Meet the teams: 2026 Saskatchewan men’s curling championship

The Saskatchewan men’s provincial curling champion will be crowned this week in Melville.

The top nine men’s curling teams from across the province will compete in the SaskTel Tankard with the winner earning the right to represent Saskatchewan at the Montana’s Brier from Feb. 27 to Mar. 8 in St. John’s, N.L.

While the winner of the tankard will be wearing the green jacket at the national event, they’ll be joined by a second Saskatchewan team as Saskatoon’s Mike McEwen and his squad have already pre-qualified for the Brier.

While the women’s provincial playdowns will also be held in Melville this week, pool play action on the men’s side begins Monday afternoon and wraps up Saturday morning before the quarterfinal on Saturday at 7 p.m. The semifinal will then be played Sunday at 9 a.m. before the final at 7 p.m.

Rylan Kleiter and his Saskatoon squad enter the week as the defending champions but they’ll be pushed by a few others in the field who will also be looking for another SaskTel Tankard title.

Team Knapp (Regina Highland Curling Club)

skip Kelly Knapp, third Brennen Jones, second Dustin Kidby, lead Matt Ring, alternate Trent Knapp, coach Brian McCusker

Led by skip Kelly Knapp, the Regina team led the Saskatchewan Curling Tour in points finished second in Canadian Team Ranking System standings behind Team McEwen.

While Knapp lost in the 3 vs. 4 page playoff game at last year’s provincials to Team Kleiter, they aren’t too far removed from their 2023 provincial victory. This year, two-time Brier bronze medalist Dustin Kidby, last year’s alternate, will play second while Trent Knapp will serve as alternate this year. Matt Ring is also in the lineup this year replacing Mike Armstrong, who played second last year.

Team deConinck Smith (Fox Valley Curling Club)

skip Carl deConinck Smith, third Ryan Deis, second Dustin Mikush, lead Kalin Deis

This season, Carl deConinck Smith and company finished second on the Saskatchewan Curling Tour behind Team Knapp and fourth among Saskatchewan-based teams on Curling Canada’s Canadian Team Ranking System.

In 2011, deConinck Smith lost in the provincial final to Pat Simmons before losing in the 3 vs. 4 game the following year. He served as an alternate for Team Scott Manners at the 2012 Brier before trips back to provincials in 2016 and 2017.

Team Laycock (Swift Current Curling Club)

skip Steve Laycock, third Shaun Meachem, second Chris Haichert, lead Brayden Grindheim

Steve Laycock has made 10 trips to the Brier in his career, winning bronze in 2015, but fell just short of an 11th appearance last year, losing in the provincial final to Team Kleiter after putting up a 7-1 round robin record.

Laycock — who last won the Saskatchewan tankard in 2018 — also lost in the 2023 final to Team Knapp. While he’s represented Saskatchewan for much of his career, the veteran has also made several trips to the Brier with Jim Cotter and Team B.C.

Team Kalthoff (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

skip Dustin Kalthoff, third Brent Pierce, second Josh Heidt, lead Logan Ede, alternate Jason Jacobson

Last year, Dustin Kalthoff put together a 6-2 round robin record despite playing a man short in the event before losing to eventual champion Team Kleiter in the semifinal.

This year, with a full lineup, Kalthoff will look to get back into the playoffs and push for his first provincial title. And he’ll be joined this year by B.C. native Brent Piece at third, who won the 2000 Brier and 2000 World Championship as a third alongside skip Grey McAulay.

Team Kleiter (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

skip Rylan Kleiter, third Joshua Mattern, second Matthew Hall, lead Trevor Johnson, coach Dean Kleiter

After losing in the provincial final in 2024, Rylan Kleiter was able to win his first Tankard in 2025 as his Saskatoon squad defeated Team Laycock in the final.

Kleiter then went on to represent Saskatchewan at the Brier, where they put together a 3-5 round robin record, which had them outside of the playoff picture. This year, the four-time provincial junior champion will be looking to make it back to the national championship.

Team Moser (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

skip Brad Moser, third Bryden Tessier, second David Baum, lead Cody Sutherland, alternate Darren Camm

After finishing with just one win in the round robin last year, Brad Moser and company will look to increase that total this year.

This season, Moser and his team finished sixth among Saskatchewan-based teams in the Canadian Team Ranking System standings and were fourth in the Saskatchewan Curling Tour standings.

Team Bryden (Regina Callie Curling Club)

skip Josh Bryden, third Adam Bukurak, second Carter Williamson, lead Ayden Whittmire

The former U Sports national curling champions out of the University of Regina went 4-0 at the last-chance qualifier in December to secure their spot in the tankard.

Last January, the foursome represented Canada at the FISU World University Games. In 2024, Bryden finished provincials with a 2-3 round robin record but didn’t compete last year.

Team T. Hartung (Langenburg Curling Club)

skip Tyler Hartung, third Matthew Lang, second Jayden Shwaga, lead Kody Hartung, alternate Mark Lang

The Langenburg rink was the second to qualify through the last chance event, although Tyler and Kody Hartung didn’t have to go through his dad Jeff, skipping another team competing, in order to do so.

Last year, Tyler Hartung and Jayden Shwaga competed with skip Charley Thomas at provincials, where they finished with a round robin record of 3-5. In 2024, with Kody Hartung as skip, the group put together a 5-0 round robin but lost in the semifinal to Team Kleiter.

Team Carss (Saskatoon Nutana Curling Club)

skip Michael Carss, third James Hom, second Jared Tessier, lead Lyndon Holm

The final team to qualify through the last-chance event didn’t compete in provincials last year but Michael Carss did skip a team in 2024, going 1-4 in the round robin which followed a 1-3 appearance in 2023 and an 0-3 appearance in 2022.

tshire@postmedia.com