Hamblin wants torch
Young, rural rink faces stiff challenge from veteran Stoughton
By PAUL FRIESEN, SPORTS COLUMNIST
BRANDON -- In a perfect world, or at least a really juicy scenario, the 2004 provincial men's curling championship would end like this: four-time champ Jeff Stoughton would square off with second-year men's skip David Hamblin for all the marbles here tomorrow afternoon. The 1996 world champ against the 2002 world junior king.
Old guard versus young turk.
Big city against small town.
And we'd find out if a group of guys from outside the perimeter can finally compete.
Stoughton, you may recall, not that long ago said they couldn't, and went on to prove himself right by winning his fourth Manitoba crown, coincidentally, here in Brandon.
It's not the first time Stoughton stirred up a controversy, but it happens to be the one Hamblin remembers the most, four years later.
"He's made lots of comments regarding rural curlers, that there are no good curlers outside the perimeter," the 22-year-old from Morris said yesterday. "You expect that kind of thing from Jeff Stoughton. You just let it roll off.
"Part of the way they play is to generate some controversy, make people a little mad at them and throw people off their game. And they back it up on the ice."
That doesn't mean Hamblin wouldn't love to prove Stoughton wrong, of course.
It has, after all, been a full 14 years since a team from outside the city wore the buffalo on the national stage. Duane Edwards' rink from Deloraine was the last to do it.
As the championship round got underway here last night, with the field reduced from 32 to eight, three rinks from outside the perimeter were still alive: Hamblin, Murray Woodward of Ste. Anne and Swan River's Brent Scales.
Hamblin and Co., though, serve a dual purpose this week.
He, Ross Derksen, Geordie Hargreaves and Ross McCannell are easily the youngest foursome still breathing at the Keystone Centre. With their credentials, who can resist the temptation to label them the future of Manitoba curling?
It's been said this province needs a fresh, young face to take it by the horns, that it's time to pass the torch. With two-thirds of the Big Three (Kerry Burtnyk and Vic Peters) apparently fading from the picture, there's just one hand left clutching the thing: Stoughton's.
So who's going to pry the 40-year-old's fingers off it?
"We feel we're ready," Hamblin said. "Eventually, the torch will be passed. You've just got to step up and take it. It's been a dream forever to get to the Brier."
Forever's a long time when you're 22. But with a talent like Hamblin at the controls, it can come quicker than you might think.
As a rookie at this event a year ago, he dragged his foursome all the way to the semifinal.
"Last year, we were happy to qualify," Hamblin admitted. "This year, we're not just out here for a good time. There's a long way to go, though."
Derksen, Hamblin's third, can't imagine anybody wanting it more than his skip.
"His passion for the game," is what Derksen calls Hamblin's greatest asset. "He wants to be the best, and he works hard for it. And he's competitive. I'm sure he thinks about it all the time, when he's not doing his work. I can see the potential. He's a guy I'd like to stick with for years to come."
He might have to.
Because skips in their 20s don't usually win this thing. If you're under 25, you can basically forget it.
And if you're under 25 and from rural Manitoba, well, you don't stand a chance.
Except maybe in Dave Hamblin's dreams, which go something like this.
"Dave Hamblin versus whoever (in the final)," the skip said. "Draw to the button and win."
We'll see if someone from the city has something to say about it.
