By Jonathan Brazeau

The GSOC Satellite Events series continues this weekend with the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in Oakville, Ontario.

In case you missed it, the Grand Slam of Curling has partnered with established tour events this season to provide additional qualifying paths for teams to reach the top-flight circuit.

Last month's Euro Super Series tournament in Stirling, Scotland, kicked off the GSOC Satellite Series, with semifinalists Team Carson and Team Zardini Lacedelli receiving berths to the CO-OP Invitational.

The Stu Sells Oakville Tankard is the second stop, with one men's team and one women's team qualifying for the GSOC Open, taking place Dec. 1-6 at Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Yes, the calendar says September, but curlers will have December on their minds.

Live streaming of the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard is available via CurlingZone, and runs through to Monday at the Oakville Curling Club.

Here’s a look at the key storylines and teams to watch this weekend in Eight Ends.

FIRST END: Reigning Brier champions Team Dunstone will hit the ice for the first time with new second Mark Nichols.

After iconic skip Brad Gushue called it a career at the end of last season, longtime teammate Nichols found a new home with Matt Dunstone’s Winnipeg-based crew. Nichols slots in at second, taking over for E.J. Harnden, who also stepped back from competitive curling at the end of the Olympic cycle.

How will Nichols fit in with Team Dunstone? Although the 46-year-old from St. John’s, N.L., has played third for the majority of his men’s career, let’s not forget his stint at lead and second with another Winnipeg skip: the legendary Jeff Stoughton.

Meanwhile, Nichols' former teammates Brendan Bottcher and Geoff Walker have stuck together, adding brothers Jake and Tanner Horgan (previously with Team Epping) to form a new Edmonton-based squad. The five-time Grand Slam of Curling title winner Bottcher returned to his skip roots this past weekend as his team made its debut at the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic in Waterloo, Ontario. Bottcher finished with a 5-1 record, falling in the semifinals to eventual champ Kim Schwaller. A fine start they'll be looking to build on down the road in Oakville.

Another new-look Canadian men's team to watch: John Epping makes his season debut with his Winnipeg-based club featuring third B.J. Neufeld, second Ryan Wiebe and lead Ian McMillan. The Oakville Curling Club is a familiar barn for Epping. He won the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in 2019, plus you’ll find his name among the championship-winning banners hanging at the club from his early days in mixed curling.

SECOND END: Among the Canadian teams competing in the women's division, Kayla MacMillan and Christina Black have spots secured for their teams at a home-province Grand Slam and now look to lock in a berth for another.

MacMillan was among the first 12 teams selected for the CO-OP Invitational in her team's hometown of Victoria. The not-so-secret weapon is new third Val Sweeting, a five-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion and winner of eight Grand Slam of Curling titles. Her experience and talent level will surely give them a boost. Sweeting also won the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in 2018 during her first season with Team Einarson.

Black received a sponsor’s invite for the GSOC National in Sydney, N.S. Her Halifax-based club, which finished runner-up at the Canadian Olympic trials, has shuffled the front end this year. Marlee Powers moved into a full-time role at second, and Lindsey Burgess joined at lead. Karlee Everist shifted from lead to alternate, while former second Jenn Baxter stepped back from the team.

THIRD END: Could we see Round 2 between Xenia Schwaller and Alina Pätz? The top two Swiss squads, and two of the top teams in the world for that matter, faced off in the Euro Super Series women’s final, with Team Pätz emerging victorious 8-5.

The final was the only loss of the week for reigning world champion Schwaller, and so far her only loss of the season. Team Schwaller, No. 2 in the world rankings, posted a perfect 7-0 record to run through the Hogged Rock KW Fall Classic.

Schwaller won the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in 2024 and was a quarterfinalist in the event a year ago. Pätz, No. 6 in the world rankings, is a three-time finalist in Oakville — most recently in 2018, while throwing last rocks and vice-skipping with Silvana Tirinzoni.

Both teams are in opposite triple knockout brackets of the preliminary stage, so if they were to meet, it would happen in the playoffs. Fingers crossed it does.

FOURTH END: If you haven’t already pieced it together, yes, it was a Schwaller family sweep of the titles in Waterloo between cousins Kim and Xenia Schwaller — a feat they'll be looking to duplicate this weekend.

Kim Schwaller came close to qualifying for the CO-OP Invitational as his team reached the Euro Super Series quarterfinals before losing to Team Spiller. Since the winners and runners-up in both divisions had already been invited to the GSOC tournament, the higher-ranked semifinalists received the qualifying berths. Had Schwaller won the match over Spiller, his team would have surpassed Carson in the world rankings and received the coveted ticket.

Alas, Schwaller now has a second shot at qualifying for a Grand Slam event, albeit a different one, and is coming off a title win. His team — which includes third Jan Iseli, second Andreas Gerlach and lead Max Winz — finished with a 6-1 record in Waterloo, including victories over Spiller in pool play and the final. Trailing by two in the championship game, Schwaller scored a deuce in the seventh and stole in the winning point in the eighth end to win 6-5.

Schwaller made his Grand Slam of Curling series debut filling in for his older brother Yannick at the 2024 National in St. John’s, N.L., and could be close to making his skip debut pretty soon.

FIFTH END: Why not make it two qualifying berths in a row? Team Carson had an impressive run in the Euro Super Series, eking out a playoff spot with a 2-2 record and eliminating Team Retornaz in the quarterfinals to reach the final four. A loss to eventual champions Team Schwaller (that’s Yannick Schwaller) ended the run, but skip Orrin Carson and his young Scottish squad were still winners with a CO-OP Invitational spot locked up.

For what it's worth, Scottish teams have done well at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in the past, with Team Mouat winning three times and Team Whyte taking the title last year. Neither Mouat nor Whyte (now known as Team Hardie) are competing in Oakville this weekend, leaving the door open for a new challenger.

Speaking of Scottish men's teams, Team Waddell will look to get on track after starting the season missing the playoffs in back-to-back events at the Baden Masters and Euro Super Series. Skip Kyle Waddell will have former Team Whyte second Duncan McFadzean in the lineup as Angus Bryce recovers from a pre-season injury.

SIXTH END: Italy’s Giulia Zardini Lacedelli will also look to go 2-for-2 in GSOC qualifying berths.

Zardini Lacedelli, who previously served as vice for Stefania Constantini, earned a bye to the Euro Super Series semifinals with a 4-0 record in pool play, including a shootout victory over Pätz.

Although Pätz took the rematch in the semis, 6-3, it was still a fine start to the season for Zardini Lacedelli and her new team.

SEVENTH END: We’ll stick with Italy as we jump back to the men’s division. Stefano Spiller has been on a roll, with his team reaching two semifinals and one final already this season. Word on the sheet is that Team Spiller will have a super spare this weekend. Stay tuned.

Four-time Grand Slam of Curling title winner Joël Retornaz has also had a solid start with his new team, finishing runner-up in Baden and reaching the quarterfinals in Stirling.

Both Spiller and Retornaz should work their way into the playoff picture in Oakville.

EIGHTH END: American curling fans will want to keep a close eye on their men’s teams with three in action.

Danny Casper leads the way with his team at No. 7 in the world rankings and is looking to build on a breakout season after representing the United States at the Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

John Shuster aims to expedite a rebuild with third Andrew Stopera, second Mark Fenner and lead Lance Wheeler now on board. The 2018 Olympic gold medallist begins his season 29th in the world rankings.

World junior champion Caden Hebert and his squad already have a title to their names from the Asham Icebreaker two weekends ago in Morris, Manitoba. Hebert jumped five spots in the rankings with the victory and is now No. 32 as he looks to continue his ascent.