ICYMI: PEI junior curlers to attend 2022 World Juniors qualification event in Saskatoon this month

Two PEI Junior rinks, skipped by Mitchell Schut and Rachel MacLean, have been invited by Curl PEI to attend a 2022 World Juniors Qualifier event in Saskatoon. Spring Valley PEI’s Lauren Ferguson will be there too, on Team Stevens from Nova Scotia, as well as reigning PEI junior women’s champion skip Katie Shaw, playing on Northern Ontario’s Team Ladouceur.

The PEI junior men’s representative is the 2021 PEI Junior Men’s Championship rink, which also includes Chase MacMillan, Cruz Pineau, and Liam Kelly, with coach Pat Quilty.

(L-R): Mitchell Schut (skip, throws 3rd), Chase MacMillan (vice-skip, throws 4th), Pat Quilty (coach), Cruz Pineau (2nd), Liam Kelly (lead)

The PEI Junior Women’s rink includes members from both teams in the final of the PEI Juniors last year and is comprised of skip Rachel MacLean, third Sydney Howatt, and second Lexie Murray, along with lead Abby Barker and coach David Murphy.

(L-R): Rachel MacLean (skip), Sydney Howatt (third), Lexie Murray (second), Coach: David Murphy. Not in photos: Abby Barker (lead)

Meanwhile, Team Taylour Stevens, which includes PEI’ Lauren Ferguson at third stone, will be Nova Scotia’s junior women’s representatives at the qualifier, winning the provincial qualifiers today in Shelburne.

Team Stevens, with Lauren Ferguson on the left, is the Nova Scotia junior women’s entry in the World Juniors Qualifier event

Team Ladouceur, which includes reigning PEI Junior Women’s Champion skip Katie Shaw who is attending university in Sudbury this year, went undefeated to win the Northern Ontario Best Western U21 Provincial Junior Women’s Curling Championship at the McIntyre Curling Club in Timmins. They now advance to the 2022 World Junior Championship Canadian Team Qualification Event November 22-27 at the Granite Curling Club in Saskatoon. The winning junior men’s and women’s teams from that event will train with national coaches on arena ice at the Continental Cup Jan 20-23, 2022 before heading to the Worlds, from March 25 – April 1, 2022.