Get to know the men’s teams competing in the Princess Auto Players’ Championship, April 20-25, at Calgary’s WinSport Arena. Note: Team lineups subject to change.
Team Bottcher
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Brendan Bottcher | Darren Moulding | Brad Thiessen | Karrick Martin |
Edmonton, AB | After three consecutive silver finishes, Team Bottcher won their first Brier tankard this year defeating Team Koe in the final. Bottcher captured his first three Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s titles consecutively in 2019 winning the Meridian Canadian Open, Players’ Championship and Humpty’s Champions Cup.
Team De Cruz
| Skip (Second) | Vice Skip (Fourth) | Third | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Peter de Cruz | Benoît Schwarz | Sven Michel | Valentin Tanner |
Geneva, SUI | De Cruz captured his first career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s title at the Meridian Canadian Open in 2018. He followed that up defeating Canada’s Team Koe for bronze at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. De Cruz has also won bronze three times at the world championship.
Team Dunstone
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Matt Dunstone | Braeden Moskowy | Kirk Muyres | Dustin Kidby |
Wadena, SK | Dunstone has earned back-to-back bronze medals at the Brier. He claimed his first career Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s title at the 2019 Masters in North Bay, Ont. Muyres skipped his own squad previously and won the 2018 KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge Tier 2 in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Team Edin
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Niklas Edin | Oskar Eriksson | Rasmus Wranå | Christoffer Sundgren |
Karlstad, SWE | Edin has won the world men’s championship four times, the most by any skip since the tournament expanded in 1964. They won their first three Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s titles — Masters, Tour Challenge and Players’ Championship — during the 2016-17 season and were the first non-Canadian men’s team to win an event in the series.
Team Epping
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| John Epping | Colton Lott | Mat Camm | Brent Laing |
Toronto, ON | Epping has won four Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s titles including three as a skip. They finished runners-up to Team Jacobs in the most recent event in the series, the 2020 Meridian Canadian Open. Epping earned the 2019 Canada Cup to book a spot in the Olympic trials. Lott is filling in for Ryan Fry, who is missing the event due to family reasons.
Team Gunnlaugson
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Jason Gunnlaugson | Adam Casey | Matt Wozniak | Connor Njegovan |
Morris, MB | Team Gunnlaugson won the Manitoba provincial championship in 2020 and reached the championship pool in the past two Brier tournaments. Gunnlaugson captured the Tour Challenge Tier 2 title in 2017. New second Wozniak brings a wealth of experience having won seven Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles with Team McEwen.
Team Gushue
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Brad Gushue | Mark Nichols | Brett Gallant | Geoff Walker |
St. John’s, NL | Gushue has won 11 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s titles. He became just the fifth skip in history to complete a career Grand Slam when he captured the 2016 Players’ Championship. They are also the first team to win all of the events in the series. Gushue captured the Brier three times in four years claiming the tankard in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Team Jacobs
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Brad Jacobs | Marc Kennedy | E.J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
Sault Ste. Marie, ON | Jacobs has earned seven Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s titles with his first at the 2015 Players’ Championship. Team Jacobs added Kennedy last season and went on a roll winning the past three GSOC events — 2019 KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge, 2019 BOOST National and 2020 Meridian Canadian Open — plus the Pinty’s Cup as overall champions.
Team Koe
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Kevin Koe | John Morris | B.J. Neufeld | Ben Hebert |
Calgary, AB | Koe has captured a record-tying four Brier titles. As Wild Card Two, they finished runners-up to Alberta’s Team Bottcher this year. Koe has earned five Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling men’s championships including four as a skip. His first came at the 2004 Players’ Championship with Morris in charge.
Team McEwen
| Skip | Third | Second |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
| Reid Carruthers | Tyler Tardi | Derek Samagalski |
Winnipeg, MB | Carruthers, Samagalski and Hodgson captured the inaugural Humpty’s Champions Cup men’s title in 2016 defeating Team Epping in a thrilling double extra end. Playing for legendary skip Jeff Stoughton, Carruthers won the Brier and world championships in 2011. Carruthers has moved up to skip with Tardi subbing at third as skip Mike McEwen is remaining home with his wife Dawn, who is expecting a baby. Lead Colin Hodgson will also not be playing.
Team Mouat
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Bruce Mouat | Grant Hardie | Bobby Lammie | Hammy McMillan |
Edinburgh, SCO | Mouat became the youngest men’s skip to win a title in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling when he captured the 2017 BOOST National at age 23. The team captured their second this past Monday at the Humpty’s Champions Cup defeating Team Bottcher 6-3 in the men’s final.
Team Schwaller
| Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Yannick Schwaller | Michael Brunner | Romano Meier | Marcel Käufeler |
Bern, SUI | Team Schwaller earned silver at the 2019 European Championships finishing runners-up to Sweden’s Team Edin. They qualified for the playoffs in a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event for the first time at the 2020 Meridian Canadian Open.
