He’s so young. And so solid.

It’s tempting to call Josh Hari the new Al Hackner.

The latter, the curling legend from Thunder Bay, recently announced his retirement from competitive play and this Hari kid—who also hails from T-Bay—looks like an amazing thrower for such a young age.

How old is he, actually?

Try eleven.

I saw the photo atop a TBnewswatch story and before I’d finished reading it, I was reaching out to the author.

I just had to know more. The mechanics aren’t standard Curling Canada instructional—it’s a modified tuck slide, after all—but this youngster’s delivery is clearly solid as, well, a rock.

“When I saw his slide, it immediately reminded me of a photo I took six years ago of Ryan Fry, then of Team Jacobs, getting so low to the ice to release his shot,” said Leith Dunick, the TBnewswatch scribe who snapped the pic and wrote the story.

“If that’s the path he’s chasing, he’s on a pretty good trajectory.”

What’s more, Hari is the “unquestioned leader of his team” which consists of older kids, aged 13 through 14. The team, with third Hunter Torkkeli, second Kyle Haynen and lead Hudson Kelly starts competing at the Northern Ontario U18 provincial in North Bay tonight, a five-team affair which sees the winning squad represent the moose callers at the nationals.

“That they’re ready to try their luck at a Northern Ontario championship says a lot about the make-up of this team,” said Dunick. “While they admit being a little nervous, they’re also confident they can do well—and maybe even win.”

It’s unreal to think that young Josh has been curling for eight years already. I didn’t even start curling until about age 16, and I missed the “Little Rock” opportunity entirely.

“(Hari) still has his teenage years to distract him, so we’ll have to see where the sport takes him,” remarked Dunick.

“When I was his age, I was an all-star baseball player. By the time I was 15 I wasn’t even playing the sport. He’s still got the likes of Brad Jacobs and, more likely, Tanner Horgan to surpass before he can start thinking about the Brier, but you’ve got to start somewhere, right?”

What’s that old Who song?

The Kids Are Alright.

Northern Ontario curling, now being run by Olympians and TV commentator Mike Harris, is streaming all 2023 provincial championships thanks to a sponsorship deal with Unibet. The Curling Stadium setup is in place for this week’s U18 event.