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Brendan Bottcher and Geoff Walker — two former members of the now-defunct Team Gushue — are leaving Newfoundland and Labrador to form a new team in Alberta.
Bottcher announced the news Monday on social media.
The duo will team up with brothers Jacob and Tanner Horgan, the former Northern Ontario champions.
Bottcher will skip the squad, with Walker throwing lead stones.
The move marks a return home for Bottcher and Walker, who left Alberta to join Brad Gushue in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Walker played with Gushue for 15 seasons, qualifying for the Brier each and every year. He was part of six Brier championships, and won an Olympic bronze in 2022. He was also part of 14 Grand Slam of Curling championships.
Bottcher had tremendous success as a skip in Alberta, winning the provincial championship three times and leading his team to a Brier championship in 2021 to become Team Canada. He made the decision to team up with Gushue in 2024-2025, moving from skip to second.
The new Team Bottcher will look to capitalize on a fluctuating field in Alberta, as reigning champion Kevin Koe weighs his future. Koe told reporters at the Brier in St. John’s earlier this month that he doesn’t know how long he’ll continue to play, but said he’s not committing to another four-year Olympic cycle.
Koe’s third, Tyler Tardi, announced last week he’s leaving Alberta to take over the remnants of Mike McEwen’s team in Saskatchewan.
With Bottcher and Walker moving on, questions linger about the future of Gushue’s longtime third, Mark Nichols.
Nichols said he wasn’t going to announce any decisions until after the Brier, and told reporters he hadn’t made up his mind one way or the other.
Nichols and Gushue spent the majority of their lives curling together, first teaming up in 1999.
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