2026 SaskTel Tankard Event Recap

SaskTel Tankard Recap

From January 5-11, 2026, 9 of the best competitive Men’s Curling teams in Saskatchewan hit the ice in Melville at the 2026 SaskTel Tankard in hopes of representing Saskatchewan at the 2026 Montana’s Brier on February 27 – March 8, 2026.

The 9 Teams Competing at the 2026 SaskTel Tankard are as follows:

Team Knapp – skip Kelly Knapp, third Brennen Jones, second Dustin Kidby, lead Matt Ring, alternate Trent Knapp, coach Brian McCusker (Highland Curling Club)
Team deConinck Smith – skip Carl deConinck Smith, thirs Ryan Deis, second Dustin Mikush, lead Kalin Deis (Fox Valley Curling Club)
Team Laycock – skip Steve Laycock, third Shaun Meachem, second Chris Haichert, lead Brayden Grindheim (Swift Current Curling Club)
Team Kalthoff – skip Dustin Kalthoff, third Brent Pierce, second Josh Heidt, lead Logan Ede, alternate Jason Jacobson (Nutana Curling Club)
Team Kleiter – skip Rylan Kleiter, third Joshua Mattern, second Matthew Hall, lead Trevor Johnson, coach Dean Kleiter (Nutana Curling Club)
Team Moser – skip Brad Moser, third Bryden Tessier, second David Baum, lead Cody Sutherland, alternate Darren Camm (Nutana Curling Club)
Team Bryden – skip Josh Bryden, third Adam Bukurak, second Carter Williamson, lead Ayden Whittmire (Callie Curling Club)
Team Hartung – skip Tyler Hartung, second Jayden Shwaga, second Matthew Lang, alternate Mark Lang (Langenberg Curling Club)
Team Carss – skip Michael Carss, third James Hom, second Jared Tessier, lead Lyndon Holm (Nutana Curling Club)

The competition kicked off with a team social on January 4, bringing players, sponsors, and organizers together. Representatives from Bunge, SaskTel, the City of Melville, and CURLSASK’s Executive Director spoke at the event. A highlight of the evening was the unveiling of the new Women’s Provincial Championship trophy, part of CURLSASK’s Legacy Series. The trophy design mirrors the national championship trophy while embracing the new event name, the Bunge Prairie Pinnacle.

The competition was a nine-team round robin with 4 teams advancing to the playoffs. After the playoffs, here were the standings:

Team	Record
Team Kleiter	8-0
Team Knapp	7-1
Team Laycock	6-2
Team deConinck Smith	3-5
Team Hartung	3-5
Team Moser	3-5
Team Bryden	3-5
Team Kalthoff	2-6
Team Carss	1-7

Playoff Recap:

• 1 vs 2 Game: Team Kleiter (8-0) faced Team Knapp (7-1), with Knapp securing a close 6-5 victory and advancing directly to the final.
• 3 vs 4 Game: Team Laycock (6-2) defeated Team Hartung (3-5) in a huge 11-1 victory.
• Semi-Final: In a rematch of last years provincial final, Team Kleiter remained victorious against Team Laycock, defeating them 9-5.

At 7:00pm, it was a rematch of the 1 vs 2 game with Team Kleiter taking on Team Knapp. After a well played final game, Team Knapp took home the title of Team Saskatchewan with a 9-4 victory!

Congratulations to skip Kelly Knapp, third Brennen Jones, second Dustin Kidby, lead Matt Ring, alternate Trent Knapp, coach Brian McCusker from the Highland Curling Club in Regina. They will represent Team Saskatchewan at the 2026 Montana’s Brier on February 27 – March 8, 2026.

A huge THANK YOU to the town of Melville for being such incredible hosts! From the community and local businesses to Lexie and the entire host committee – your hard work and hospitality made this event a success. Shoutout to the Millionaires for letting us transform their state-of-the-art facility into a championship curling venue, the Umpires for keeping everything running smoothly, and the Ice Makers for crafting top-tier ice. To Real Cast Media – thank you for bringing the action to fans across the province. And of course, to the players for putting on an amazing show and the fans who came to cheer on their favourite teams at the rink, tuned in online, or followed the online scores – this event wouldn’t be the same without you!

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