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24 teams in 24 days — Day 11: Team McEwen

We’re profiling all 24 teams, one per day, to get ready for the return of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling leading up to the start of the Humpty’s Champions Cup.

Day 11: Team McEwen

Lineup: Mike McEwen (skip), Reid Carruthers (third), Derek Samagalski (second), Colin Hodgson (lead).

Note: McEwen is going to miss both Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events as his wife Dawn is expecting their second child soon. Carruthers will move up to skip with Tyler Tardi subbing at third.

Home club: West St. Paul Curling Club; West St. Paul, Man.

McEwen is a winner of seven Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s titles and joined forced with longtime friend Carruthers in 2018. The team competed as Wild Card One at the Brier earlier this month and finished with a 4-4 record in pool play.

Carruthers returns to calling the shots after serving a traditional third role during the past couple seasons. He captured his first Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s title as a skip — and second of his career — at the inaugural Humpty’s Champions Cup in 2016 in Sherwood Park, Alta. Carruthers defeated Team Epping in the final after a rare second extra end.

Carruthers won the Brier and world championship in 2011 with legendary skip Jeff Stoughton plus the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling National in 2013.

Tardi has competed in the past two Humpty’s Champions Cup events qualifying as the world junior men’s champion. The 22-year-old from Langley, B.C., skipped Canada to back-to-back world junior gold medals in 2018 and 2019. He also captured gold for Canada in mixed curling at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, playing third for Mary Fay.

The Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling returns with the Humpty’s Champions Cup, April 14-18, followed by the Princess Auto Players’ Championship, April 20-25. Both events will be played at Calgary’s WinSport Arena and closed to the general public. Watch live coverage on Sportsnet, stay tuned for the broadcast schedule.