Field and pools set for 2026 Montana’s Brier as St. John’s prepares for Gushue farewell

One of Canada’s most eagerly awaited curling events is fast approaching, as the field, pools, and schedule for the 2026 Montana’s Brier, presented by AGI, have been finalized.

All 18 teams are confirmed for the Canadian men’s championship, taking place from Feb. 27 to March 8 at the Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s, N.L.

All eyes will be on hometown favourite Brad Gushue, who has announced his retirement after this season and will make his final competitive appearance at home.

Team Gushue will open the event on Friday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. (all times Newfoundland) against Quebec’s Team Jean-Michel Ménard.

The competition includes 14 provincial and territorial champions, along with three Canadian Team Ranking System qualifiers from the 2024-25 season: Team Gushue, Manitoba’s Team Matt Dunstone (Winnipeg), and Saskatchewan’s Team Mike McEwen (Saskatoon).

The field also features the reigning Montana’s Brier champions, Canada’s Team Brad Jacobs of Calgary, who will arrive fresh from their appearance at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

The 18 teams are divided into two pools of nine, each playing an eight-game round robin. The top three teams from each pool will advance to the playoffs.

No tiebreaker games will be played. If teams are tied for a playoff spot, head-to-head results will determine the ranking. If still unresolved, Last-Shot Draw rankings will be used, following the same formula as World Championship and Olympic Winter Games events.

In the first round of playoffs on Friday, March 6, at 1:30 p.m., the first-place team from Pool A will face the second-place team from Pool B, and vice versa. Winners advance directly to the 1v2 Page playoff game, while the losers will play the third-place teams from each pool at 7:30 p.m. for the remaining Page playoff spots.

The Page playoffs begin on Saturday, March 7. The winner of the 1v2 game will advance directly to the final, while the loser faces the winner of the 3v4 Page game (scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on March 7) in the semifinal.

The semifinal winner (Sunday, March 8, at 1:30 p.m.) will compete in the championship final at 7:30 p.m. that same day.

The champion will go on to represent Canada at the 2026 LGT World Men’s Curling Championship, taking place from March 27 to April 4 in Ogden, Utah.

Here’s a look at how the two pools are set up:

(Teams listed according to overall seeding based on CTRS standings as of today, and listed in order skip [player calling the shots], vice-skip [player holding the broom for the skip], second, lead, alternate, coach/High Performance Consultant).

* — denotes provincial champion for provinces with more than one team representing.

Pool A

• Team Canada, Brad Jacobs (Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, Ben Hebert, Mike Caione, Paul Webster; Calgary)
• Newfoundland & Labrador-Gushue, Brad Gushue (Brendan Bottcher [throws second], Mark Nichols, Geoff Walker, Adam Casey, Jeff Hoffart; St. John’s)
• Ontario, Jayden King (Dylan Niepage, Owen Henry, Victor Pietrangelo, Spencer Dunlop, Morgan Lavell; Tillsonburg)
• * Saskatchewan-Knapp, Kelly Knapp (Brennen Jones, Dustin Kidby, Mat Ring, Trent Knapp, Brian McCusker; Regina)
• Québec, Jean-Michel Ménard (Félix Asselin [throws fourth], Martin Crête, Jean-François Trépanier, François Roberge; Des Collines, Glenmore, Belvédère, Etchemin, Valleyfield)
• Nova Scotia, Kendal Thompson (Stuart Thompson, Bryce Everist, Michael Brophy, Adam McKerihen, Chris Jeffrey; Halifax)
• Prince Edward Island, Tyler Smith (Adam Cocks, Edward White, Paul Flemming; Crapaud)
• * Newfoundland & Labrador-Young, Nathan Young (Colin Thomas, Nathan Locke, Ben Stringer, Jeff Thomas, Cory Schuh; St. John’s)
• Nunavut, Derek Samagalski (Sheldon Wettig, Christian Smitheram, Justin McDonell, David Aglukark, Geordie Hargreaves; Iqaluit)

Pool B

• Manitoba-Dunstone, Matt Dunstone (Matt Dunstone, Colton Lott, E.J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden, Jacob Horgan, Caleb Flaxey; Winnipeg)
• Saskatchewan-McEwen, Mike McEwen (Kevin Marsh [throws second], Colton Flasch, Dan Marsh, Brent Laing, Pat Simmons; Saskatoon)
• Alberta, Kevin Koe (Aaron Sluchinski [throws second], Tyler Tardi, Karrick Martin, Jacob Libbus, Mike Libbus; Calgary)
• * Manitoba-Calvert, Braden Calvert, Corey Chambers, Kyle Kurz, Brendan Bilawka, Rob Gordon; Winnipeg)
• New Brunswick, James Grattan (Joel Krats, Andy McCann, Noah Riggs, Drew Grattan, Dean Grattan; Oromocto)
• British Columbia, Cody Tanaka (Mitchell Kopytko [throws second], Jared Kolomaya, Coburn Fadden, Sam Husdon, Josh Miki; Kamloops/Delta)
• Northern Ontario, Dustin Montpellier (Sandy MacEwan [throws fourth], Olivier Bonin-Ducharme, Luc Ouimet [lead/alternate], Lee Toner [lead/alternate], Kira Brunton; Sudbury)
• Yukon, Thomas Scoffin (Joe Wallingham [throws lead], Kerr Drummond, Trygg Jensen, Ben Robinson, Darren Moulding; Whitehorse)
• Northwest Territories, Jamie Koe (Glen Kennedy, Roland Robinson, Shadrach McLeod, Cole Parsons; Yellowknife)

Note: Some matchups featuring pre-qualified teams were pre-set for ticket marketing purposes, so the pools were adjusted based on the approved seeding methodology in collaboration with Curling Canada’s Athlete Council.

For the entire 2026 Montana’s Brier schedule, CLICK HERE.

Tickets are available online at curling.ca/tickets and in person at the Mary Brown’s Centre box office during regular business hours. Phone inquiries can be made by calling 709-576-7657. While select draws are currently unavailable, fans can check back, as a limited number of seats for all draws will be released once setup is complete.

TSN/RDS, the official broadcast partners of Curling Canada’s Season of Champions, will provide complete coverage of the 2026 Montana’s Brier. CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule.