ESTEVAN - Steve Laycock isn’t the defending champion of the SaskTel Tankard men’s provincial curling championship, but the last time he entered the event, he won.
Laycock captured the 2018 edition of the Tankard when it was held at Affinity Place in Estevan, defeating Colton Flasch 9-7. (Flasch won the event in 2022).
Laycock’s eager to be back on the ice for the marquee event.
“It was one of the provincials we had to grind through,” said Laycock. “We ended up in the C event and had to go through the semifinal game instead of going straight to the final. It was very rewarding to have that finish.”
That squad in 2018 was a star-studded one, too. Laycock was the skip but threw the third’s stones. Matt Dustone was the fourth, and Kurt and Dallan Muyres were second and lead, respectively.
Dunstone is playing out of province now, Kurt Muyres didn’t enter playdowns this year, and Dallan Muyres has a team of his own.
Flasch and Laycock used to curl together, too.
“I’ve been fortunate to play with some really good players over the years, and you don’t have success if you don’t,” said Laycock.
This year’s team features lead Brayden Stewart, second Chris Haichert and third Shaun Meachem. Laycock will continue to work on continuity as the Tankard approaches by sweeping each other’s rocks, calling the line and communicating about the ice.
“We actually gelled quicker than I thought we would,” Laycock said. “And we’re had a couple of really good training weekends here leading into it. I’m pretty optimistic about our chances, but it’s certainly a little bit different than most years as far as how much time we spend together on ice.”
They have put in the technical work on throwing and sweeping.
Laycock and Heichert were teammates when they won the world juniors in 2003. He noted this year marks the 20th anniversary of that team, and they’re looking to rediscover the magic.
Heichert had asked Laycock a few times over the years about reuniting, and Laycock believes now is the right time.
“Obviously we’re not nostalgic about it. We’re focusing on what’s ahead of us here,” Laycock said.
The new Team Laycock played together in September and October, came together quickly and found success. Since then, they have had just one event in January, and Laycock admitted they looked rusty.
He remembers the Tankard of 2018 was held in a beautiful venue at Affinity Place, with a really knowledgeable and supportive crowd. The tournaments blend together after a while, but 2018 still lingers in his mind.
After the 2018 Tankard, Laycock started looking at various options and decided to start curling out of province. He remained in Saskatchewan, but the rules allow for each team to have a non-resident curler for its provincial championship. Laycock joined the Jim Cotter team, because they were of a similar mindset over how much they play.
He actually travelled less going to B.C. than if he would have gone to all of the Saskatchewan qualifiers.
“It was just a really good fit for where I was at in my career, and I really enjoyed those years. They were great guys to play with,” said Laycock.
After taking last year off, in which he only served as a spare for Rylan Kleiter, he decided to start curling in Saskatchewan again.
“Even if I wasn’t wanting to go full bore into men’s curling, I still really enjoyed that thrill of competing at the Tankard, so that’s one thing I wanted to get back into this year,” he said.
There will be a lot of familiar faces at the Tankard in Estevan, including former teammates and foes. And there are some good young teams, such as Kleiter and Damon Bernath, that have emerged since the Tankard was last in Estevan.
The Flasch rink has been to the Brier a couple of times, and they’re used to playing on arena ice, whereas most other teams are accustomed to curling rink ice.
“I would say Colton’s team is probably the one with the target on their back, but everyone’s good enough to beat each other on any given draw, so we’re looking forward to seeing how it shakes out,” said Laycock.
Laycock said there isn’t pressure on the champion of the SaskTel Tankard to win the Brier like there used to be. Saskatchewan hasn’t produced a Brier champion since Rick Folk did it in 1980 (?). Laycock has been to the Brier seven times, including five as a skip.
“It’s a question that’s been asked a lot of times, and I think the answer used to be yes, it was kind of that who’s going to be the team that brings us back to glory. It’s almost getting to the point where it’s been so long since we’ve won that people are almost pessimistic, or it’s almost taken the pressure off.”
People expect Saskatchewan will be strong but won’t win. It’s extremely tough to win a Canadian men’s curling championship, he said, with all of the great teams competing each year.
Dunstone made it to the final in 2020 and 2021.
The Laycock rink will open their tournament on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. against Logan Ede.
