Manitoba has a new men’s curling champion.
Braden Calvert and his Heather Curling Club rink captured the Bunge Championship title Sunday afternoon in Selkirk, defeating Jordon McDonald of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in an extra end to earn their first Manitoba men’s crown.
Braden Calvert (left) poses with third Corey Chambers, second Kyle Kurz, lead Brendan Bilawka and alternate Rob Gordon after capturing the Bunge Championship title Sunday in Selkirk. The Heather Curling Club rink claimed its first Manitoba men’s crown with an extra-end win in the final and will represent the province at the Montana’s Brier in St. John’s, N.L.
Calvert, joined by third Corey Chambers, second Kyle Kurz, lead Brendan Bilawka and alternate Rob Gordon, prevailed in a dramatic rematch of Saturday night’s Page 1-2 playoff game, also won by the Heather rink.
The championship final was tied 7-7 after 10 ends when Calvert slid a foot deep on his last-stone draw, conceding a single point to force an extra end. In the 11th, Calvert set up the winning chance with a perfect first-stone hit, leaving McDonald facing a difficult draw around two centre-line stones. McDonald made the shot but left Calvert a short runback, which he converted to seal the win and the right to represent Manitoba at the national championship.
For Calvert and his teammates, the victory marked a breakthrough after falling short in the past two provincial finals — losing to Reid Carruthers in 2025 and Brad Jacobs in 2024.
McDonald’s rink, which includes Jacques Gauthier, Elias Huminicki and Cam Olafson, reached the final earlier Sunday with a six-end semifinal win over Brett Walter’s Assiniboine Memorial team.
While the loss was difficult, Huminicki said the experience gained through the playoff run will be valuable moving forward.
“It was definitely tough losing our provincial with this new team we are so confident in,” he said. “But looking at the result makes me realize that sometimes, even though we practiced so much and had so much confidence coming into the provincial, experience takes teams a long way.”
Huminicki said Calvert’s rink benefited from lessons learned through previous championship defeats.
“That is why I believe we fell short,” he said. “We did everything right, but Team Calvert has had numerous provincial final losses in the past, and the experience from that led to them overcoming our team’s performance. That’s why I have a lot of respect for them winning against us that night.”
He added the run has strengthened his team’s resolve heading into next season.
“Now that we’ve had that experience of going deep into an event with a prize of going to the Brier, we’ll be more prepared and stronger than ever going into it next year,” Huminicki said.
The result capped a week that guaranteed a new provincial champion. Defending champion and top seed Reid Carruthers and his Granite Curling Club rink were eliminated Saturday afternoon by Kelly Marnoch’s Carberry foursome, opening the door for a first-time men’s champion.
None of the three teams remaining heading into the final day — Calvert, McDonald and Walter — had previously represented Manitoba at the Canadian men’s championship, though several players had won provincial titles at the junior, U18 or mixed levels.
Calvert earned his spot in Sunday’s final by edging McDonald 8-7 in the Page 1-2 playoff Saturday evening. McDonald led 5-3 at the mid-game break but surrendered five points over the next four ends. Facing a McDonald stone on the button in the 10th, Calvert executed a near-perfect freeze, limiting McDonald to a single point.
Huminicki said the McDonald rink remained focused after that loss, using the setback as a learning opportunity.
“After losing the 1-2 page game, we had a long debrief of everything that went right and wrong,” he said. “We knew we weren’t out and were still in a good position — we just had one more game to win.”
Preparation and mindset were key heading into the semifinal, he added.
“Knowing that, we made sure we were organized and ready in the morning with a solid plan to overcome the small mistakes we made in the 1-2 game,” Huminicki said. “Ending the night with some laughs and getting an early rest was also important to making sure we were sharp right out of the gate. The most important thing we do is have some fun.”
Huminicki also credited the strong community support he felt throughout the week.
“It makes me feel seen in the community and has a great impact on my personal confidence in the game,” he said. “I’m meeting lots of residents I’ve never met before who recognize me from curling, and it surprises me every time. All those people — friends and strangers — are the reason I curl as competitively as I do and dedicate so much time to the sport.”
Earlier in the playoffs, Walter defeated Marnoch 8-6 in the Page 3-4 game, running the Carberry rink out of stones in the 10th end. Marnoch had advanced with his upset of Carruthers, while Walter reached the playoff round with wins over Steve Irwin of Brandon and Tanner Lott of Fort Rouge.
The championship field featured a new triple-knockout format, with Carruthers, McDonald, Calvert and Walter all advancing through the opening round unbeaten. Preliminary round wins for Calvert came over Stefan Gudmundson of Steinbach and Irwin, while McDonald defeated Derrick Anderson of Gimli and Marnoch. Walter’s early victories were against Marcus Titchkosky of Morden and Lott.
With the win, Calvert will represent Manitoba at the Montana’s Brier in St. John’s, N.L., from Feb. 28 to March 7. Manitoba will be represented by two teams at the national championship, as Matt Dunstone’s rink has pre-qualified for the event.
