Sask. curler Colton Flasch explains decision to move on from skip Mike McEwen

Colton Flasch said he’s given a lot of thought to the future of his curling rink ever since November’s Canadian Olympic trials.

Following an early exit at the 2026 Brier in St. John’s, N.L. earlier this month, Flasch and twin brothers Kevin and Daniel Marsh made the decision to move forward without skip Mike McEwen.

Read more:

• Mike McEwen parts ways with Sask. rink after three seasons
• Mike McEwen, Kelly Knapp rinks fall short of playoffs at Brier
• Saskatchewan’s McEwen, Knapp rinks wrap up opening weekend of Brier

The move, which was announced on social media on Thursday night, sent a wave through the curling community in their home province of Saskatchewan and beyond.

“Where do we want to be in the next four years?” Flasch asked in an interview with 650 CKOM.

“I had to do some thinking, and is Mike in that picture four years from now? At the end of the day, I didn’t see that being a factor.”

McEwen joined Flasch and the Marsh twins ahead of the 2023-24 season after a decorated career representing both his home province of Manitoba and Ontario at Briers dating back to 2016.

What followed was three seasons on the ice for Team McEwen, with the team winning the Saskatchewan Tankard in 2024 and advancing to the Brier to represent the province in Regina.

Team McEwen came just one win away from ending Saskatchewan’s Brier drought, which dates back to 1980, finishing with a silver medal after losing in the final to Brad Gushue.

At the 2025 Canadian Olympic Trials, the McEwen rink made another strong push, reaching the semi-final before falling to Matt Dunstone.

Flasch said the 45-year-old McEwen was a vital part of their runs at the Brier and Olympic Trials, but his age became a sticking point.

“We probably have four to eight years left for us in curling,” Flasch said.

“Mike’s on that lower end, only two to four years maybe at most. He wasn’t committed to playing another cycle. We thought if we had an opportunity to find someone younger who would fit with the team, then we would maybe go in that direction.”

McEwen, on the other hand, said he has more to give when it comes to competing at curling’s highest levels.

“Dug deep and gave it everything,” McEwen wrote in a social media post.

“Some great runs and results together, and I’ll always be grateful for the incredible support from Saskatchewan. I may be getting older, but the fire’s still very much there. The rocks don’t seem to care. Free agent for next season.”

Flasch confirmed that he and the Marsh brothers will continue to play together in 2026-27 to carry on a partnership which has lasted nearly a decade.

“We got together in 2017 and played a season together after I parted ways with Steve Laycock,” Flasch said.

“They’re two of my best friends. The chemistry we have on the ice is unmatched.”

The move comes amid a season of change in the curling world, with the end of the Olympics and the Brier leading to teams adding and dropping players to find the next great fit.

Flasch said he’d consider once again serving as skip, a position he held in 2017-18 and between 2020 and 2023 prior to McEwen’s arrival.

“That’s definitely in my thought process,” Flasch said. “It doesn’t matter to me if I skip, if I play third or play second. It’s more just finding four guys on the same page that just want to keep working and getting better.”

On Saturday, the team announced Tyler Tardi as their new skip. Tardi, who is originally from B.C., won Olympic gold earlier this year as the alternate for Team Canada.