Had to stop research at the 1970s
Young teams competing in their first Brier is nothing new.
But as a native Ontarian, this feels fairly new to me.
I’m watching the Ontario champions, Team Mooibroek, compete in their first Brier game in Kelowna against Quebec. Some of you might be watching with me.
I can’t remember the last time a young team made it out of southern Ontario with a full Brier lineup of youthful early twenty-somethings.
So I did some digging.
But first… Scott Mitchell is one of them. He’s the son of my Olympic teammate, Collin Mitchell.
I texted and then called Collin after his son’s team defeated Scott Howard—with Collin’s former skip Glenn Howard coaching—in the Ontario Tankard final back in January.
(Yes, I’m still calling it the Tankard.)
That was the first time I started thinking about just how young this team actually is.
Collin was coaching Scott’s team just a couple of years ago, when they repped Canada at the 2023 World Juniors in Füssen, Germany.
Scott is 23 now, and I think all of his Brier teammates—Sam Mooibroek, Ryan Wiebe and Nathan Steele—are the same age, give or take a year.
But when’s the last time this happened out of Ontario?
Collin and I almost pulled it off, of course, but our team skipped by Mike Harris—with Richard Hart at third stone—lost two Tankard finals to Russ Howard in the early 1990s.
At the first one in ’92, Rich and Mitch would’ve been in their early 20s, and Mike and I would’ve been 25.
Howard front-enders Wayne Middaugh and Peter Corner were young bucks at their first Brier (Hamilton 1991) but Russ and Glenn weren’t.
John Kawaja might still hold the record for youngest Brier champion; he was 21 when Eddie Werenich won the big gold beer stein in 1983. But the Wrench, Paul Savage and Neil “Harry” Harrison were already veterans of the sport.
Could it be Mark Kean’s squad from Fenelon Falls, in 2015? Kean was 27, Mat Camm was 25, and David Mathers and Scott Howard were 24 when they competed in Calgary.
Before that, John Morris’ Ottawa crew from 2002 can be considered. That season—in which the squad lost the Brier final to the Ferbey Four, also in Cowtown—Johnny Mo, Craig Savill and Brent Laing were 24, but third Joe Frans was 27.
So far, Team Mooibroek, all through the lineup, are even younger at this Kelowna Brier.
I’d have to dig back into the 1970s to keep the research going.
I’m not going to do that.
What a breath of fresh air this is. Fresh Okanagan air, at this first Brier in Orchard City since 1968.
Of course, proud pops Collin is in Kelowna cheering the guys on.
He was in Cobourg for their big provincial win, too. You can even see him, a little, in this photo taken minutes after the team won the Ontario title; I’ve circled him to help you out.
Just a bit of a smile from my longtime front-end partner. I remember that smile.
Mitch will no doubt run into our old skipper Harris at the Brier. Mike is there as the coach for Northern Ontario’s John Epping.
Enjoy the week, Team Mitchell!
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEunWtFbRDE[/embed]