Ontario’s rookie squadron Team Jayden King undefeated through two at 2026 Montana’s Brier

If you want to conceptualize an ideal start for any team at the 2026 Montana’s Brier, presented by AGI, you need not look any further than Ontario’s Team Jayden King.

Not only has King’s Tillsonburg Curling Club outfit, rounded out by third/vice-skip Dylan Niepage, second Owen Henry, lead Victor Pietrangelo, alternate Spencer Dunlop, and coach Morgan Lavell, posted a perfect 2-0 record through two days of action at the Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s, it’s doing so as Montana’s Brier rookies and the youngest team in the 2026 field.

Normally, some nerves would probably be expected when you’re under the bright lights of a Canadian men’s curling championship, but the 23-year-old King showed nothing but poise in an 8-3 victory over Prince Edward Island’s Team Tyler Smith (0-2; Crapaud) on Saturday evening.

“Dream start,” said King after the win. “We’re getting used to the ice, getting used to the atmosphere and throwing the rocks better and better after each throw. I feel like we’re still trying to figure it out and get rocks in the right spots, but we’re shooting to our tolerances and making sure they didn’t have any chances at two. We’re not quite firing on all cylinders, but our B game is getting us through.

The London, Ont., native is also making waves in curling as the first black skip to ever compete at a Brier. It’s an aspect of his presence at the 2026 Montana’s Brier that he is embracing and will continue to champion for more diverse representation in Canadian curling

“It’s extremely important to me,” said King. “It’s something special that we can share with our family and hopefully inspire other families to go get involved in curling and see curling as a spot for them.”

At the same time, Ontario third/vice-skip Dylan Niepage brings another level of diversity to the field. Niepage uses a cochlear implant and is also embracing a leadership role to prove that you can be a differently-abled athlete and thrive at the highest levels of curling in Canada.

“Dylan is very open and very honest in talking about his hearing impairment,” said King. “It hasn’t held him back in terms of curling out here on the biggest stage — just really shows that you can get out here, put the work in, and you can have the results regardless of where you start from.”

King, a For the Love of Curling Scholarship recipient in 2023 and a Fran Todd All Heart Scholarship recipient in 2024, has experience at national championships prior in Ontario colours as well, having partaken in the New Holland U-20 Curling Championship in as a second in 2022, and then a skip in 2023.

The transition to skipping has proved fruitful for King, as he went on to both the Canadian mixed curling championship and the U SPORTS/Curling Canada championship as a skip in 2024.

“I’ve played (every position) in juniors,” said King. “I’ve got a good knack for leading and once I realised how to throw the last rock without putting them all in the hack, I thought I’d keep skipping and I’ve stuck with it ever since. I’m really enjoying it out there.

The young skip has also taken his lumps, having lost the 2024 Ontario men’s tankard final in an extra end to curling legend Glenn Howard, missing a chance to qualify for the Montana’s Brier two years ago. It’s a loss that came with some mixed emotions.

“It kind of felt like the end of the world at the moment when you’re a 21-year-old almost getting to go to the Brier,” said King. “We knew if we kept putting the work in, we had a chance. Two years ago, I said we’ll be back and that kind of came to fruition this year and it’s awesome to see our hard work pay off.”

There will be no resting on laurels for King and Co., as they’re set to face the home-town heroes in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Team Brad Gushue (2-0; St. John’s) tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m., (all times NL).

“We’ll approach it the same way we approach any other game,” said King. “They’ll have the crowd behind them, obviously, but they also have to throw eight rocks — none of them start in the middle. We can go from there and see what happens for us. We can stick with them and put some good ends together.”

In other action on Saturday evening at the 2026 Montana’s Brier, Team Newfoundland and Labrador-Gushue bested Nunavut’s Team Derek Samagalski (0-2; Iqaluit) 10-2 while Québec’s Team Jean-Michel Ménard (1-1; Des Collines, Glenmore, Belvédère, Etchemin, Valleyfield) played spoiler, defeating the other home-town representatives in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Team Nathan Young (1-1; St. John’s) 7-3 and Team Canada, skipped by Brad Jacobs (2-0; Calgary), edged Saskatchewan’s Team Kelly Knapp (0-1; Regina) 8-6.

The Montana’s Brier continues Sunday with draws at 9:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2026 Montana’s Brier are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2026 Montana’s Brier. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2026 Montana’s Brier, go to www.curling.ca/2026brier/tickets/

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/2026brier/nouvelles/