This year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be historic.
Mississauga, Ont.’s Paramount Fine Foods Centre is set host the prestigious 65-year-old tournament, marking the first time the Canadian women’s curling championship will take place in the Greater Toronto Area.
One of the top storylines entering the competition is who won’t be there.
Two-time defending champion Rachel Homan and her Ottawa foursome won’t have the opportunity for the three-peat as they’ll be preparing to represent Canada at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Team Homan has been nearly unbeatable on the Canadian curling circuit since the start of the 2023-24 season, going 22-0 in the past two Scotties. With Homan and company no longer in the mix, the fight for the national title is suddenly wide open for the first time in a while.
This year’s field features some familiar names like Canada’s Kerri Einarson, Nova Scotia’s Christina Black and Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes, as well as a handful of Scotties rookies, namely Taylor Reese-Hansen of British Columbia.
Making a correct prediction for the winning rink won’t be as simple as the past few years with many rinks having a chance to win it all if they can get hot.
The format remains the same.
The 18-team field will be split into two pools of nine with the top three from each advancing to the playoffs at the conclusion of round-robin play. There will be no tiebreaking games as head-to-head results will be used first to break any ties before going to the Last-Shot Draw rankings.
From there, the first-place team in Pool A plays second place in Pool B, and vice versa, in the opening round of the playoffs. The winners advance straight to the Page Playoff 1 vs. 2 game while the losers will have to play the third-place finishers for a spot in the Page Playoff 3 vs. 3 game.
A regular page playoff will commence once the final four are determined.
The championship game takes place Sunday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT with the winning rink earning the right to represent Canada at the World Women’s Curling Championship in Calgary from March 14-22.
Here are the two pools.
Pool A
1. Team Canada – Kerri Einarson
4. British Columbia – Taylor Reese-Hansen
5. Manitoba – Kaitlyn Lawes
8. Ontario – Hailey Armstrong
9. Saskatchewan – Jolene Campbell
12. Nova Scotia – Taylour Stevens
13. Northwest Territories – Nicky Kaufman
16. Quebec – Jolianne Fortin
17. Yukon – Bayly Scoffin
Pool B
2. Alberta – Kayla Skrlik
3. Nova Scotia – Christina Black
6. Alberta – Selena Sturmay
7. Manitoba – Beth Peterson
10. Northern Ontario – Krista Scharf
11. New Brunswick – Mélodie Forsythe
14. Prince Edward Island – Amanda Power
15. Newfoundland and Labrador – Mackenzie Mitchell
18. Nunavut – Julia Weagle
Let’s look a closer look at the teams and top storylines for this year’s Tournament of Hearts.
Who are the top contenders with no Team Homan?
When it’s all said and done in Mississauga, no one will be surprised if one of Team Kerri Einarson, Team Kaitlyn Lawes or Team Christina Black are standing atop the podium as Scotties champions.
Canada’s Kerri Einarson (Gimli Curling Club)
Kerri Einarson Kerri Einarson (Andrew Klaver/Andrew Klaver / Curling Canada)
After dropping last year’s final to Team Homan, Team Einarson, ranked second in Canada, will wear the Maple Leaf at the Scotties, looking for a fifth national championship.
Einarson, Val Sweeting and Shannon Birchard won four straight Scotties from 2020-2023 before The Homan Empire began their reign.
Lead Karlee Burgess will play her second Tournament of Hearts with Team Einarson this year.
Einarson pumped to wear Maple Leaf at another Scotties A runner-up last year, Kerri Einarson and her rink from Gimli, Man., will represent Canada at this year’s Scotties with Team Rachel Homan competing in Italy. Einarson sets up the event with Bob Weeks as she searches for a fifth national title.
The Gimli, Man., foursome are having a lukewarm 2025-26 season, with the season-opening Saville Shootout being their only win. They were ousted by Team Black in the Canadian Curling Trials semifinal and lost the recent Players’ Championship final to Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni.
Unlike last year, Team Einarson enters the Scotties as a stable, healthy foursome and appear to be peaking at the right time.
When it comes to past success, Team Einarson will be the team to beat in Mississauga.
Nova Scotia’s Christina Black (Halifax Curling Club)
Team Christina Black Team Christina Black (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press)
Black’s Halifax rink should also be viewed as a top contender as this might be the 38-year-old skip’s best chance at winning the Canadian championship.
Team Black had a terrific 2024-25 campaign, capped with a narrow 9-8 loss to Team Einarson in the Scotties semifinal.
After a slow start this season, Team Black found their game when it mattered the most.
At November’s Canadian Curling Trials in Halifax, Black and company upset Team Einarson, 6-3, in the semifinal before falling to Team Homan in a two-game sweep in the final.
The passing of Nova Scotia curling legend Colleen Jones during the Trials made Team Black’s run even more surreal and special as they had the entire Maritime province behind them.
“It was really special and I know it’s something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Black said after the loss to Homan.
Team Black is one of the few rinks to give all five players significant playing time, using a rotating front end of Jenn Baxter, Karlee Everist and Marlee Powers.
The Bluenosers are crowd favourites everywhere they go and the Mississauga Scotties will be no different.
Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes (Heather Curling Club in Winnipeg)
Kaitlyn Lawes and Kristin Gordon Kaitlyn Lawes and Kristin Gordon (Andrew Klaver/Andrew Klaver / Curling Canada)
Despite another up-and-down season, Scotties, world and Olympic champion Kaitlyn Lawes is a contender to be in the mix by week’s end.
The Winnipeg foursome dropped the Manitoba final to Team Beth Peterson earlier this month but earned enough points throughout the season to secure the third and final CTRS spot, barely surpassing Alberta’s Team Serena Gray-Withers.
Lawes throws last stones on this squad, while Selena Njegovan calls the game. Laura Walker will fill in for second Jocelyn Peterman at the Scotties as she’ll be competing in mixed doubles action at Milano Cortina 2026 with husband Brett Gallant.
Ranked fourth in the nation, Team Lawes’ lone win this season came at the Saville Grand Prix bonspiel in September. They also made the final of Canadian Open Tier 2 in December before losing the Manitoba final.
Lawes, who represented Canada at the previous three Olympics, just missed the playoffs at the Canadian Curling Trails with a 4-3 record.
Team Lawes has a lot of talent on paper but has struggled to remain consistent at major events like the Scotties during their time together.
Since joining forces following the last Olympics in 2022, Team Lawes hasn’t found much success at the Tournament of Hearts. They own a total record of 13-13 over the previous three Scotties with a lone playoff appearance in 2024, dropping the 3 vs. 4-qualifier to Alberta’s Team Selena Sturmay.
Will the Mississauga Scotties finally be the event where it all comes together for Team Lawes?
Who’s in the next tier of contenders?Alberta’s Selena Sturmay (Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton)
Team Selena Sturmay Team Selena Sturmay (PETER OLESKEVICH/Curling Canada)
Selena Sturmay, 27, is headed to her third straight Tournament of Hearts after winning Alberta for the second time, beating Serena Gray-Withers in the provincial final.
After a slow start to the season, Team Sturmay were victorious at the Canadian Olympic Pre-Trials in October before just missing out on the playoffs at the Canadian Curling Trials in November with a 4-3 record.
They went 4-4 at last year’s Thunder Bay Scotties after making the page playoffs in Calgary the year prior, dropping the 3 vs. 4-game to Team Kate Cameron.
Team Sturmay is ranked third in Pool B, but are no means guaranteed to make the playoffs in Mississauga.
Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik (Garrison Curling Club in Calgary)
Team Kayla Skrlik Team Kayla Skrlik (Darren Calabrese)
Like Team Sturmay, it can be hard to predict how Team Kayla Skrlik’s week will turn out at any given tournament.
The Calgary foursome was one of the best teams in Canada last season, posting a 58-24 record and making the Scotties playoffs, enough to finish the year ranked third in the nation. Their strong play earned them an automatic entry into this year’s Scotties.
But Team Skrlik have fallen all the way to 28th in Canada entering the national championship.
They’re eight games under .500 (21-29) in 2025-26, qualifying for the playoffs just twice, including one bonspiel win in November, across 11 events.
Team Skrlik went 2-5 at the Olympic Trials but surprised everyone with an 8-7 win over Team Homan in the round robin, snapping a 32-game winning streak against Canadian teams for The Homan Empire.
It hard to say which version of Team Skrlik we’ll see in Mississauga. They’ll be playoff contenders if they can find their form from last season.
Manitoba’s Beth Peterson (Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in Winnipeg)
Beth Peterson Beth Peterson (PETER OLESKEVICH/Curling Canada)
Team Beth Peterson will wear the Buffalo at the first-ever GTA Scotties after defeating Team Kaitlyn Lawes in the Manitoba final, 9-7.
Lawes had a shot for the win in the 10th, but wicked her guard and pushed Peterson’s stone to the shot position for the steal and two-point win.
Despite going by Team Peterson, Kelsey Calvert has full skip duties for this rink out of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club. The 31-year-old Peterson, who went 7-5 at her lone Scotties appearance in 2021, serves as the vice.
This will be Calvert’s second official Scotties appearance (also an alternate in 2020) and first as a skip. She took home bronze as a second for Team Kate Camaron in 2024. The 31-year-old Edmonton native won back-to-back World Juniors Championships in 2014 and 2015.
Team Peterson, ranked fourth in Pool B, will be another wild card in Mississauga who has the potential to make a run to the playoffs.
Northern Ontario’s Krista Scharf (Fort William Curling Club in Thunder Bay)
Team Krista Scharf Team Krista Scharf (PETER OLESKEVICH/Curling Canada)
Krista Scharf is set to make her 13th appearance at the Canadian women’s curling championship. Will No. 13 be lucky for the two-time Scotties finalist?
Scharf, 43, returns with the same lineup she’s had for most of her Scotties appearances. Andrea Crawford, who played with the team at the past two Scotties, returned to skipping in New Brunswick this season.
Team Scharf, also featuring Ashley Sippala, Kendra Lilly and Sarah Potts as well as long-time coach Rick Laing, were unable to make the Scotties playoffs in each of Crawford’s two seasons with the rink, finishing with a 4-4 record each time, including an 0-4 start last year in Thunder Bay.
Scharf: I get really nervous still Northern Ontario skip Krista Scharf is set to compete in her 13th career Scotties, looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2023. Scharf chats with Bob Weeks about the nerves she still feels playing in the event and bringing her 16-year-old daughter, Bella, along this year.
Scharf ‘s daughter, Bella McCarville, will serve as the team’s alternate in Mississauga.
Ranked 27th in Canada, Team Sharf has played another light four-event schedule this season, winning a Collingwood, Ont., bonspiel and the Northern Ontario playdowns leading in the Hearts. They went 3-4 at the Olympic Pre-Trials in October.
Scharf and company haven’t played their best curling at the last two national championships but should still have a chance at the playoffs if they can get off to a better start.
Saskatchewan’s Jolene Campbell (Highland Curling Club in Regina)
Jolene Campbell Jolene Campbell
Two of Saskatchewan’s best – Jolene Campbell and Robyn Silvernagle – joined forces this season and the move has propelled them to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Team Campbell defeated Team Ashley Thevenot, 4-3, in the Saskatchewan final, earning them the right to represent the curling-crazed prairie province in Mississauga.
This will the sixth Scotties for the 44-year-old Campbell and fourth for Silvernagle, 38, who previously competed as a skip.
Silvernagle, who shares the same hometown of Biggar, Sask., with curling legend Sandra Schmirler, claimed bronze at her first Scotties in 2019.
Campbell was the alternate on Amber Holland’s Scotties-winning team in 2011, the last time Saskatchewan won the national title.
Ranked 15th in Canada, Team Campbell is 27-10 on the season and made the playoffs in six of their seven events.
The competition they’ll face in Mississauga will be tougher than the Saskatchewan circuit, so a playoff appearance will be an uphill climb for the Regina rink.
British Columbia’s Taylor Reese-Hansen (Victoria Curling Club)
Taylor Reese-Hansen Taylor Reese-Hansen (michael burns photo ltd/Curling Canada/Michael Burns Photo)
Taylor Reese-Hansen and the British Columbia champions might be the most intriguing rink at the Mississauga Scotties.
The Victoria foursome has put up some impressive results, posting a 42-18 record and six final appearances with three wins.
They might be playing their best curling of the season, too. Team Reese-Hansen edged Team Lawes in the Canadian Open Tier 2 Grand Slam final before capturing the BC title, topping Team Corryn Brown in the final, with an 8-1 record in their two most recent events leading into the Tournament of Hearts.
All the success has led to the No. 3 spot in the Canadian rankings.
This will be the first Hearts appearance for 28-year-old skip Reese-Hansen.
If the rookies can keep control of any nerves, Team Reese-Hansen should be strong contenders to finish in the top three of Pool A.
Ontario’s Hailey Armstrong (Whitby Curling Club)
Hailey Armstrong Hailey Armstrong (Claudette Bockstael/Curling Canada)
Whitby’s Team Hailey Amstrong provided one of the more surprising results during this year’s playdown season, upsetting two-time defending champion Team Danielle Inglis in the Ontario final with a 10-3 rout.
Armstrong is headed to her third career Scotties as the rest of her team will get their first experience at the event. The 29-year-old previously played vice for Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges in 2021 and 2022.
She began skipping in Ontario in 2022-23, playing with a rotating cast of teammates before finding this group which sits 13th in Canada and fourth in Pool A at the Scotties.
Team Armstrong is 30-20 in 2025-26, making five playoff appearances across nine events.
The rookie skip will need to find a way to lead her team of Scotties rookies in Mississauga, but a playoff appearance is not out of the question for this rink.
Lori Eddy, a 1997 Scotties silver medallist and current curling podcaster, is the alternate on Team Armstrong and could play a major role in steading the ship if need.
What are the storylines for the rest of the field?
Quebec’s Jolianne Fortin (Club curling Kenogami curling à Saguenay Jonquière)
For the first time since 2020, Quebec won’t be represented by Laurie St-Georges.
Team St-Georges were upset by Team Jolianne Fortin, 8-6, in the provincial final as the energetic skip’s streak of five straight Scotties appearance came to an end.
Team Fortin has had success on the junior level, finishing second at last year’s Canadian Junior Curling Championship.
The Tournament of Hearts should be a great experience for this young crew.
Nova Scotia’s Taylour Stevens (Halifax Curling Club)
Taylour Stevens and her Halifax rink will be Scotties rookies in Mississauga after topping Team Isabelle Ladouceur, 12-5, in the provincial final. They went a perfect 8-0 at playdowns and are 15-5 this season.
Ranked 47th in Canada, Team Stevens will have some winnable games at the Scotties but are longshots to compete for the playoffs.
Prince Edward Island’s Amanda Power (Summerside Curling Club)
Prince Edward Island will be led by rookie skip Amanda Powers.
Power does have some national curling experience, skipping PEI to a silver medal at the 2024 Canadian Curling Club Championships. Second Emily Best was also on that team.
Third Veronica Mayne and lead Sabrina Smith have each competed at two previous Tournament of Hearts.
No. 73 in Canada, Team Power is ranked seventh in Pool B.
New Brunswick’s Mélodie Forsythe (Capital Winter Club in Fredericton)
Mélodie Forsythe stunned Scotties veteran Andrea Crawford in the New Brunswick final this year, scoring a single in the extra end for the 7-6 victory.
Even more incredible was after Crawford won both the A and B events at the playdowns, Forsythe needed to beat Crawford twice to advance to the Mississauga Scotties.
She did just that as Forsythe defeated Crawford, 10-5, before eking out the single-point victory.
Team Forsythe is 16-11 in 2025-26 and ranked 35th in Canada.
New Brunswick is another rink of rookies at this year’s Scotties that needs plenty to go right to contend for the playoffs.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Mackenzie Mitchell (St. John’s Curling Club)
Stacie Curtis returns to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for an eighth time, this time playing lead for rookie Mackanzie Mitchell.
Team Mitchell won both of their events in 2025-26, including the provincial final where they beat Cailey Locke, 8-7, in the final.
The last time Newfoundland and Labrador made the Scotties final was in 2003 when Cathy Cunningham lost to Nova Scotia’s Colleen Jones.
Northwest Territories’ Nicky Kaufman (Yellowknife Curling Club)
The changing of the guard is officially underway in the Northwest Territories.
Kerry Galusha, who has represented the territory 22 times since her debut in 1998, has retired from competitive curling and will be watching from the bench as coach of Team Nicky Kaufman.
Sydney Galusha, Kerry’s 16-year-old daughter, returns for her second straight Scotties after picking up three wins last year in Thunder Bay when she played second for her mother in her final national championship.
Third Megan Koehler brings the experience for Team Kaufman as this will be her 11th appearance.
Team Kaufman sports a 9-12 record in 2025-26 and rank 66th in Canada.
Yukon’s Bayly Scoffin (Whitehorse Curling Club)
Bayly Scoffin will skip Yukon at the Tournament of Hearts for the third straight year.
Veteran curler Patty Wallingham joins the team this year as the broom holder and second.
Despite being the lowest-ranked team in Pool A, Scoffin and Yukon have a good chance to improve on their one-win performances from 2024 and 2025.
Nunavut’s Julia Weagle (Iqaluit Curling Club)
Julia Weagle will skip Nunavut at the Tournament of Hearts for the second straight year. The 37-year-old went 0-8 in her Scotties debut in 2025.
Nunavut owns three wins all-time at the Scotties and haven’t won since 2020.
Colin Hodgson will coach the team in Mississauga.