Mike McEwen joins forces with provincial rival Rylan Kleiter

Saskatchewan-Kleiter skip Rylan Kleiter calls out to the sweepers as Saskatchewan-McEwen skip Mike McEwen, back, watches during the Brier, in Kelowna, B.C., on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Mike McEwen is joining forces with former provincial rival Rylan Kleiter as Team McEwen gets a new look for 2026-27.

“We are excited to be joined by [Team Kleiter] to form this amazing team for the coming years,” McEwen said in a post to social media Wednesday. “I’m not leaving … I’m excited for both the team and myself to stay in Saskatchewan.”

Kleiter will move to third while Johsua Mattern replaces Matthew Hall at second and lead Trevor Johnson will stay in that position.

Hall announced he was stepping away from the team Tuesday, ahead of Team McEwen’s announcement.

It comes a week after McEwen was released from his team which featured third Colton Flasch, second Kevin Marsh and lead Daniel Marsh.

McEwen, originally from Brandon, Man., led Team Saskatchewan to a 2024 Montana’s Brier final in Regina – losing to then-defending champion Brad Gushue.

In 2025, Team McEwen posted an impressive 7-1 round robin record at the Brier in Kelowna, B.C., before losing back-to-back playoff games for an early elimination.

McEwen and company weren’t at their best at the recent Canadian men’s curling championship in St. John’s, N.L., missing the playoffs with a 5-3 record.

At the Canadian Curling Trials in November, Team McEwen dropped the semifinal to Team Matt Dunstone by a score of 9-5.

Team McEwen ended the 2025-26 curling campaign ranked 14th in the world and fourth in Canada.

The 45-year-old McEwen has qualified for the Brier in each of the last 11 seasons but has yet to hoist the Brier Tankard. McEwen was defeated by Kevin Koe in the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials final.

He has also won seven Grand Slam events in his career.

Kleiter, 27, has skipped teams in Saskatchewan for the past 12 seasons, but will now have a new role. A spot opened up on his squad following the departure of Matthew Hall earlier this week.

Team Kleiter represented Saskatchewan at the 2025 Montana’s Brier, missing the playoffs with a 3-5 record. They went 2-5 at the Canadian Curling Trials and lost the 2026 Sask. provincial final to Team Kelly Knapp.

Kleiter and company were ranked 30th in the world this season while McEwen’s former team ranked 14th.

“We are very fortunate that everyone involved has the same goals and aspirations in this amazing sport,” the team’s statement read.

-With files from TSN