Bottcher returns to skip position on new team with Walker and Horgan brothers

Team Newfoundland and Labrador-Gushue, Brendan Bottcher of releases his stone as Geoff Walker, left and Mark Nichols prepare to sweep as Marc Kennedy, left back, and Brendan Hebert, right back, watch during the 3v4 Page Playoffs at the Montana's Brier Canadian men's curling championship, in St. John's, N.L., on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly)

Brendan Bottcher is returning to the skip position with a new-look rink that will be based in Alberta.

He will team up with third Jacob Horgan, second Tanner Horgan and lead Geoff Walker on a squad that boasts a mix of youth and championship pedigree.

“I’m excited about what I think we can put on the ice,” Bottcher said Monday from Spruce Grove, Alta. “Even the (early) conversations we’ve had, it feels like a really fresh desire to be better, to learn, and I’m excited for that.”

Bottcher spent the last year and a half at the second position, throwing after Walker on a team skipped by Brad Gushue, who retired after the recent Montana’s Brier.

The Horgan brothers, meanwhile, announced their departure from John Epping’s team last month. Jacob served as an alternate for Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone, who beat Alberta’s Kevin Koe in the Brier final.

Walker won six Canadian titles, one world title and an Olympic bronze medal with Gushue.

Bottcher, who won a national title as a skip in 2021, said his time with the St. John’s-based foursome “ignited a passion in me that I feel like I have more to do.”

“I’m certainly not done yet, and I’m excited to get back to skipping,” Bottcher said. “Although I learned a lot in the last couple of years, I think I also learned that my role, at least where I can add the most value, likely is at skip.”

Bottcher, 34, is six years younger than Walker, who’s from Edmonton. Tanner is 28, and Jacob will turn 26 in a few weeks.

The brothers, who are from Sudbury, Ont., but now based in Mississauga, Ont., have made two career appearances at the Brier. They most recently represented Northern Ontario with Epping in 2025.

“They’re good for their age, and they’re good for where they’re at,” Bottcher said. “They certainly gave us a number of good games over the last couple of years, and I was excited to be able to pick them up.

“I think they’re excited to do something a little bit new as well.”

Bottcher said Jacob would be making the move to Alberta over the coming months.

“On top of the residency (requirements) for the playdown process part of the conversation, I think it’s important to have the core of the team together (to) practise on a daily basis,” he said.

It has been a busy month on the domestic curling scene. Several player moves have been made as teams look ahead to the new season and quadrennial.

In recent days, Tyler Tardi left Team Kevin Koe to skip a new team that previously played with skip Mike McEwen, who’s now a free agent.

The players on the Ontario-based team skipped by Sam Mooibroek and the Alberta-based team skipped by Kayla Skrlik have gone their separate ways.

Jenn Baxter has left the Halifax-based team skipped by Christina Black, making it a four-player team.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press