John Epping knows what he signed up for by forming a Manitoba-based rink.
He was forced to watch this year’s Brier from his couch — despite being ranked No. 8 in the world — after fumbling the Northern Ontario final to underdog Sandy MacEwan. Now teaming up with B.J. Neufeld, Ryan Wiebe and Ian McMillan, his path to nationals will now be even harder considering he’ll have to survive a provincial field that already features two heavyweights in Braden Calvert and Jordon McDonald.
“Manitoba has always been such a strong province,” said Epping in a chat with the Free Press.
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John Epping officially announced on Wednesday he has formed a team with B.J. Neufeld, Ryan Wiebe and Ian McMillan.
“We know Braden’s a strong team who had a fantastic Brier and that’s no surprise — even though he hasn’t played as much as maybe the top teams would… And then Jordon, his future is so bright… I mean, it’s going to be tough.”
The 43-year-old skip from Toronto competed out of Northern Ontario the past two years with Jacob and Tanner Horgan, as well as McMillan. With the Horgan brothers leaving to link up with Brendan Bottcher, that left Epping and McMillan — who was born in Dryden, Ont., but now resides in Winnipeg — to explore other options.
“After our team split, I really wanted to continue to play with Ian and it kind of leaves you with really two provinces to play out of: Manitoba or Ontario,” said Epping.
“We heard that Reid (Carruthers) was going to be retiring and knew that B.J. was going to be available. I know he got a lot of phone calls, and he’s someone that I always wanted to play with, so it seemed like the timing was right.”
Wiebe was also available after two seasons playing third for Ontario-based Sam Mooibroek, highlighted by a 2025 Brier appearance. Born and raised in Winnipeg, the 25-year-old now resides in Toronto which made him an appealing option to round out the lineup.
The new team was officially announced on Wednesday.
“You have two of us training in Toronto and then two training in Winnipeg which I think is the ideal scenario,” said Epping. “And obviously, adding someone with youth is great… I know he had a talk with B.J. separately and then it all came together.”
It wasn’t an offer that Wiebe saw coming, but he’s sure glad he got the call.
“From my perspective, being more on the Tier 2 level, that’s what any curler is hoping for to get a phone call from an experienced group of guys. So, when I got that call and they gave me the lowdown, it was exciting for me,” said Wiebe.
“For starters, John’s a great guy. He’s got a great reputation on tour, super nice guy, just super hardworking, and a great shooter… Getting the chance to practice every day with John, I’m very much looking forward to that.”
The opportunity to play out of his home province again makes it even sweeter for Wiebe. Back in 2022, the then 21-year-old skipped an up-and-coming squad to a third-place finish at the Manitoba playdowns.
“I went to the Brier a couple years ago with Ontario, but everybody growing up in Winnipeg wants to wear yellow,” said Wiebe. “Jordon McDonald has a fantastic team, Braden Calvert has a fantastic team, so, it should be some good curling, that’s for sure.”
Epping never envisioned he’d one day battle for the right to wear the buffalo jacket, but the opportunity to do so in a 24-team, triple knockout gauntlet excites him.
Next year’s provincials take place in Altona (Jan. 26-31).
“You always watch on TV or the stream of Manitoba provincials, and the ice is just so perfect. To me, that’s what’s very exciting coming from maybe some not-so-great ice conditions the last few years,” said Epping.
“It’ll be nice to step onto some ice where you can just feel really confident that you can make everything and you can put on a great show for the fans.”
Epping’s loss to MacEwan was arguably the biggest upset of the season. As disappointing as it was to end the quad on such a sour note, he’s already put the loss behind him.
“It’s one game, it’s one event, and you’ve got to move on. You got to look at the big picture… it was such a solid year and we qualified in almost every event we played in,” said Epping.
“So, looking back, I’m really pleased with the last two years that I had with that team. They felt that there were better options elsewhere and I’ve been around long enough to know that’s just the nature of the beast.”
Epping, a four-time Grand Slam winner and a bronze medallist at the 2018 Brier, thinks the sky’s the limit for him and his current crop of teammates.
“I think easily we can get to the top in Canada, win a Brier, be relevant in the slams, and make our way to consistently be a top 10 team in the world which is really tough these days,” he said.
“But having a taste of it the last couple of seasons, the fire is there and I really, really want that badly and I’d love to be in the mix again.”
Before he can chase that, his focus is on this week’s World Women’s Curling Championship in Calgary where he’s coaching Team Switzerland’s Xenia Schwaller.
Perhaps if he wants to make a good first impression with his new home province, he’ll tell Schwaller to ease up against Gimli’s Kerri Einarson if their paths cross this weekend.
“Well, hey, I can tell you I’d really like Kerri to play the Swiss team in the final. I think it would be a great thing for me, and obviously, it would be great to watch Kerri win, but I’m not gonna lie: I’m cheering a little more for the team that I’m sitting on the bench for.”
ROCK LEAGUE ROSTER CHANGES
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The Brier champions have withdrawn from the inaugural season of Rock League.
It was announced Friday that Matt Dunstone, Colton Lott, and E.J. Harnden are bowing out since they’re now playing an extended season that will see them represent Canada at the upcoming world men’s curling championship in Ogden, Utah (March 27-April 4). Tyler Tardi, who made it to the Brier final playing third for Kevin Koe and won Olympic gold with Brad Jacobs as an alternate, is also pulling out.
Rock League’s inaugural event starts April 6 with a weeklong competition in Toronto.
The Curling Group, the owners of the upstart league, announced that Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen, Switzerland’s Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel, Italy’s Amos Mosaner and American Colin Hufman will step in as replacements. Sweden’s Linda Stenlund and Italy’s Mattia Giovanella were also named spares.
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Taylor Allen
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Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
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