Simmons, Dunstone to sub at Players’ Championship
Pat Simmons is heading to the Players’ Championship as a super spare.
The two-time Brier champion from Moose Jaw, Sask., will fill in for John Landsteiner on American John Shuster’s team during the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event running April 12-17 at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto.
Simmons is on the lookout for a new team for next season with second Carter Rycroft and lead Nolan Thiessen taking a step back from competitive curling at the end of this year.
Players’ Championship: Men’s Teams | Women’s Teams
Meanwhile, two-time Canadian junior champ Matt Dunstone will be back in the lineup at third on Charley Thomas’s team. The 20-year-old from Winnipeg also spared for the Calgary rink earlier this month at the Elite 10.
Coincidentally, Dunstone made his Pinty’s GSOC series debut this season as a sub for Rycroft on Team Simmons at the Meridian Canadian Open in December.
The women’s side will see a reunion with reigning Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion Chelsea Carey of Calgary adding former teammate Kristy McDonald, who will be filling in for third Amy Nixon. Carey and McDonald won the Manitoba Scotties provincial title and a bronze medal at the national Scotties in 2014.
Briar Huerlimann joins Alina Paetz’s Swiss team for the event.
The Players’ Championship is the fourth major and sixth event of the 2015-16 Pinty’s GSOC season and features 12 of the top men’s teams and 12 of the top women’s teams in the world. The Rogers Grand Slam Cup will also be awarded to the overall season champions following the conclusion of the event.
Tickets are now available for the Players’ Championship, visit thegrandslamofcurling.com/tickets for details. Can’t make it to Toronto? Sportsnet will have you covered, click here for our TV schedule.
