Team Bottcher announces plan to split at end of season

Team Brendan Bottcher said Friday that it will split at the end of the season, joining a growing list of top Canadian curling teams who will go their separate ways for the new quadrennial.

Bottcher, third Patrick Janssen, second Brad Thiessen and lead Karrick Martin finished third at the national championship last week.

"We are excited for what the future holds," the team statement said. "We wish each other the very best, on and off the ice."

Bottcher skipped the Edmonton-based team to four straight Tim Hortons Brier finals from 2018-21, finally hoisting the tankard last year in the Calgary bubble. Janssen moved from fifth to third last fall after the departure of vice Darren Moulding.

Currently ranked ninth in the world, Team Bottcher plans to finish off the season at next month's Players' Championship and the Champions Cup in early May.

"Next season, we will each take our curling careers in new directions," the statement said.

The squad won three straight events on the Grand Slam tour in 2018-19 and finished in a fourth-place tie at last year's world championship.

In recent days, teams skipped by Brad Jacobs, Kevin Koe, Jennifer Jones and Tracy Fleury have made similar announcements. More roster changes are expected over the coming weeks as teams plan for the four-year cycle ahead of the 2026 Milan Olympics.

Bottcher won a world junior title in 2012 and skipped the University of Alberta to a USports title that year as well.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2022.