Team Dunstone second E.J. Harnden plans to dial it back at the end of the curling year.
Harnden announced Sunday on Instagram that this will be his last full season of competitive curling.
"While this decision wasn’t easy, it comes with a deep sense of peace and excitement," Harnden said. "I’m looking forward to finishing this season doing what I love, then spending more time with my family and embracing a new journey ahead."
The 42-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., rose to prominence while playing with his brother Ryan Harnden at lead and cousin Brad Jacobs at skip. Together with Ryan Fry at third, they captured the Brier in 2013 and claimed silver at the World Men's Curling Championship.
Team Jacobs earned the right to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics after taking the long road through the pre-trials and captured gold in Sochi, Russia.
After Team Jacobs disbanded in 2022, the Harndens split off, with E.J. joining Brad Gushue's team and Ryan linking up with Matt Dunstone's rink.
E.J. won back-to-back Brier titles and world silver medals with Team Gushue before parting ways in the fall of 2024. The "Brush Bros." were reunited when he subbed on Team Dunstone for a tour event before joining full-time after the Winnipeg-based club cut ties with B.J. Neufeld.
Dunstone finished runner-up to Jacobs's new team at the Brier last season. The two met again in the final of the Montana's Canadian Curling Trials at the end of last month, with Jacobs coming out on top to represent Canada at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
Harnden has won 10 Grand Slam of Curling titles and has completed a career Grand Slam, winning each major at least once. He earned seven with Jacobs, two with Gushue and one with Dunstone.
Team Dunstone, No. 4 in the world rankings, will compete in the Crown Royal Players' Championship, the fifth and final Grand Slam event of the season, next week in Steinbach, Man.
Dunstone has also pre-qualified for the 2026 Montana's Brier, Feb. 27-March 8, in St. John's, N.L.
Harnden has also been selected to compete with the Frontier Curling Club in the inaugural season of Rock League, April 6-12, in Toronto.
