The 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 4–12, 2017 at the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

This marked the second time the Brier was hosted by St. John's, the first being the 1972 Macdonald Brier.

Newfoundland and Labrador won the Brier 7–6 in the final against Team Canada, giving skip Brad Gushue his first Brier title. With the win, the Gushue rink earned the right to represent Canada at the 2017 Ford World Men's Curling Championship held from April 1–9, 2017 at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. They also represented Team Canada at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier in Regina, Saskatchewan and earned $225,000 for the victory. The bronze medal was won by Manitoba.

The total attendance for the event was 122,592, up from the 115,047 that attended the previous year's Brier held in Ottawa, Ontario. The attendance for the final was 6,471.

Background Host bidding Both Ontario's Sault Ste. Marie (Essar Centre) and Newfoundland and Labrador's St. John's (Mile One Centre) made bids for the Brier, but it was announced on September 14, 2015 that St. John's would host.

Brier Bear The wearer of the Brier Bear – the Brier-renowned mascot – suit, Reg Caughie, announced that, after this 2017 Canadian Men's Curling Championship, he would retire from wearing the suit. The 78-year old Caughie believed that Curling Canada would continue the tradition of the Brier Bear.

Teams Ten of the fifteen teams of the 2017 Brier were in the top 30 of the men's 2016–17 CTRS standings. Newfoundland and Labrador's Brad Gushue, skip of one of the consistent top three rinks in Canada, attempted to win his first Brier (in 14 appearances) in front of a hometown crowd. Brothers Kevin Koe – representing Team Canada, and Jamie Koe – representing the Northwest Territories, again competed against each other. 2016 PEI Champion Adam Casey and his third David Mathers moved west to join rinks that then won the championships of Saskatchewan and Ontario, respectively.

Glenn Howard won the Ontario Championship for the 17th time as either third or skip. By contrast, a team not skipped by either Kevin Martin, Randy Ferbey or Kevin Koe won the Alberta Championship for the first time since 1999 (although Kevin Martin coached Alberta's Brendan Bottcher).

The teams are listed as follows: British ColumbiaThe Glencoe Club, Calgary Skip: Kevin Koe Third: Marc Kennedy Second: Brent Laing Lead: Ben Hebert Alternate: Scott PfeiferSaville SC, Edmonton Skip: Brendan Bottcher Third: Darren Moulding Second: Brad Thiessen Lead: Karrick Martin Alternate: Evan AsmussenVernon CC, VernonKelowna CC, Kelowna Fourth: Jim Cotter Skip: John Morris Second: Tyrel Griffith Lead: Rick Sawatsky Alternate: David Harper Manitoba New Brunswick Fort Rouge CC, Winnipeg Skip: Mike McEwen Third: B.J. Neufeld Second: Matt Wozniak Lead: Denni NeufeldCapital WC, Fredericton Skip: Mike Kennedy Third: Scott Jones Second: Marc LeCocq Lead: Jamie Brannen Alternate: Spencer MawhinneyBally Haly G&CC &St. John's CC, St. John's Skip: Brad Gushue Third: Mark Nichols Second: Brett Gallant Lead: Geoff Walker Northern Ontario Community First CC, Sault Ste. Marie Skip: Brad Jacobs Third: Ryan Fry Second: E.J. Harnden Lead: Ryan Harnden Alternate: Lee TonerHalifax CC, Halifax Skip: Jamie Murphy Third: Jordan Pinder Second: Scott Saccary Lead: Phil Crowell Alternate: Alan DarraghSt. George's G&CC, Etobicoke Skip: Glenn Howard Third: Richard Hart Second: David Mathers Lead: Scott Howard Alternate: Adam Spencer Quebec SaskatchewanCharlottetown CC, Charlottetown Skip: Eddie MacKenzie Third: Sean Ledgerwood Second: Matt Nabuurs Lead: Robbie Doherty Alternate: Philip GorveattCC Etchemin, Saint-Romuald Skip: Jean-Michel Ménard Third: Martin Crête Second: Éric Sylvain Lead: Philippe Ménard Alternate: Pierre CharetteHighland CC, Regina Skip: Adam Casey Third: Catlin Schneider Second: Shaun Meachem Lead: Dustin Kidby Alternate: Jamie Schneider Northwest Territories Nunavut Yellowknife CC, Yellowknife Skip: Jamie Koe Third: Chris Schille Second: Brad Chorostkowski Lead: Robert Borden Alternate: Greg SkaugeIqaluit CC, Iqaluit Skip: Jim Nix Third: Edmund MacDonald Second: Greg Howard Lead: Darryl McGrath Alternate: Howard FickWhitehorse CC, Whitehorse Fourth: Jon Solberg Skip: Craig Kochan Second: Ray Mikkelsen Lead: Darrin Fredrickson Alternate: Wade Scoffin

CTRS ranking Member Association (Skip) Rank Points (Gushue) 1 429.656 (Jacobs) 3 360.302 (Morris) 6 271.684 (McEwen) 7 270.471 (K. Koe) 8 247.888 (Bottcher) 9 202.627 (Howard) 11 178.349 (Casey) 15 153.302 (Murphy) 25 87.118 (Ménard) 28 83.258 (Kennedy) 57 41.846 (J. Koe) 73 32.849 (Solberg) 225 0.376 (Nix) NR 0.000 (MacKenzie) NR 0.000

Map of teams

Pre-qualifying tournament Standings Locale Skip Jamie Murphy 3 0 35 7 18 5 1 11 84% Craig Kochan 2 1 24 16 15 10 1 9 76% Eddie MacKenzie 1 2 19 26 9 16 1 2 73% Jim Nix 0 3 9 38 6 17 1 1 56%

Results All draw times are listed in Newfoundland Standard Time (UTC−03:30).

Draw 1 Thursday, March 2, 7:00 pm

Draw 2 Friday, March 3, 8:00 am

Draw 3 Friday, March 3, 3:30 pm

Pre-qualifying final Saturday, March 4, 3:00 pm

Round-robin standings Final round-robin standings KeyTeams to Playoffs LocaleSkip Mike McEwen 9 2 75 50 44 36 21 11 88% Brad Gushue 9 2 71 59 46 42 17 8 89% Kevin Koe 8 3 69 58 44 41 23 8 87% Brad Jacobs 8 3 76 59 46 40 17 9 88% Jean-Michel Ménard 7 4 73 62 44 44 16 5 85% John Morris 7 4 63 48 43 40 22 12 86% Adam Casey 5 6 74 73 46 46 10 8 87% Jamie Murphy 4 7 64 75 39 47 15 6 82% Glenn Howard 4 7 57 67 44 41 21 6 86% Brendan Bottcher 3 8 61 74 41 41 17 9 83% Mike Kennedy 1 10 56 80 43 47 13 6 81% Jamie Koe 1 10 48 82 35 50 16 4 81%

Round-robin results All draw times are listed in Newfoundland Standard Time (UTC−03:30).

Draw 1 Saturday, March 4, 3:00 pm

Draw 2 Saturday, March 4, 8:00 pm

Draw 3 Sunday, March 5, 10:00 am

Draw 4 Sunday, March 5, 3:00 pm

Draw 5 Sunday, March 5, 8:00 pm

Draw 6 Monday, March 6, 3:00 pm

Draw 7 Monday, March 6, 8:00 pm

Draw 8 Tuesday, March 7, 10:00 am

Draw 9 Tuesday, March 7, 3:00 pm

Draw 10 Tuesday, March 7, 8:00 pm

Draw 11 Wednesday, March 8, 10:00 am

Draw 12 Wednesday, March 8, 3:00 pm

Draw 13 Wednesday, March 8, 8:00 pm

Draw 14 Thursday, March 9, 10:00 am

Draw 15 Thursday, March 9, 3:00 pm

Draw 16 Thursday, March 9, 8:00 pm

Draw 17 Friday, March 10, 10:00 am

Playoffs

1 vs. 2 Friday, March 10, 8:00 pm

3 vs. 4 Saturday, March 11, 3:00 pm

Semifinal Saturday, March 11, 8:30 pm

Bronze medal game Sunday, March 12, 3:00 pm

Final Sunday, March 12, 8:00 pm

Statistics Player percentages Round Robin only Leads % Denni Neufeld 94 Geoff Walker 93 Ryan Harnden 92 Ben Hebert 92 Dustin Kidby 92 Seconds % E.J. Harnden 92 Matt Wozniak 91 Brett Gallant 88 Tyrel Griffith 88 Shaun Meachem 88 Thirds % Catlin Schneider 89 Mark Nichols 86 John Morris (Skip) 86 Martin Crête 86 Marc Kennedy 86 Skips/Fourths % Brad Gushue 91 Mike McEwen 86 Kevin Koe 86 Glenn Howard 84 Jean-Michel Ménard 82

Perfect games Round Robin only Player Team Position Shots Opponent Brad Gushue Skip 19 E.J. Harnden Second 16

Awards The awards and all-star teams are listed as follows:

All-Star Teams First Team Skip: Brad Gushue, Newfoundland and Labrador Third: Catlin Schneider, Saskatchewan Second: E.J. Harnden, Northern Ontario Lead: Denni Neufeld, Manitoba

Second Team Skip: Mike McEwen, Manitoba Third: Mark Nichols, Newfoundland and Labrador Second: Matt Wozniak, Manitoba Lead: Geoff Walker, Newfoundland and Labrador

Ross Harstone Sportsmanship Award Jean-Michel Ménard, Quebec Skip

Paul McLean Award Leigh Buttery, TSN

Hec Gervais Most Valuable Player Award Brad Gushue, Newfoundland and Labrador Skip

Notes

References