By Jonathan Brazeau
OAKVILLE, Ont. — Back-to-back quarterfinal finishes might not seem like a slow start to the year, but it is when you’re Ross Whyte.
Expectations are now higher for Whyte and his crew after winning their first Grand Slam of Curling title at the Masters and claiming a second straight Scottish men’s championship last season.
Team Whyte reached the quarterfinals of the Baden Masters and Euro Super Series events to kick off the 2025-26 campaign.
Whyte got on the right track at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, defeating Team Dropkin 7-3 in Monday’s men’s final to complete an undefeated 6-0 run through the tournament.
Team Whyte also leapfrogged Team Dunstone for No. 4 in the world rankings with a 2.5-point advantage.
"It feels great," Whyte said. "We’ve had a bit of a slow start to the season. It didn’t feel like we were firing on all cylinders, but to come out here and put in a really good performance this week, we’re really pleased with that."
That sets Whyte on course with a busy stretch next. Whyte will get right back at it this weekend at the Shorty Jenkins Classic, an event his team won in 2023, in Cornwall, Ont., then look to defend the AMJ Masters title in two weeks in London, Ont.
"You always want to get a trophy early on and kind of kickstart your season," Whyte said. "It’s not easy to win trophies out here, no matter what event you’re at, so every win’s celebrated like it means something to us.
"We’re really pleased to get this one and hopefully, this will kick us on and have a good week at the Shorty and then see if we can try and get another trophy."
FIRST END: Although the Premier League transfer window closed on Sept. 1, it’s a good thing curling doesn’t have such restrictions. Team Whyte officially announced just before the Oakville Tankard that Craig Waddell has joined as a full-time fifth player. Waddell is filling in at second as Duncan McFadzean is recovering from knee surgery.
“We’ve had a bit of an interesting start to the season with Duncan having to get surgery, but we’re very pleased to have Craig on board,” Whyte said. “He’s going to contribute a lot. He brings different things than Duncan brings. Both are great at what they do. It’s a different dynamic, but we’re definitely getting used to it.”
Whyte added that McFadzean is looking to return around December.
“Just hoping he can recover as quickly as possible, get back and help the team in whatever way that is,” Whyte said.
Waddell had subbed on Team Whyte previously and was playing third for his brother, Kyle Waddell. That led to a cheeky exchange on Instagram when the move was announced — all in good fun.
SECOND END: The Scottish men’s teams are playing a bit of musical chairs at the Shorty Jenkins Classic.
On top of Team Whyte’s revamped roster, third Grant Hardie will take the reins for Team Mouat as skip Bruce Mouat is attending a friend’s wedding. It's been a while, but Hardie skipped his own squad before joining Mouat in 2017. Kyle Waddell, who will serve as the team’s alternate at the Winter Olympics, enters the lineup.
Meanwhile, Team Waddell — without either Waddell — will also compete in the tournament with skip Cameron Bryce coming on board. We're going to need a flow chart with all of these temporary changes.
THIRD END: Speaking of teams playing without their namesake, it was Team Edin minus Niklas Edin for the semifinals in Oakville. It was all part of the plan, though. Edin skipped his Swedish squad to start the week, then flew to Japan to coach Team Yoshimura in their Olympic trials.
Third Oskar Eriksson, second Rasmus Wranå and lead Christoffer Sundgren carried on as a trio, something they did during the semifinals and the final of the 2022 Tour Challenge, en route to capturing the Grand Slam of Curling title when Edin was injured.
The team was eliminated in the semifinals with a 5-2 loss to Whyte, although Eriksson had a shot in the sixth end to potentially score three that would have given them a one-point lead. Eriksson had to navigate through a tight port and execute a double takeout. His shooter connected on both of Whyte’s stones, but didn’t move the second one far enough and it was just a single. Whyte took two in the seventh and ran them out of rocks in the eighth.
Team Whyte also defeated Team Edin, with Edin in the lineup, 6-3 during Saturday’s A-qualifiers. Edin attempted his trademark super-spinner on his last shot, but couldn’t make it work in his favour.
FOURTH END: South Korea’s Team Ha also pulled off an undefeated 6-0 run, capped with a 6-5 victory over Japan’s Team Tabata in the women’s final.
Down by two in the eighth end, skip Seung-youn Ha tapped Team Tabata’s shot rock enough to count the winning three points.
It was the third straight final for Tabata with two more events on tap before the AMJ Masters. Ha has also had a busy start, kicking things off in June with the Korean National Curling Championships and finishing runner-up to Team Gim to just miss out on the Olympic spot.
FIFTH END: American teams have been active on tour since getting out of the gate early with their Pan Continental Curling Championships playdowns during the first weekend in August.
Since then, on the men’s side, Team Shuster reached the semifinals of the Euro Super Series and captured the Oslo Cup, and Team Casper finished runner-up at the Trentino World Cup.
Team Dropkin made the quarterfinal stage of the Euro Super Series, followed by an impressive run to the final in Oakville. Skip Korey Dropkin’s squad started out 2-0 to reach the A-qualifiers before losing back-to-back games to Team Epping and Team Lee to fall into the last-chance C-qualifiers. After downing Team Kean 8-2 to qualify, Dropkin avenged those earlier losses, eliminating Epping in the quarterfinals and Lee in the semifinals by identical 8-5 scores.
Despite the loss to Whyte, it was still a great experience for them to rebound with elimination on the line and charge to the final.
SIXTH END: It’s a new season and a new look for John Epping. The Toronto-based skip is now sporting a ’stache.
“You know what? I just decided that we’d give ’er a go,” Epping said. “I got a vote online and made sure that everybody wanted it to stay or not. It was overwhelming, ‘yes.’ Everybody’s on board.”
The moustache made its tour debut two weeks ago at the Trentino World Cup. Epping said they were lucky to get the invitation from Team Retornaz lead Mattia Giovanella to compete in the inaugural event.
“What a show they put on,” said Epping, whose team reached the semifinals. “You could tell they worked so hard: all the volunteers and the ice, they had a DJ and music every night, a big screen outside with the games being streamed. It was just an awesome way to start the year.
"We wanted to go over there and use it as team-building. We didn’t get to see a whole lot of each this summer. We just used it as team-building, have a few pops, hang out and get reacquainted before we hit the ground running here.”
SEVENTH END: Sweden’s Isabella Wranå has her ticket punched to Cortina as she will compete in the mixed doubles competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics with her brother, Rasmus.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “It’s been a dream of mine to compete at the Olympics since I was a kid. I’m so excited, and it’s going to be very fun to do it together with my brother. I’m really looking forward to it and the whole season.”
Although Rasmus will handle double duties, as Team Edin was selected for the Olympic men’s tournament, Isabella’s women’s team was left out, with Team Hasselborg representing Sweden. There is still a lot on the line for her team this season with a shift in priorities.
“Our plan is to climb the rankings, have some fun, win some tournaments and hopefully qualify for the world women’s in March,” she said.
Her team made its season debut in Oakville and reached the semifinals, losing 7-5 to Ha.
EIGHTH END: Scott Howard’s team will compete in the AMJ Masters Tier 2 that will begin at the St. Thomas Curling Club in St. Thomas, Ont., before joining the Tier 1 for the finals at the Western Fair Sports Centre in London, Ont.
Howard is hoping his past experience at the venue will be an advantage.
“We’ve played in the St. Thomas Curling Club a couple of times, so we know the rocks and the ice,” said Howard, whose team reached the quarterfinals in Oakville. “It’s always fun to curl in a Grand Slam, Tier 1 or Tier 2, so we’re looking forward to getting back there.”
As the Grand Slam of Curling celebrates its 25th season, there’s no question what Howard’s favourite memory is. Howard won the 2012 Players’ Championship in Summerside, P.E.I., while playing second for Epping. The team entered the event as the eighth and final seed, but pulled off the upset, including a victory over Glenn Howard, Scott’s father, in the final.
“To win that in 2012 in Summerside was awesome. … We played in a couple of finals after that, I think, but never won another one,” the younger Howard said. “It’s pretty cool, 25 years, the guys have put on a great show.”
EXTRA END: Team Einarson appears all tuned up for the AMJ Masters. The Gimli, Man., club posted a perfect 7-0 record to win the Saville Shootout women’s title in Edmonton, fittingly with a 7-0 shutout over Team Gim in Sunday's final. It was great to see second Shannon Birchard back on the ice after missing almost all of last season due to a knee injury. Alternate Krysten Karwacki also saw some action during the week, switching with Birchard.
Team de Jong took the men’s title with a 7-1 victory over Team Blandford in the all-B.C. final. De Jong, who represented B.C. at the Brier last season, jumped 10 spots to No. 40 in the world rankings. More weekends like this one could see the team in the mix for a Tier 2 spot at the Canadian Open in December.
De Jong will be right back on the ice this weekend for the Saville Grand Prix. Lights out and away we go?
