A year ago, Adam Casey faced an uncertain curling future.
Now the 30-year-old Seven Mile Bay native has made history and is in the thick of things at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier.
Adam Casey in action with Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson rink. – Curl Manitoba
“The end of last season my team was going separate ways,” explained Casey, who is playing second stone with Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson rink at this week’s Canadian men’s curling championship in Kingston, Ont. “You never know when you are going to throw your last rock and I didn’t know if I was even going to play this year.”
A phone call quickly changed that.
“I got a call from Jason and the guys and it seemed like a great fit,” said Casey. “I always had a ton of respect for what (Gunnlaugson) does, he’s super committed, puts in the systems and if I was going to play those were kind of the requirements I need.
“I talked with (wife) Tessa because we had a baby to be born in the middle of December, which is peak curling season. I wanted to make sure she was on board and she gave me 100 per cent support and off I went.”
The Gunnlaugson team defeated Mike McEwen 7-4 in the Manitoba provincial final and took a 4-2 (won-lost) record into its final round-robin game versus Nova Scotia on Wednesday afternoon. The top four teams in each pool qualify for the championship round and Team Gunnlaugson sat third in Pool B following Wednesday morning’s 11-5 victory over Nunavut.
“It’s the mecca of curling and it doesn’t get any better,” said Casey, describing the significance of competing in the Brier. “The field is deep.”
This is Casey’s seventh appearance and this year he joined Ryan Fry as the only players to represent four provinces at the Brier.
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