Change coming to curling scene with lineup moves and Rock League

The Montana's Canadian Curling Trials did more than just determine this country's representatives for the Winter Olympics.

It also served as a valuable opportunity for up-and-coming players to get a taste of what it's like to compete at curling's biggest domestic competition of the quadrennial.

Rachel Homan and Brad Jacobs skipped their teams to victory last November in Halifax and will wear the Maple Leaf at the upcoming Milan Cortina Games. For younger skips like Jordon McDonald, Kayla Skrlik, Rylan Kleiter and Selena Sturmay, it was a chance to play a high-profile event against some of the best teams in the country.

That's something that could pay off down the road, especially since Canada's curling depth will be impacted with some members of the sport's older guard planning to hang up their brooms.

"Those (younger) teams I think got some really high-pressure, high-quality reps that is going to pay dividends for them in the future," Curling Canada chief executive officer Nolan Thiessen said in a recent interview. "So with us, it's not always just about the team that wins.

"There's a lot of teams that are at various points of their competitive journey."

Significant changes usually come to the curling scene at the end of the Olympic cycle and this quadrennial will be no different.

The veteran-heavy men's scene is expected to see more change than the women's side since more retirements are likely. Top players like Brad Gushue and E.J. Harnden have said this will be their last competitive season and others are likely to follow.

The so-called free agency period in Canadian curling essentially begins once the Olympic teams are set. Even with a few months left in the campaign, players are starting to think about the