Team Reid Carruthers adds Catlin Schneider at third after departure of Brad Jacobs
Reid Carruthers has returned to the skip position for his four-man team and added Catlin Schneider to the lineup to fill a vacancy caused by the departure of Brad Jacobs.
Carruthers started last season as fourth for the Winnipeg-based team but later switched positions with Jacobs, who threw third stones. Jacobs left the squad after the season-ending Grand Slam to skip Brendan Bottcher's previous rink.
Schneider, meanwhile, recently became a free agent when his British Columbia-based team announced it was parting ways.
"Fitting our portfolio of what we do and how we approach the game, he fits the bill perfectly," Carruthers said Friday from Winnipeg. "I'm excited about the opportunity to play for a couple more years and put everything I have into it."
Carruthers was sixth in Canada and 11th in the world in the season-ending rankings. The foursome also includes second Derek Samagalski and lead Connor Njegovan.
The 39-year-old skip said he had some calls from different players and was looking at options over the last week or two. Carruthers added that sticking with his teammates was his "No. 1 choice from the beginning."
"We've 100 per cent committed to each other to use the experience of Brad leaving as kind of like -- not a wake-up call -- but a kick in the pants to put that extra effort in and work harder, stay united as a group, use it almost like a motivating factor," he said.
"We got to that point and we were lucky that Catlin was a free agent."
Schneider has previously played on teams skipped by Matt Dunstone, John Morris and Colton Flasch. He skipped B.C. to a 4-4 record at the Montana's Brier last March and won bronze at the 2020 playdowns with Dunstone.
"For us, Catlin fits the bill exceptionally well as far as having a guy come in and play third and be comfortable in that spot," Carruthers said. "It's something that he was really excited about and I had some really good one-on-one honest conversations with him about what I thought and what he thought. We just really synced up."
Carruthers, 39, won a Brier and a world title in 2011 as a second for a team skipped by Jeff Stoughton. He later went on to skip his own team and also played third for Mike McEwen.
Carruthers won the PointsBet Invitational last fall and topped Braden Calvert to win the Manitoba playdowns. The team finished the campaign with a 43-28 record.
"For me, I'm looking at it like this as likely -- not binding here -- but likely my last couple of years playing competitively," Carruthers said. "I may or may not play the next quad.
"If I am going to do it, (I want) to play with guys that I really enjoy not only competing with but the time off the ice with (them) is (also) very important."
Carruthers has also served as coach of Team Kerri Einarson, which had its streak of four straight national titles end last winter. Carruthers plans to work with them again but they have yet to begin talks given the recent changes with his team.
The Canadian Curling Trials to determine Canada's representatives for the 2026 Milan Olympics will be held in November 2025 at Halifax. The Canadian Pre-Trials, which will round out the fields at the Trials, are set for October 2025 in Wolfville, N.S.
The mixed doubles trials have been moved up in the calendar for this quadrennial. That event is set for Dec. 30-Jan. 4 in Liverpool, N.S.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
Dolphin stuck in N.J. creek dies after 'last resort' rescue attempt, officials say
Animal welfare officials say a dolphin stuck in a New Jersey creek for more than a week has died after a rescue attempt they say was attempted as a “last resort.”
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of a 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
NASA launches tiny CubeSat to set its sights on Earth
NASA has launched the first of two research satellites to measure how much heat is lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica.
How to keep insects out of your house, according to an entomologist and other experts
Now that temperatures have warmed up even more this spring, you may be anxious at the thought of bugs invading your home or you may already be battling the pests. Here are expert tips on how to keep them away.
‘It’s pretty alarming’: Urban Wildlife encounters in Winnipeg this week
When you consider what kind of animals you might encounter in your Winnipeg neighborhood, a bear probably isn’t on your list.
Prescriptions for weight loss, diabetes drugs for young people leaped 600% since 2020, study says
The number of young people in the U.S. who are prescribed GLP-1 agonist drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss and diabetes soared 594.4 per cent in just three years, according to new research.