Meet the New Team Einarson
Kerri Einarson’s team, featuring Val Sweeting at third, Shannon Birchard, and Krysten Karwacki on the front end, recently announced a major change for the remainder of the season: Karlee Burgess will be joining the squad.
Burgess, who made the decision to leave Team Chelsea Carey in early January, will step in to play second, replacing Birchard. Einarson shared the news, expressing excitement about the addition, saying, "Team Kerri Einarson is thrilled to announce that Karlee Burgess has agreed to join us for the rest of the season. She will be playing second in place of Shannon."
Birchard has been struggling with a knee injury that has not responded well to treatment. Despite her efforts to return to form, including playing at the RBC Dominion Securities Western Showdown in Swift Current last month, she was unable to complete the event. As a result, the decision was made for Birchard to focus on her rehab and prepare for next season.
Throughout the season, Einarson's team has used several spares, including Dawn McEwen, Joanne Courtney, and Brittany Tran, to fill in during Birchard’s absence.
Einarson also revealed that, after consulting with medical professionals, Birchard was granted an injury exemption by Curling Canada. This exemption enabled the team to bring in a replacement for the remainder of the season while still maintaining eligibility for the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
With Burgess leaving Team Carey, the change has significant implications for Carey's spot in the 2025 Scotties. Since Team Carey will no longer retain three of its four members from last season, they will lose their automatic berth, which will instead be awarded to Alberta’s Selena Sturmay based on the 2023-2024 Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) standings.
In an interview on The Broom Brothers podcast, Burgess explained her decision to make the move, saying, "I’m a loyal player, so shifting in the middle of the season is tough for me. But when the opportunity came up to play with one of the best skips in the world and a top player I’ve always wanted to team up with, it was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up."
Einarson's team already has its spot secured for the 2025 Scotties in Thunder Bay, Ontario, as one of the three pre-determined teams.
Next up, Einarson and her new-look team will compete at the WFG Masters in Guelph, Ontario. They’ll kick off the event with a match against Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The team’s schedule continues with a Wednesday matchup against Japan’s Momoha Tabata at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by a Thursday morning game against Ontario’s Rachel Homan at 11:30 a.m. ET. The round-robin portion wraps up on Friday with a game against Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa at 8:00 a.m. ET.
The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on Saturday, with the finals scheduled for Sunday.
