It has been three years since Kelly Knapp last slid across the rings at a Brier but he won’t have to wait any longer to do it again. “This was a long wait compared to the last time we went so it’s pretty exciting,” he told CTV News. Knapp returns to the men’s national curling championship for the first time since 2023 after defeating the defending provincial champion Rylan Kleiter in the Sasktel Tankard last month. Now six weeks later, the team is headed to St. John’s, N.L. for the 99th playing of the Montana’s Brier. “It hasn’t really felt like six weeks,” Knapp admitted. “It’s kind of flown by just with a lot of the preparation for it.” “But we’re feeling good,” he added. In 2023, Team Knapp went 4-4 through the round robin, finishing fourth in the pool and missed the playoffs. The skip says he learned a lot through his first Brier experience. “The game is feeling great,” Knapp said. “There is a lot of good teams there and you can’t control the outcome when you’re there. But you can control what you do and how well you’re throwing, communicating and managing rocks.” Jones returns to Brier ice Third Brennan Jones was Knapp’s vice-skip three years ago as well. Jones was also a second for Team Simmons in 2011. “We’re a little bit more experienced [than 2023],” Jones said. “Maybe not as experienced as a few other players and teams, but we have a good idea of what to expect.” Jones joined Knapp ahead of the previous Brier after taking some time away from the sport. “I was retired at that point,” he said. “[Knapp] asked me to play and it’s hard not to come back and get the itch as you go along.” Team Saskatchewan says they will be looking for the same mindset they had at the Tankard to find success. “We just rinse and repeat,” Jones said. “We’ve had pretty good success all year so we just have to keep approaching the game the same way.” “You’re going to miss. It’s just how you approach those misses where, as a team, we can come through adversity and we don’t just get down on ourselves,” he added. Seasoned front end Second Dusty Kidby has the most experience of the four-some, playing in his fifth Brier. “[Our experience] is going to be a good help,” he said. “Especially for Matt [Ring], it’s his first time there. [We] know what’s going on and it’ll be good.” Kidby was also a part of the 2023 Team Saskatchewan which finished fourth, although he was an alternate. The rowdy crowd of St. John’s is also an atmosphere Kidby has been in before, back in 2017. “It’s going to be crazy,” he said. Saskatchewan will open their tournament against Kidby’s cousin, Ben Hebert, who curls with Brad Jacob’s rink. “We grew up playing juniors together and then ever since then, we’ve been on separate teams, but always fun to play against each other,” Kidby said. “He’s very competitive, even against his family and he doesn’t hold anything back. After the game though, everything’s all cool but he’s definitely a savage out there.” Brier rookie Ring, a Brier rookie, says he will be reliant on his teammates’ experience to help him handle his first national championship. “They’ve said [to me], ‘Take in the moment, but don’t let it take over you,’” Ring said about the advice he’s received. “The [Tankard] final was my first final game as well and was a good test we handled well. But having the guys out there just cool, calm and collected helps, too.” It’s been a long journey for the Regina product who grew up curling juniors in the Uplands Sunday League. He credited his family’s support for helping him reach the highest level of Canadian curling. “I know where they’ll be sitting,” Ring said. “I’ll definitely give them a wave because I know what they’ve been through, sacrificing family time and travel to come watch us and me being away for some events for sure.” Ring also plans to make the event memorable for all fans. “At the end of the day, just soak it all in,” he said. “But I want to spend some time with kids too. I know there’ll be a ton out there and I was one of them as well. That meant a lot when I finally got to say hi to [a competitor].” Team McEwen For the second-straight year, Saskatchewan will have two teams in green at the Brier. Mike McEwen, out of Saskatoon’s Nutana Curling Club, earned an automatic qualification into the Brier. He is joined by third Colton Flasch and twins Kevin and Daniel Marsh in the second and lead positions, respectively. McEwen reached the 2024 Brier final in Regina but could not get passed the 3-4 playoff in 2025. Despite being the provincial champion, Team Knapp lays in the shadow McEwen’s rink. “We do like we feel like we’re under the radar a bit,” Knapp said. “For McEwen, that’s well deserved. To play in a Brier final in your own barn, that’s sparked a lot of interest from our Saskatchewan fans.” ‘A matter of time’ Saskatchewan has not won a Brier since 1980 when Rick Folk brought the tankard trophy back to the Nutana. Knapp hopes having two teams in the mix helps break the 46-year long championship drought for the province. “All eyes are kind of expected to be on them, but hopefully [fans] get to see a couple of Saskatchewan teams in the final six,” he said. “We want it for our province. Maybe we’ll channel our inner Rick Folk and Ernie Richardson to get those good vibes going because we have a really rich history of curling.” “It’s really a shame it’s been since 1980, we’ve produced a lot of great curlers and we’ve been really close. It’s only a matter of time before someone breaks the curse,” Knapp added. The Montana’s Brier kicks off Friday night in St. John’s. McEwen’s tournament begins with Saturday afternoon’s draw against Jamie Koe’s Northwest Territories’ rink. Team Saskatchewan-Knapp, however, opens their bonspiel Saturday night against the now defending Olympic champion Brad Jacobs and Team Canada. That draw is set for 5 p.m. Saskatchewan time. Full Brier coverage will be available on TSN.
