Kyle Waddell and his Scottish squad will have to overcome an early setback as they look to build upon a breakout season.
Waddell expects second Angus Bryce will be out of the lineup for "a good couple of months" to recover from an upper-body injury he sustained during the pre-season.
Luckily for Waddell, a pretty good second just so happened to be available on the (non-existent) waiver wire: Duncan McFadzean.
Waddell said he’s glad his team had the option to add McFadzean, who had played with skip Ross Whyte and was expected to focus on mixed doubles this season.
"Unfortunate for Angus, and we all feel for him, going to be out for a wee while, so thankfully we had somebody of Duncan's quality to come in and replace him," Waddell said earlier this month during the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard.
"We don't feel like, necessarily, we're weakening the team. I think obviously for the first few weeks and the first couple of events, we're going to need to learn a little bit more, work on a few things communication-wise and just how the role that Duncan's going to play is going to impact the team. But certainly from a shot-making point of view, it's good to know that we're not losing any quality."
Waddell joined forces with Bryce, third Mark Watt and lead Blair Haswell at the start of last season. (His brother Craig Waddell was initially on the roster before leaving to join Team Whyte to fill in for an injured McFadzean.)
The new-look Team Waddell had a standout season on the Grand Slam of Curling circuit, rising from the Tier 2 ranks into the top flight and ending the campaign on a positive note with a runner-up finish to Whyte at the season finale Players' Championship. Outside of the Slams, Waddell claimed silver at the Scottish men's curling championship in another final against Whyte.
As if the 32-year-old Waddell wasn't busy enough, he also served as the alternate for Bruce Mouat's team at international events, earning bronze at the European Championships and silver at the Olympic Winter Games.
Looking ahead to a new season and a new quadrennial, Waddell's main focus was to pick up where his team had left off.
“I think we've had a good pre-season of chats on what we wanted to do, the realistic goals, like next steps for the team, and obviously being the start of a new cycle, knowing what the ultimate goal is, we kind of want to build towards that,” said Waddell, whose team is No. 10 in the world rankings. "We're looking forward to another Slam season, obviously bunched together over a few months, and pretty much just play Slams and that's it for a couple of months. We'll play one other tour event.
"We've set ourselves some lofty goals, but ones that we feel we can achieve."
The team missed the playoffs in back-to-back events at the Baden Masters in Switzerland and the Euro Super Series on home ice in Stirling, Scotland, to open the season. Bryce remained in the lineup at second for both tournaments and handled vice skip duties before shutting down.
"Hopefully he gets back obviously as soon as he can," Waddell said. "I'm not 100 per cent sure exactly on the timeline. I think it will be a good couple of months. Hopefully, if it all goes well, he'll be back throwing relatively soon. It's just the sweeping element, I think. It's going to take a bit of time."
McFadzean came aboard ahead of the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard, where the team reached the quarterfinals.
The 26-year-old McFadzean won a Grand Slam title and two Scottish men’s championships with Team Whyte. If you haven’t heard, he’s quite the bagpiper, too.
"After a couple of pints, he loves a bagpipe, so I'll leave that to him," Waddell said with a laugh. "I certainly can't do that as a talent."
Waddell will next compete in the GSOC Co-op Invitational, Oct. 13-18, at Victoria's Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
