Rock League bringing ‘unlimited possibilities’ as curling goes professional

Saskatchewan curlers hit the ice and are taking part in the sport’s first-ever pro curling league. Donovan Maess reports.

Curling has a new professional venture with the launch of Rock League.

Saskatoon’s Colton Flasch has three Brier medals, including gold in 2019, a world championship silver medal, several Grand Slam of Curling final appearances and a Canadian Junior championship, but now he can call himself a professional curler.

“When I first started, I would have never thought that would be a thing,” Flasch told CTV News. “If you would have told me I was 16 years old I would have accomplished what I have so far and get to play in a professional league: that’s just the cherry on top.”

According to two-time Olympic gold medalist John Morris, Rock League got its start on a long road trip.

“Nic Sulsky, this was sort of his brainchild,” Morris explained. “A few years ago, we were driving to a Brier together in London, Ont. And he had this, at that time what he thought was kind of a crazy idea, to start a curling league.”

Sulsky is the CEO for The Curling Group, the founder of Rock League which also operates the Grand Slam of Curling.

Rock League will play its first match on Monday, a little more than a month after the conclusion of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.

Morris, who is now a strategic consultant for the league, wants to capitalize on the hype currently circulating the sport.

“One thing that happens with curling at the Olympics is it becomes a global hit every four years,” said Morris. “Everyone loves watching and tuning in to curling, and then all of a sudden, everyone wants to try curling for the next few months. No one really grasps a hold of that.”

“Curling is in the eyes of everywhere after the Olympics. So if we can get into those niche markets and places that don’t see curling all the time,” added Flasch. “Hopefully with Rock League, the United States and other places around the world see we’re trying to do something here.”

How it works

Matches see franchises go head-to-head in three games: men’s fours, women’s fours and mixed doubles, the three Olympic disciplines.

The franchise which wins two of the three games will receive one point in the standings. If a franchise wins all three games, they will earn a bonus half point.

Each franchise has a coach or GM which sets the lineup for each of the three games.

Flasch has been named to the ‘Maple United’ roster, one of six franchises in the upstart curling league.

All six franchises feature five men’s players and five women’s players each with Olympic medallists, world champions and Grand Slam title winners littered throughout the field.

Two teams – Maple United and Shield Curling Club – are made up of mostly Canadians.

Alpine Curling Club and Northern United are the two European franchises.

Frontier Curling Club represents the United States and Typhoon Curling Club is based from the Asia-Pacific.

Flasch’s club teammate Dan Marsh is on Shield CC.

“It’s going to be interesting playing against Dan when we play Shield on Friday night,” he said. “I haven’t played against him since 2019.”

“And then just playing with the new teammates, having females on the team; that’s not normal for us. That’s going to be an interesting dynamic,” Flasch added.

“We’ve got the best athletes now from across the world,” Morris said. “Our plan is to compete in an amazing league that’s going to be super exciting to watch and be fun to take part in but also help grow this great sport all over the world.”

Fan-centric

Morris says Rock League will be a wholly different fan experience from a traditional curling bonspiel.

Because each match requires only three ice sheets, the league has transformed the position of the fourth sheet into a VIP section – where fans can get up close and personal with their favourite curlers.

“You can be chirping them if you want, like whatever you deem fit,” Morris joked. “And it’s going to be a really cool new element we’re adding to Rock League is that courtside VIP area, where you really get in the action and really be part of the of the game.”

With six teams to pick from, Rock League hopes fans maybe pick one and support it – just as they would for any other professional sport.

“We want fans to find a team that they love,” Morris said. “Maybe you’ll really like the dynamic of this team or love that team’s logo. That first event, you’ll really kind of take it in and you’ll get a sense of which teams you really enjoy cheering for.”

“It’s going to almost be more like the Brier in a way where you’re cheering for a bigger team, you’re cheering for Team Saskatchewan versus just for curlers,” explained Flasch. “You’re able to promote it like any hockey franchise or football franchise and you get a cheer for those franchises.”

The Curling Group is also hoping to create an engaging fan experience off the ice and bring the curlers to the spectators in new ways.

Growing the game

Morris believes Rock League can become the new gold standard for younger curlers to strive towards, get them into curling and keep them in the sport.

“That is vital to our sport and it’s something we struggle with in Canada,” he said. “We want to encapsulate, not only the casual sports fan interest entirely, but the young sports fan … If you’re a traditional curling fan in this country and you’ve watched curling for the last 50 years, rather than being opposed to change and opposed to this, think about your grandkids might want to play one day.”

“It’s a real challenge to get them in [to curling] because it’s not like the old days where you grew up on the prairies and it was part of your school curriculum growing up. We have a lot of kids in big cities that really can’t access curling unless we give them an opportunity to,” Morris added.

Flasch hopeful the next generation of curlers sees there is a way to make a living in the sport.

“I think this could be really, really good for the future of curling because now anyone getting into the game has a stepping stone to look forward to where they can become professional and actually make some money curling versus having to grind it up all the time,” he said. “That’s exciting. People get into curling but it’s really hard to make it a living. But if we have the ability to make it a living, I can see it a lot more young people wanting to get into the sport.”

“I sure wish I had that opportunity when I was a kid because I wouldn’t have to grind it out as a as a firefighter for 25 years – working part time and every waking moment I’m not home, I’m doing other work just to make ends meet,” added Morris.

While the league is just getting off its feet, how it evolves over time truly remains to be seen.

“Everyone’s just got to understand: it’s new,” said Flasch. “We don’t know exactly where they want to take it yet, but it has unlimited possibilities. And just to be able to get on to a team that’s not yours traditionally. It’s cool the fact everything’s just out of our hands now, everything’s done by our GM and by the ownership. We just go out and curl and that’s nice.”

Rock League will head to Moose Jaw, Sask. for the opening weekend of its first full season in January 2027.

Click here for full the Rock League schedule.