‘There was a lot of peace that came with it’: EJ Harnden talks about his departure from team Gushue.
“Quite honestly, with the Gushue thing, there was no animosity, no grudges being held and no bad blood,” Harnden said.
There was a lot of tranquility acquired when the start of the race became the end of the road.
On Oct. 10 team Brad Gushue released Sault Ste. Marie curler EJ Harden from his responsibilities as the second on perhaps the best curling team in the world.
The 41-year-old Harden was asked for a word or simple phrase to sum up an event that occurred scant days before the Henderson Metal Fall Classic kicked off at the YNCU Curling Centre in mid-October.
“There was a lot of peace that came with it,” Harnden told the Sault Star.
Harnden wanted to talk about the atmosphere surrounding the team when the decision was executed by Gushue.
“Quite honestly, with the Gushue thing, there was no animosity, no grudges being held and no bad blood,” Harnden said. “It was all of us accepting, regardless of how well we were doing, things weren’t going the way all of us wanted them to go and knowing and realizing it wasn’t the right fit. And that is OK.”
Less than a week after his departure from the St John’s squad, Gushue secured the services of Edmonton resident Brendan Bottcher to replace Harnden in the second position.
“There are no hard feelings,” Harnden said. “When the decision was made, and we talked through it, we were all in agreement. It wasn’t like it was a shock, it wasn’t like it came out of left field, it was a mature conversation that ended in way that everyone felt good about it.”
Harnden, a 2014 Olympic champion with Brad Jacobs, helped the team win consecutive Brier’s. EJ joined the team in May 2022 after Brett Gallant’s departure.
Fast forward nearly two months to a new reality in the rings, there are ripples of ‘sweeping’ excitement as Harnden laces ‘em up in Swift Current, Sask., for the RBC Dominion Securities Western Showdown. The event runs from Dec.12-15 at the Swift Current Curling Club.
“The way he plays, the intensity, the edge and that is what our team needs, what we have been looking for,” Dunstone lead Ryan Harnden said. “I do believe he is probably the strongest sweeper in our sport.”
The team consists of Matt Dunstone at the skip spot, EJ in the second, Colton Lott in the third and Ryan Harnden in the lead.
Dunstone agreed with his lead’s assessment of Harnden’s abilities with a broom in his hand.
“We are probably one of the best if not the best sweeping teams in the world now between the two brothers,” Dunstone said.
Other teams at the Swift Current event include Gushue, Brad Jacobs, Kevin Koe and Mike McEwen.
“I got along well with those guys on team Gushue and have a lot of respect for them as players and I think this, for me anyway, is resulting in a good situation that I am excited to be part of,” Harnden said.
