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Summerside Smiles!
Team Nova Scotia #2’s Calan MacIsaac and Team Alberta #1’s Myla Plett crowned 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Champions
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – After eight days of competition, Team Nova Scotia #2’s Calan MacIsaac (10-1; Truro) and Team Alberta #1’s Myla Plett (9-1; Edmonton/Sherwood Park) have been crowned Canadian champions at the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championships at the Gerard “Turk” Gallant Arena in Summerside, P.E.I., on Sunday.
Team Nova Scotia #2 defeated Team New Brunswick’s Rajan Dalrymple (8-2; Oromocto) 7-2 in the male final, while Team Alberta #1 vanquished Team Québec’s Jolianne Fortin (7-3; Jonquière) 9-3 in the female final.
Both teams will now go on to represent Canada at next season’s world junior curling championship events.
On the male side, the gold-medal performance is a redemption arc completed for MacIsaac’s Truro team – rounded out by third Nathan Gray, second Owain Fisher, lead/vice-skip Christopher McCurdy, alternate Nick Mosher, and coach Craig Burgess – who lost the 2024 New Holland U-21 Canadian Championship final to Team Alberta #1’s Kenan Wipf at Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo, Alta., last year.
“It feels amazing,” said MacIsaac. “It was one of our goals ever since I was twelve years old. Me, Chris, and Owain have all been together for like 10 years and it’s just such an unreal feeling to win it with those guys. It really means a lot.”
Team New Brunswick opened the male gold-medal final with a score of one in the first, before Team Nova Scotia #2 took three in the third end with hammer. It proved to be the biggest blow of the match, and one Team New Brunswick would not recover from.
“It was definitely big,” said MacIsaac. “It set the tone for the rest of the game because I think it got them a little bit rattled. That was the big momentum switch, right there, that three.”
After dropping its opener 8-7 to Team New Brunswick back in Draw 1, Team Nova Scotia #2 went on a 10-game win streak to secure the gold medal.
“Just keeping that same killer mentality that we had through the whole week,” said MacIsaac. “Just had to stick it to them this game. We expected everyone to come out firing.”
Team Nova Scotia #2 also outscored its opponents in 27-6 in three playoff games and 98-33 over eleven total games on its way to the Canadian championship.
“Just put the pressure on them,” said MacIsaac. “Make them make a shot. Don’t leave them a wide-open shot. Just make them make something hard. That’s the key. You put the pressure on anyone, especially in this big of a game, the pressure will come down to see who’s the top.”
The male title is Nova Scotia’s second all-time in Canadian U-20 play since the event’s inception in 1950, with skip Shawn Adams being the only other Nova Scotian representative to win the Canadian title in 1993 at Trois-Rivières, Que.
It’s the second time a non-provincial/territorial champion has won the national title, with Team Manitoba #2’s Jacques Gauthier accomplishing the feat in 2020 at Langley, B.C.
Team Nova Scotia #1’s Zachary Atherton (7-3; Halifax/Chester) downed Team Saskatchewan’s Dylan Derksen (7-4; Martensville) 10-9 in the bronze medal match.
Meanwhile, on the female side, Team Alberta #1’s Myla Plett added another chapter to her team’s storied U-20 career in a gold-medal performance Sunday afternoon.
“We all played very well throughout the whole week,” said Plett. “We’ve been looking forward to this event for a long time, and we missed out on it last year, and it was great to be back on the ice again.”
It marks the second time that Plett – flanked by vice-skip Alyssa Nedohin, second Chloe Fediuk, lead Allie Iskiw, coach David Nedohin, and coach Blair Lenton – have claimed the New Holland U-20 crown after a championship performance in 2023 at Rouyn-Noranda, Que.
Team Alberta #1 scored early and often with high-pressure strategy in the gold-medal match, stealing four straight ends to jump out to a 5-0 lead after four ends. It never once trailed in the contest, securing the 9-3 win in just eight ends.
“We didn’t have hammer at the beginning of the game, so we just came out with a guard, put a bit of pressure on them,” said Plett. “We got off right on that and had a great couple ends.”
Plett and Co., have represented Canada before at the World Junior Curling Championships in 2024 at Lohja, Finland, where the team finished fourth overall.
Plett says her team has its eyes fixated on world gold in 2026.
“Definitely gunning for gold,” said Plett. “We’re hoping to get that gold this year.”
With the win, Plett joins an elite company of skips who have repeated as Canadian female U-20 champions, alongside Alberta’s Kelsea Rocque (2014, 2015), Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes (2008, 2009), Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Gaudet (2001, 2002), and Alberta’s Cathy King (1977, 1978).
Additionally, the team is the only squadron in Canadian history to repeat as female New Holland U-20 champions as a unit.
While Plett appreciates the pieces of history that are now tied to her iconic team, her approach is unwavering.
“It doesn’t really change much for me,” laughed Plett. “Especially at this event. We just go in and play how we always do. But definitely great to get another win at nationals.”
The crown is Alberta’s 12th since the event’s inception in 1971; the most of any province or territory in female play. Saskatchewan trails in second with 11, followed by Manitoba with 10.
Team British Columbia’s Holly Hafeli (8-3; Kamloops) bested Team Nova Scotia #1’s Rebecca Regan (7-4; Lower Sackville) 6-5 to win the bronze medal.
2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championship winners Nathan Gray, Chloe Fediuk, Owain Fisher and Allie Iskiw all represented Canada together at the 2024 Youth Olympic Winter Games at Gangwon, South Korea in the four-person mixed category. The team posted a 3-4 record in pool play.
Owain Fisher and Alyssa Nedohin were 2024 For the Love of Curling Scholarship recipients.
The 2025 iteration of the New Holland Candian U-20 Curling Championships is the second time it has been hosted at Summerside (2002, 2025) and the fourth time Prince Edward Island has hosted the event (1958, 1978 at Charlottetown).
Archived line scores, rosters and more can be found at the event website here.