'No easy games': Canadians facing fierce competition in Grand Slam of Curling

A field heavy with international talent will kick off the Grand Slam of Curling schedule on Tuesday at the HearingLife Tour Challenge in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Reigning world champs Bruce Mouat of Scotland and Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland are among the headliners at the Gale Centre. Round-robin play continues through Friday ahead of the weekend playoffs.

In yet another nod to the sport's improved international depth, this season there are only 12 Canadian teams among the 32 total Tier-1 entries — six in the women's draw and six in the men's pool.

Nine different countries are represented in each 16-team draw.

"They're pushing some of the Canadian teams to be better, which is great for us," said Brett Gallant, who throws second for Brendan Bottcher's Alberta-based team. "They're putting a ton of work in and they're seeing the results from that.

In recent years, international teams have only strengthened their grip on major curling events like the Winter Olympics and world championships.

Canada hasn't won a four-player team medal at the Games since 2014. The country's world championship drought dates back to 2017 for the men (Brad Gushue) and 2018 for the women (Jennifer Jones).

The Tour Challenge, meanwhile, had 15 Canadian entries last season, three more than this year.

"There are no easy games," Gallant said. "Everybody is pushing everybody. It makes for some great games. We've got the five-rock rule now and there's no tick, so you can't take an end off.

"But I honestly think that's why we play the game. We love being pushed and we love trying to be the best."

Norway's Magnus Ramsfjell, Wouter Gosgens of the Netherlands and American Korey Dropkin are newcomers to the men's event.

"International depth is actually getting