Brad Gushue to make season debut at Boost National
Brad Gushue appears to be ready to return to the curling tour.
The St. John’s, N.L., native and winner of six Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles will be at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., next week for the Boost National.
Gushue posted a video to his team’s Facebook page Tuesday saying, “After a lot of announcements this year, I’m actually excited to make this one: I’m going to be back in the Soo.”
A hip/groin issue has kept Gushue out of action to start the season. The 36-year-old Gushue will miss his eighth consecutive tournament this week with his team in Brandon, Man., for the Canada Cup.
Gushue’s 2006 Olympic gold medal teammate Mark Nichols has moved up from his regular third spot to throw last stones and call the shots in the interim. The team has relied on spares Adam Spencer, Charley Thomas and Pat Simmons to fill in at vice skip with Thomas getting the nod this week for the Canada Cup.
Second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker have stayed put in their front-end roles.
Gushue posted a video Monday practising on the ice:
Team Gushue won three Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles last season — including the National — and captured the Rogers Grand Slam Cup as the overall champions.
It’s a huge season for the team with not only spots for the Olympic Trials up for grabs, but their hometown will host the Tim Hortons Brier as Gushue looks to capture his first national championship.
Team Gushue’s title defence at the Boost National begins next Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET) against Tanner Horgan of Sudbury, Ont.
