The future of Canadian curling is on full display, and through the opening days of the Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships, Saskatchewan’s next wave is wasting no time making an impression.
With 42 teams filling the McIntyre Curling Club—21 women’s, 21 men’s—the competition is fast, fierce, and already producing storylines worthy of the national stage. And on Monday, it was the Saskatoon rinks who gave fans back home every reason to refresh the scores a little more often.
Saskatoon’s Renee Wood continues to look every bit the national contender Saskatchewan hoped she’d be. Wood improved to 3–0 with an 8–5 win over Newfoundland and Labrador, adding to earlier victories over B.C. #2 (7–3) and Manitoba #1 (5–3).
It wasn’t always comfortable, but it was always composed—very much in line with how Saskatchewan teams traditionally settle into a long national week.
Wood now gears up for a key test Tuesday afternoon against Nova Scotia #2, skipped by Myra McEvoy out of Sackville. The Bluenosers are 1–1, but their shot-making has been sharp, making this one a sneaky important game in the push toward the playoff round.
On the men’s side, Saskatoon skip Quinn Snow delivered the bounce-back performance he needed. After splitting his first two games, Snow stormed past Nunavut with a 15–2 win to move to 2–1.
Snow faces a busy Tuesday—with a morning matchup against Nova Scotia’s Evan Hanson (1–1), followed by a date with P.E.I. #1, skipped by Aaron Haight, still searching for their first win.
Snow’s crew looked confident, aggressive, and far more settled on the Timmins ice Monday. If that’s the version that shows up for both draws on Tuesday, Saskatchewan may be right in the thick of the Pool B scramble.
Esterhazy’s Brandon Weiss, representing Saskatchewan #2 on the men’s side, ran into a sharp Northern Ontario rink and fell 10–4 in his lone game Monday. Northern Ontario, historically strong at this event, once again looks poised to make a strong showing in front of home-province fans.
Weiss will aim to regroup as the schedule tightens heading into mid-week play.
This year’s U-18 Championship is loaded with returning finalists, veteran juniors, and host-province hopefuls—including multiple Team Northern Ontario squads on both the men’s and women’s sides. Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Ontario all arrive with medal expectations based on last year’s results, and early draw action has reflected those standards.
