WINNIPEG — Jeff Stoughton isn’t the least bit fazed by the daunting prospect of shouldering the heavy expectations of Canadian curling fans on home soil.
The Winnipeg skip will represent Canada at the 2011 world men’s curling championship, which begins this weekend in Regina.
After all, Stoughton won the world championship in 1996 when it was held in Hamilton and was the runner-up three years later when it was staged in Saint John, N.B.
The 47-year-old earned a third opportunity to participate in a world event on home soil earlier this month when he defeated Ontario’s Glenn Howard 8-6 in the final of the Canadian men’s event in London, Ont.
“We know what the pressures are with friends and family grabbing and pulling you and media wanting you every minute and we can handle that,” Stoughton said Monday on a conference call. “We sort of have to relay to Reid (second Reid Carruthers) — the new guy on the team — not to get caught up, you are allowed to say ’No,’ and go from there.
“The experience itself is you just have to play really well. There’s no magic out on the ice, it’s play your best or you’re not going to get that gold medal. That’s the easy part, to go out and perform. It’s really the other things that can maybe disrupt that performance of just not getting enough rest and being pulled every which way and maybe bothering you a little bit more than it should.”
The weight of expectation will certainly be on the Manitoba team’s shoulders as Canada has captured 32 world men’s titles.
Stoughton’s lead Steve Gould was part of the ’96 championship squad while third Jon Mead participated in Saint John. Carruthers is the only rookie.
The team’s season won’t end in Regina. After the world championship, they’ll take part in the Grey Power Players’ Championship, the fourth and final jewel of the 2011 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series.
However, Stoughton said he won’t be content with merely competing in the event, which will be held in Grande Prairie, Alta., from April 12-17.
“You always want to win events when you get there,” he said. “We don’t go there to goof around and maybe qualify and do well.
“We go to these Grand Slam events wanting to win them. We haven’t got one yet so we will want to win this one.”
The Players’ Champion will offer a $200,000 purse with a further $170,000 being awarded to the top three men’s and women’s finishers in the Capital One Cup.
Despite the increase in prize money in curling, Stoughton doesn’t see the day coming soon when teams can earn a living playing the sport full time.
“I don’t see it really becoming a real professional sport within my lifetime,” he said. “I just don’t see the money being there, I don’t see enough teams that could dedicate the time and effort to maybe make that jump.
“You’d have to become professional franchises and I just don’t see it happening.”