The start of the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials is just over a month away.
Before the first rocks fly inside Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre, the men’s and women’s fields need to be completed.
The eighth and final spots will be determined at the 2025 Home Hardware Canadian Pre-Trials, taking place at the Andrew H. McCain Arena in Wolfville, N.S., from Oct. 20-26.
Mirroring the format of next month’s Canadian Curling Trials, each eight-team field will compete in a round-robin with the top seed advancing directly to the final. The second and third-best rinks will clash in a do-or-die semifinal.
The final will feature a best-of-three series for the first time, starting on Friday with a potential Game 3 occurring on Sunday.
Let’s look at the teams competing in Wolfville and who has the best chance of punching their ticket to Halifax.
Women1. Team Beth Peterson (Winnipeg)
Beth Peterson Beth Peterson (The Canadian Press)
Beth Peterson and her Winnipeg crew enter the Pre-Trials as the No. 1 seed after finishing eighth on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) last season.
The rink, also featuring third Kelsey Calvert, were a win away from representing Manitoba at last year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts, but lost a close 7-6 decision to Team Kate Cameron in the provincial final.
Team Peterson have only played two events this season, posting a 3-3 record.
Peterson, who went 1-5 at the 2021 Pre-Trials, and company may be ranked No. 1 coming into the Pre-Trials but are far from a runaway favourite in this wide-open field.
2. Team Kayla MacMillan (Victoria)
Kayla MacMillan Kayla MacMillan (Curling Canada)
Led by their 27-year-old skipper, Team Kayla MacMillan has been very busy so far this season, with five events already under their belts.
They own a 17-12 record with two playoff appearances, including a win at the season-opening Icebreaker Challenge where they went a perfect 6-0.
Lauren Lenentine is listed as the alternate on this squad and could see some playing time in Wolfville.
Team MacMillan is coached by Swedish curling great Niklas Edin.
3. Team Danielle Inglis (Ottawa)
Danielle Inglis Danielle Inglis (The Canadian Press)
Danielle Inglis and her rink from the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club may be in the best position to win the Home Hardware Pre-Trials.
They’ve won back-to-back Ontario provincial championships and made last year’s Scotties playoffs with a 6-2 record before losing to Alberta’s Team Kayla Skrlik.
Inglis competed at the Pre-Trials four years ago and finished with a 2-4 record.
Team Inglis have started a little slow results-wise in 2025-26, sporting a 6-8 record with one playoff appearance in three events.
Still, this Ontario foursome has the potential to go on a run in Wolfville.
4. Team Selena Sturmay (Edmonton)
Selena Sturmay Selena Sturmay (The Canadian Press)
Selena Sturmay, 27, has competed in the last two Tournament of Hearts, making the final four in 2024 following an impressive 7-1 showing in the round robin.
Team Sturmay hasn’t returned to the same form from those Calgary Scotties and enter the Pre-Trials with a 10-8 record this season, making the playoffs once across four events.
This will be Sturmay’s first appearance in the Pre-Trials.
5. Team Ashley Thevenot (Martensville, Sask.)
Ashley Thevenot Ashley Thevenot (Curling Canada)
Ashley Thevenot, 26, is set to compete in her first Canadian Pre-Trials after solid 2024-25 season, highlighted by making four finals (two wins) and the semifinal of the Saskatchewan playdowns.
Team Thevenot has played three bonspiels this season and is coming in hot after winning the Regina Highland Rocktoberfest last weekend.
6. Team Krista Scharf (Thunder Bay, Ont.)
Krista Scharf Krista Scharf (The Canadian Press)
Will Krista Scharf’s longtime Thunder Bay foursome rise to the occasion once again at the Pre-Trials?
Scharf’s rink has played in the last two Canadian Curling Trials thanks to their qualification via the Pre-Trials.
McCarville also qualified through the 2009 Pre-Trials as a skip of a different rink.
They’ll be in the mix once again this year but have taken a step back recently, missing the Tournament of Hearts playoffs in back-to-back seasons with identical 4-4 records.
After two years with New Brunswick veteran curler Andrea Kelly being part of the squad, Team Scharf is back to their regular lineup, featuring Kendra Lilly at third, Ashley Sippala at second and Sarah Potts at lead.
Longtime coach Rick Lang remains behind the bench.
At the Trials in Regina four years ago, Scharf and company made the semis before losing 8-3 to the eventual winners led by Jennifer Jones.
They made the quarters at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard in early October this season.
Team Scharf, led by their 42-year-old skip, has the most impressive resume in the Pre-Trials field but we’ll have to see if they can improve from their recent struggles to qualify for a third straight Canadian Curling Trials.
7. Team Myla Plett (Edmonton/Sherwood Park, Alta.)
Myla Plett Myla Plett (Curling Canada)
Led by a 20-year-old skip, Team Myla Plett will be the youngest rink at the Pre-Trials by a wide margin.
Plett has dominated the women’s Canadian junior scene for the last few years, winning two Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships and two Canadian Under-20 Curling Championships.
Team Plett is competing at the elite-level ranks this year, posting a .500 record over three events, including going 1-3 against an elite field at the PointsBet Invitational early this month.
They’ll be long shots to make the playoffs in Wolfville but are just getting started in their curling careers.
8. Team Nancy Martin (Martensville, Sask.)
Nancy Martin Nancy Martin (The Canadian Press)
Veteran curler Nancy Martin rounds out the Pre-Trials field.
The 52-year-old made the Pre-Trials playoffs four years ago as a third for Sherry Anderson.
Martin has been skipping her own team for the last few years, just missing the Scotties playoffs in 2025 with a 5-3 record.
Team Martin has had a solid start to this season as well with a victory at the Mother Club Fall Curling Classic in September.
Despite being the lowest-ranked team in the field, Martin and company are fully capable of doing damage at the Pre-Trials.
Men1. Team Jordon McDonald (Winnipeg)
Jordon McDonald Jordon McDonald (Curling Canada)
Team Jordon McDonald, who were coming off a terrific 2024-25 season, added third Jacques Gauthier for 2025-26 and the early returns have been promising.
They own a 16-8 record, including going 3-1 at the PointsBet Invitational with wins over Trials teams in Rylan Kleiter and Matt Dunstone as well as a 12-6 rout of Pre-Trials competitor Sam Mooibroek.
McDonald, 22, is a significant player in the next wave of curlers coming up through the ranks in Canada and could be primed for a major breakout at the Pre-Trials.
2. Team Sam Mooibroek (Whitby, Ont.)
Sam Mooibroek Sam Mooibroek (The Canadian Press)
Another up-and-coming skip in Canadian curling, Sam Mooibroek enters the Pre-Trials as the No. 2 seed after winning the Ontario provincial title last season.
Team Mooibroek went 4-4 at the Montana’s Brier in Kelowna last year, just barely missing the playoffs.
The Whitby foursome is having a good start to the year with a playoff appearance at the Masters Tier 2 and a victory at the U25 NextGen Classic, beating Team McDonald in the championship.
They had a disappointing PointsBet Invitational, however, going winless in four matches that weren’t really close.
Like the women’s, the men’s Pre-Trials field is wide open, and Team Mooibroek is just one of the squads who has a decent chance at advancing to Halifax.
3. Team Scott Howard (Navan, Ont.)
Scott Howard Scott Howard (The Canadian Press)
Wolfville will mark the fourth straight Pre-Trails appearance for 35-year-old Scott Howard and the first as a skip.
Playing for his father Glenn Howard, Team Howard dropped the B Finals at both the 2017 and 2021 Pre-Trials.
During the early portion of 2025-26, Howard and company made one playoff appearance across three bonspiels, amassing a total of record of 7-9.
4. Team Braden Calvert (Winnipeg)
Braden Calvert Braden Calvert (Curling Canada)
Winnipeg’s Team Braden Calvert is having a very nice start to the 2025-26 season with a perfect 11-0 record and back-to-back bonspiel victories in September.
Team Calvert hasn’t hit the ice in a competitive event in three weeks and will face stiffer competition at the Pre-Trials.
Calvert went 2-4 at the 2021 Pre-Trials in Liverpool, N.S.
The two-time Canadian junior champ skipped his nation to the gold medal at the World Junior Men’s Curling Championship in 2015.
5. Team Mark Kean (Woodstock, Ont.)
Mark Kean Mark Kean (Curling Canada)
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Woodstock’s Mark Kean at a major curling event.
The 37-year-old last hasn’t competed in the Canadian Pre-Trials since 2013 (went 1-3 in Kitchener) and the Brier since 2015 (went 5-6 in Calgary).
Team Kean will be in Wolfville after posting a 31-22 record last season, highlighted by three semifinal finishes, including the Ontario Tankard.
They captured the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard earlier this month, winning seven of eight games.
Can Kean catch fire in the second act of his career and make a run at the Pre-Trials?
6. Team Owen Purcell (Halifax)
Owen Purcell and Luke Saunders Owen Purcell and Luke Saunders (Curling Canada)
Ranked sixth, Halifax’s Team Owen Purcell is a real threat to be in the playoffs at the Pre-Trials.
A Canadian mixed curling champion, the 25-year-old Purcell got his first taste of the Brier last winter, making the playoffs with a 5-3 record before losing to Brad Jacobs and the eventual winners.
It’s been a slow start for Team Purcell this season, however, failing to qualify in each of their three events with a sub .500 record of 6-8.
The carrot of being the hometown team at the Canadian Curling Trials could provide some extra motivation for Team Purcell in Wolfville.
7. Team Jean-Michel Ménard (Glenmore/Des Collines/Etchemin/Valleyfield, Que.)
Jean-Michel Ménard Jean-Michel Ménard (The Canadian Press)
Quebec curling great Jean-Michel Menard will look to turn back the clock and earn his first career ticket to the Canadian Curling Trials this week.
The 49-year-old, who won the 2006 Brier in Regina before taking silver at the world championships that same year, returned to elite-level curling last year to skip the team previously led by Felix Asselin.
Menard’s return was a success as the foursome won Quebec before going 4-4 at the Brier.
Team Menard has won 11 of their 12 games so far, including a bonspiel victory at Invitation Valleyfield in late September. Team Kean beat them in the semis of the Stu Sell Toronto Tankard a week later.
8. Team Jayden King (London, Ont.)
Jayden King Jayden King (Curling Canada)
London’s Team Jayden King ranked 17th on the CTRS last season after posting a 45-29 record highlighted by a pair of final appearances.
Team King has been busy in 2025-26, playing four events and making the playoffs each time. They own a total record of 16-7, including 1-2 against Pre-Trials opponents.
They received their Pre-Trials entry after Manitoba’s Team Reid Carruthers withdrew from the event over the summer.
The 23-year-old King is a MSc-Physiotherapy student at McMaster University.
As the youngest team in the field, King’s rink will look to force some upsets in Wolfville.