(by Jason Daley)
P.E.I.’s Tyler Smith will play with New Brunswick at the 2018 Canadian Junior Curling Championships Jan. 13-21 in Shawinigan, Que.
The Liam Marin rink from Saint John, which includes Smith at third, earned their berth by winning the U21 provincial championships Nov. 30 – Dec. 3 in Moncton. The team finished with a 5-1 record.
Last season, Smith, who is currently attending school in N.B., skipped the P.E.I. junior men’s team at the nationals. The 19-year-old from the Hunter River area has been to three national championships with team P.E.I. in the past.
Curling Canada allows a player to play for another province or territory if they are in school or living there. Smith is living in N.B. as he completes a Class 1 trucking program.
One difference he’ll face in his fourth trip to the national juniors is his position as third on the team. Smith has been a skip his entire curling career.
“It was kind of weird at the start of the year because I wasn’t used to it. But we’ve played a lot of games, like 40. After you get a couple weeks into the season and play a few tournaments it starts to feel normal. But it was definitely different for the first couple weeks not being in the house all the time, calling the shots,” said Smith.
“It’s going to look weird in my closet when I have a bunch of green-and-white jackets and one black-and-yellow one. But it’s a good story,” said Smith.
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[Note: Brooks Roche, who played third stone on Smith’s rink last year, is competing in the Nova Scotia Junior championship, Dec. 27-31, playing third on the Ryan Abraham rink]