada’s Brad Gushue (7-0) clinched a playoff spot with a 7-6 morning win over Kevin Koe (3-4), which knocked the Alberta champions out of contention. Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers (6-2) knocked off Nunavut’s Shane Latimer (0-7) 7-3 but then lost to Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone (6-1) 8-5 to finish its round-robin schedule. Carruthers & Co. now await contests Thursday to determine their playoff fate. Northern Ontario’s John Epping (5-2) defeating Newfoundland and Labrador’s Ty Dilello (1-5) 9-6 late Wednesday to stay alive in that playoff mix … Other early contests saw: Dunstone throw a 9-3 win over New Brunswick’s James Grattan (2-5); and B.C.’s Cameron de Jong (2-5) defeat Newfoundland Dilello 8-3 … Wednesday’s late draw also featured: Canada’s Gushue dumping Nunavut’s Latimer 12-3; and Alberta’s Koe authoring a 10-4 decision over New Brunswick’s Grattan.
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