In 1998, McEwen won his first of two Manitoba Junior championships, sending him and his team of David Chalmers, Bryce Granger and Kevin Schmidt to the 1998 Canadian Junior Curling Championships. There, he led his Manitoba rink to 9-3 round robin record, in 2nd place. This put the team in a semifinal match up against Ontario's John Morris. McEwen would lose the match 8–4, settling for third place.[3]
Three years later, McEwen and his new team of Denni Neufeld, Geordie Hargreaves and Nolan Thiessen won the Manitoba junior championships again, qualifying them to represent Manitoba at the 2001 Canadian Juniors. There, they finished in 3rd place after the round robin, with a 9–3 record. This put the team into the semifinals against Northern Ontario's Brian Adams. McEwen beat Adams 8–3, qualifying for the final against Newfoundland's Brad Gushue. McEwen and his Manitoba rink would lose to Gushue, by a score of 8–3, placing them in 2nd place.[4]
In 2003, McEwen and teammates Denni Neufeld, Sheldon Wettig, Marc Kennedy and Nolan Thiessen represented Canada at the 2003 Winter Universiade. McEwen and Wettig represented Brandon University, while his teammates represented the University of Manitoba (Neufeld and Thiessen) and the University of Alberta (Kennedy) . The team finished the round robin with a 6–3 record, in third place. The team then went on to beat Great Britain's Paul Stevenson in the semi-final, then Switzerland's Cyril Stutz in the final, to claim the gold medal.[5]
For the 2006–07 season, Richter and Melnuk left the team and were replaced with Geordie Hargreaves and Adam Guenther. The team disbanded after just one season together.
2007-2010
McEwen formed a new rink once again of brothers Denni and B. J. Neufeld and Matt Wozniak in 2007. In their first season together, they were a semi-finalist at the 2008 Safeway Championship, Manitoba's provincial championship. Their first Grand Slam event as a team was at the end season, at the 2008 Players' Championships. The team won two games, before being eliminated.
At the conclusion of the 2008–09 season the McEwen team was ranked 7th on the CCA rankings. They had made it to three Grand Slam playoffs, and finished 4th at the 2009 Safeway Championship.
McEwen's rink made it to his first provincial final in 2010, when he lost to Jeff Stoughton in the 2010 Manitoba provincial final. The game was being played in Steinbach, Manitoba and as the Neufeld brothers and their father have roots in Steinbach, were treated very much as the home team and crowd favourites.[7]
2010-2015: Grand Slam success and perennial provincial runner-up
McEwen started the 2010–11 season off well by defeating provincial rival Jeff Stoughton to win the World Cup of Curling and his first ever Grand Slam title in November, 2010.[8] In part of the teams runner-up result in the provincial finals of 2010 and in part because of his 4 victories (2010 Canad Inns Prairie Classic, 2010 Sun Life Classic, 2010 Challenge Casino de Charlevoix and 2011 Ramada Perth Masters), and leading the overall money winnings in the World Curling Tour season as of November 2010, the McEwen team was named as a nominee for the provincial team of the year by the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.[9]
The team continued their strong season that year by defeating provincial rival Stoughton in the semi-final of the 2011 Canadian Open. McEwen would then go on to beat the Glenn Howard team in the extra end of the final, thus winning their second career Grand Slam and their second of that season.[10]
Mike McEwen delivers a rock at the 2018 Elite 10 Grand Slam curling event in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
In 2017 McEwen would defend his Manitoba Championship by beating Reid Carruthers in the final of the 2017 Viterra Championship. At the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, he would then better his 2016 Brier showing, going 9–2 in the round robin to enter the playoffs in 1st place and with hammer and choice of rocks (Brad Gushue would also be 9-2 but would lose 1st place due to losing his round robin meeting with Mike). He would fall 7–5 to Brad Gushue in the 1–2 game however. In the semi-finals against reigning Brier and World Champion Kevin Koe he was in control almost the whole way but up 5–3 with hammer in the 8th end Koe would make an incredible comeback with a steal in the 8th, a two in the 10th, and another steal in the extra end, dropping Mike to the bronze medal game. Mike would recover from this disappointment to win his first Brier medal, defeating Brad Jacobs in their rematch of the 2016 bronze medal game, 7–6 in an extra end. On the tour that season, the team won just two events, the 2016 DeKalb Superspiel and the 2017 Ed Werenich Golden Wrench Classic. The team won the Golden Wrench Classic the following year as well.
While competing at the 2018 Viterra Championship McEwen came down with chickenpox and was unable to play after the first game. B. J. Neufeld skipped the team, until a surprise appearance by McEwen in the final where they would lose to Carruthers.[16] Despite the setback, McEwen still had a chance to qualify for the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier through the wildcard game, which he won over Jason Gunnlaugson. McEwen had a difficult Brier and alongside Carruthers was unable to qualify for the playoffs.[17] Following the disappointment at the Brier the McEwen team announced they would be breaking up at the end of the 2017–18 season.[18] Just days after the announcement the McEwen team won the 2018 Elite 10 Grand Slam of Curling event, winning the top $28,000 prize money, and was the first team to go through the entire event undefeated.[19] The Grand Slam victory was the team's seventh overall. Shortly after the event it was announced that McEwen would join his friend, Reid Carruthers, on his team throwing the fourth rocks, while Carruthers would continue to skip the team.[20][21]
Team McEwen had a more successful following season. On the tour, they never missed the playoffs and they won one event, the inaugural WCT Uiseong International Curling Cup. In Grand Slam play, they reached the quarterfinals of the Tour Challenge and the National and the semifinals of the Canadian Open. They would not defend their provincial title, losing the final of the 2020 Viterra Championship to Jason Gunnlaugson. They would still compete at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier though, winning the Wild Card spot over Glenn Howard in the play-in game. Team McEwen finished the round robin and championship pool with a 7–4 record, which was a four-way tie for fourth. They faced John Epping in the first round of tiebreakers where they lost 8–5 and were eliminated. It would be the team's last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]
Jeffrey R. "Jeff" Stoughton is a Canadian retired curler. He is a three-time Brier champion and two-time World champion as skip. Stoughton retired from competitive curling in 2015. He is currently the National Men's Coach and Program Manager for Curling Canada, as well as being the head coach of the Canadian Mixed Doubles National Team.
Bradley Raymond Gushue, ONL is a Canadian curler from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Gushue, along with teammates Russ Howard, Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam, represented Canada in curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the gold medal by defeating Finland 10–4. He also represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he won a bronze medal. In addition to the Olympics, Gushue won the 2017 World Men's Curling Championship with teammates Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, and Geoff Walker. He is a record six-time Brier champion skip, having won in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 all with Nichols, Gallant and Walker, except for 2023 and 2024 with E. J. Harnden replacing Gallant. Their win in 2017 was Newfoundland and Labrador's first Brier title in 41 years. At the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, Gushue set a new record for Brier game wins as a skip, breaking a three-way tie with previous record-holders Russ Howard and Kevin Martin.
John C. Morris is a Canadian curler, and two-time Olympic gold medallist from Canmore, Alberta. Morris played third for the Kevin Martin team until April 24, 2013. Morris, author of the book Fit to Curl, is the son of Maureen and Earle Morris, inventor of the "Stabilizer" curling broom. Morris grew up in Gloucester, Ontario and at the age of five began curling at the Navy Curling Club.
Brent George Laing is a Canadian curler from Barrie, Ontario. He grew up in Meaford, Ontario.
Ryan Bennett Fry is a retired Canadian curler currently living in Pickering, Ontario. He most recently played third on the Mike McEwen team and coached the Rachel Homan team. He currently coaches the Joël Retornaz rink. He previously played third for Team Brad Jacobs, and the team represented Canada and won the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The team also won the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier. Fry won a silver medal at the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship.
Kevin Koe is a Canadian curler. Koe is a two-time World champion and four-time Canadian champion. He was the skip of the Canadian men's team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Jason Gunnlaugson is a Canadian curler currently living in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Brendan "B. J." Neufeld is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Neufeld plays third for the Matt Dunstone rink. He started curling around the age of ten and, like older brother Denni Neufeld, cites the achievements of his father as leading his interest into the game of curling. His father is Chris Neufeld who was a three-time Manitoba curling champion and one time Labatt Brier champion in 1992 as part of the Vic Peters team.
Matt Wozniak is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Wozniak is the former second for the Mike McEwen team which curled out of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in Winnipeg.
Reid Carruthers is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Carruthers was the 2011 world champion—winning gold as a second on Jeff Stoughton's team—as well as an eight-time provincial champion, the 2003 junior provincial champion, and the 2008 Manitoba provincial mixed champion. He coaches the Kerri Einarson women's team.
Braeden Moskowy is a Canadian curler from Regina, Saskatchewan. He is a former Canadian junior curling champion and a six-time Brier competitor.
Bradley Robert Jacobs is a Canadian curler from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He currently skips his own team out of Calgary, Alberta. He is an Olympic champion skip, having led Canada to a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Jacobs is also the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier championship skip and the 2013 World Championship runner-up. He is a 12-time Northern Ontario provincial champion, and one-time provincial junior champion.
Eric Christopher "E. J." Harnden, Jr. is a Canadian curler.
Bradley Thiessen is a Canadian curler. He was a long-time member of the Brendan Bottcher rink, throwing second stones for the team until 2022. With Bottcher, he won the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier and represented Canada at the 2021 World Men's Curling Championship.
Colton Lott is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba. He currently plays second on Team Matt Dunstone, and also curls with Kadriana Lott in mixed doubles.
Connor Njegovan is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He currently plays lead on Team Reid Carruthers.
Alex Forrest is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Until 2020, he played third for the Jason Gunnlaugson rink.
Robbie "Rob" Gordon is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The 2023 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 3 to 12 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. The defending champion Team Canada rink, skipped by Brad Gushue won the event, and would go on to represent Canada at the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship on home soil at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario, where they won a silver medal. It was a record fifth Brier title as a skip for Gushue.
Kyle Doering is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is a former Canadian junior champion and World junior bronze medallist.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Manitoba (1998–2022) 
Ontario (2022–2023) 
Saskatchewan (2023–present)
