What an NCAA rule change might mean for junior hockey in Sask.
Nov 18, 2024
Previously, WHL players were declared ineligible to play NCAA hockey in the U.S.
A few days have passed since the members of Team Dunstone announced they’ll go their separate ways at the conclusion of the 2021-22 curling season.
Skip Matt Dunstone talked about how difficult it was to actually go through with it.
“To be completely honest, it was the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make, especially in curling,” said Dunstone, who curled with third Braeden Moskowy, second Kirk Muyres and lead Dustin Kidby.
“These guys were literally my best friends. I feel very fortunate to spend the four years with them and travel the world and win Grand Slams and a couple (of) Brier bronze (medals) there. I mean, we’ve got memories to last us a lifetime.”
Dunstone’s Regina Highland team represented Saskatchewan at the 2020 and 2021 Tim Hortons Brier tournaments and finished third both times. It also went to the 2022 Brier as a wild-card team, but lost in a tiebreaker.
Dunstone says the team is leaving on a positive note after an incredible stretch.
“I can’t say enough about how difficult it was, but we’re all on good terms here and we all wish each other nothing but the best moving forward,” he said.
The team isn’t quite finished yet. Dunstone’s team will take part in The Players’ Championship held in Toronto from April 12-17 in its final event together.
“It’s one of the best events in the season so (I’m) really excited for that,” Dunstone said. “I would love nothing more for this team to go out on top.”
Moving forward, Dunstone will skip a team out of Manitoba consisting of B.J. Neufeld, Colton Lott and Ryan Harnden. It’s unknown what Moskowy, Muyres and Kidby plan to do.
Dunstone’s Regina-based rink is part of a long list of competitive teams making roster changes to prepare for the new season and, ultimately, the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Dunstone shared how it will take some getting used to, but there’s already a ton of excitement in the air to go back home.
“Coming from Winnipeg there, it’s great to be home,” he said. “Saskatchewan curling in the men’s side is all I’ve ever known so it’s going to be a little bit different for sure.”
Dunstone explained how the new rink was assembled in just a matter of days.
“It’s really funny how it all plays out,” he said. “Curling is such a strange sport in the sense where you’re (the) GM, player, owner, agent, everything, you name it. Curlers can kind of do it all.
“It was a bit of a whirlwind. Basically, as soon as the Brier finished up, that’s kind of when everything started coming together.”
Neufeld previously played for Kevin Koe’s team, while Harnden was a member of Brad Jacobs’ foursome.
Lott and Dunstone already have experience as teammates dating back to their junior days, as well as at the 2021 Canadian Olympic curling trials in Saskatoon when Lott was called up on an emergency basis.
As Dunstone explains, the whole curling community already knows one another to a certain extent.
“You’ve seen more changes this year than ever before. The curling community is so small that once you get into it, everybody knows each other, and it’s pretty easy to find a team with a good fit,” Dunstone said.
The new rink is to begin play in the 2022-23 season.