Team Dropkin is now Team Stopera.
The Duluth, Minn., club announced Thursday that Andrew Stopera will now handle skip duties, with Tom Howell remaining at third, Mark Fenner moving to second and Lance Wheeler joining at lead.
The news comes two weeks after Korey Dropkin stepped back from the team to focus on mixed doubles, as he gets set to represent the U.S. alongside Cory Thiesse at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.
Dropkin was looking to qualify his men's team for the Olympics as well. They fell short of that goal, finishing third in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last month. Team Casper came out on top and secured a spot for the Winter Games through the Olympic Qualification Event on Wednesday in Kelowna, B.C.
The 30-year-old Dropkin, who has won two Tour Challenge Tier 2 titles, will serve as the captain of the American-based team for the inaugural season of Rock League in April.
Stopera, 28, has skipped in the past, guiding the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2017 World Junior Curling Championships. He joined Team Dropkin in 2022.
Ranked 33rd in the world, the team will debut its new lineup next week at the HearingLife Canadian Open Tier 2 in Martensville, Sask.
