When Robyn Silvernagle takes to the ice for the 2018-19 curling season, she’ll do so alongside one of the top players in Saskatchewan.
Her Twin Rivers Curling Club rink announced Tuesday that multi-time provincial champion Stefanie Lawton will be the new third for the team and will also be joined by new second Jessie Hunkin.
“We found out that Stefanie was available right away, so that was pretty cool to have her penciled in quickly,” Silvernagle said. “She was unsure if her team was going to be curling much next season and she was eager to curl more than she had over the last couple of years.
“It took a little bit of time to get Jessie and we had a few options available for the second spot, but it all worked out in the end.”
Kara Thevenot will remain with Silvernagle as the lead for the rink, as they look to improve upon back-to-back runner-up finishes at the women’s provincial playdowns.
Lawton has been to four Scotties Tournament of Hearts as a skip for Saskatchewan during her career and finished fourth at the 2014 event in Montreal and at the 2015 event in Moose Jaw.
She also competed at the 2009 and 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials but missed out on the playoffs on both occasions.
“Stefanie really thinks the same way that we do,” Silvernagle said. “She wants to go for it and not half-ass anything when it comes to competing on a regular basis and making a run for the provincials.
“It’s pretty neat to be playing with Stefanie as we’ve played against her quite a bit over the last few years. The experience and knowledge that she’ll bring to our rink will help us out a lot.”
Hunkin, who has curled out of Edmonton in recent years and was the runner-up at the 2012 Alberta provincial playdowns, played with Silvernagle in November of last year as she filled in at third and won the Boundary Ford Curling Classic in Lloydminster.
“We know how Jessie curls so there won’t be a huge adjustment period for us to get used to how she throws the rock,” Silvernagle said.
“She’s a really great shooter and the type of player that I think everyone is looking for when they are putting together a rink.”
Lawton and Hunkin will be replacing Jolene Campbell and Dayna Demers, who will be the third and second for a new Saskatchewan rink that will be skipped by 2017 Canadian Junior champion Kristen Streifel.
It’s been a frantic off-season on the women’s curling scene as almost every rink has made changes to their lineup ahead of the next Olympic cycle.
“I think there’s only a couple of teams across the whole country that are staying the same,” Silvernagle said.
“It’s a four-year commitment you have to make and as this season winds down, you are seeing a lot of people stepping back or changing things up. It’s pretty typical after the Olympics take place, so I’m not surprised that there has been so many changes across the board in the men’s and women’s scene.”
The Silvernagle rink has yet to finalize their schedule for the upcoming campaign, but it’s expected to look pretty similar to what it was this season.
“Our plan is to play in around six bonspiels along with the events that lead up to the provincials,” Silvernagle said.
“It will probably be mostly a Saskatchewan and Alberta based schedule, but we might go to an event that’s farther away. It all depends on if we can get it to fit around everyone’s schedule.”
The location for the 2019 provincial playdowns has yet to be determined.
