U-20 Logjam!

Team Nova Scotia #2, Team New Brunswick and Team Newfoundland and Labrador all crowd Pool A’s top spot at 2025 New Holland U-20s 

Stat-heads, start your matrices.  

After seven draws of play on the male side at the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championship, Pool A’s leaderboard is looking mightily crowded.  

And with three playoff spots available to top finishers in pool play from the Gerard “Turk” Gallant Arena and Silver Fox Entertainment Complex at Summerside, P.E.I., concluding on Friday, there’s little clarity yet on who will be around in the playoff picture. 

For now, Team Nova Scotia #2’s Calan MacIsaac (5-1; Truro), Team New Brunswick’s Rajan Dalrymple (5-1; Oromocto) and Team Newfoundland and Labrador’s Simon Perry (5-2; St. John’s) all circle Pool A’s top spot. 

But upon deeper inspection, the wrinkles in the leaderboard quickly begin to show. All three aforementioned teams feature 1-1 head-to-head records versus one and other. More complicated still, Team Nova Scotia #2 and Team New Brunswick have a game in hand over Perry’s Newfoundland and Labrador squadron. 

Pool A’s playoff picture isn’t just a three-team do-si-do, either. Team Alberta #2’s Peter Hlushak (Edmonton/Sherwood Park) and Team Manitoba #1’s Jace Freeman (Virden) are within striking distance of cracking the top three, boasting 4-2 records. 

It’s a mess that famed painter Jackson Pollock might call a magnum opus, with tens of outcomes left to be determined thanks to an array of head-to-head matchups set for Friday starting at 9 a.m. (all times Atlantic). 

Catalytic in creating this chaos was a Team Nova Scotia #2 8-2 win over Team Alberta #2 Thursday afternoon. The win positioned the Truro team as a Pool A front-runner as it continues to garner momentum on a five-game winning streak at these New Holland U-20s. 

“We had a little bit of a shaky opener against New Brunswick,” said MacIsaac. “Just still trying to get used to the flow of everything but after we got on our roll, I’m not afraid to play anybody anymore.” 

MacIsaac – alongside vice-skip Nathan Gray, second Owain Fisher, lead Christopher McCurdy, and coach Craig Burgess – were runners-up at the 2024 New Holland Canadian U-21 Curling Championship at Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo, Alta. The Nova Scotians are gunning for gold this time around. 

“It would mean everything just to get one last shot at it,” said MacIsaac. “It’s my last year. I really want to give it my all. I’m going to give 110 per cent to every game. Me, Chris, and Owen have all been together for, like, ten years now. Nathan, for about five now. Being together for that long, we’re like brothers now.” 

Marking a key win on Thursday as well was Team New Brunswick’s Rajan Darymple, who vanquished Team British Columbia’s Harrison Hrynew (1-6; New Westminster) 9-4 to improve to five wins. 

“We set ourselves up in a great spot to win,” said Dalrymple. “We put up great fights against some of these big names here and feeling great. So, keep going with that momentum.” 

It’s Dalrymple’s sixth appearance in a New Brunswick jacket between Canada Winter Games (2019, 2023), Canadian U-18s (2022, 2023) and the New Holland U-20s (2022, 2023), and feels his experience adds to his chances here at Summerside.  

“I’ve definitely been around here a few times,” said Dalrymple. “It’s good to be back with such a strong team. I really like our odds this year. I think we’re playing how we want to and we’re here to topple some big names.” 

Also joining the five-win parade was Team Newfoundland and Labrador after dealing host Team Prince Edward Island #2’s Jack MacFadyen (1-6; Cornwall/Summerside) a 14-2 thrashing Thursday afternoon. 

And though both Team Nova Scotia #2 and Team New Brunswick have a game in hand over the St. John’s collective, Perry is focusing on his team’s final game of pool play against Team Manitoba #1 at 9 a.m., Friday. 

“It’ll be stressful now once we get to the last few games to decide it,” said Perry. “But we’re hopeful. It’s still in our hands. We’ll go out tomorrow and play our best.” 

Playoffs for the males at the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championships begin Saturday at 1 p.m., with second and third place finishers in both pools crossing over and facing head-to-head. Each of the overall pool winners await the winner of the two-versus-three match in a semifinal, set for Saturday at 7 p.m. 

The male gold-medal final will go Sunday at 11 a.m., while the female gold-medal final is scheduled for 3 p.m., Sunday. 

Winners at the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championship will represent Canada at the 2026 World Junior Curling Championships at a location to be determined later. 

In other action from the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championships, Team Manitoba #1 downed Team Ontario #2’s Noah Garner (1-5; Mississauga) 6-3. Team Northern Ontario’s Riley Winters (1-5; North Bay) snapped a five-game skid with a 9-4 win over Team Nova Scotia #1’s Zach Atherton (5-1; Halifax/Chester) while Team Manitoba #2’s Nash Sudgen (2-4; Morden) bested Team Québec’s Pierre-Olivier Roy (2-4; Chelsea) 8-7. Team Saskatchewan’s Dylan Derksen (5-2; Martensville) overcame Team British Columbia #2’s Chris Parkinson (2-4; New Westminster) 9-4 and Team Ontario #1’s Tyler MacTavish (5-2; Waterloo) decimated Team Prince Edward Island #1’s Isaiah Dalton (2-4; Cornwall) 17-3. 

Action from the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championships resumes Thursday at 7 p.m.  

Select games will be streamed live on Curling Canada’s YouTube page found here.           

Live scores, standings, team rosters, schedule information and more can be found at the event website here.