Geoff Walker (curler)

Geoff Walker (born November 28, 1985 in Beaverlodge, Alberta) is a Canadian curler, currently living in Edmonton, Alberta.[1] He currently plays lead for the Brad Gushue rink. He is a two-time World Junior Champion and Men's World Champion.

Geoff Walker
Curler
Walker (rear) waits while Reid Carruthers measures a stone at the 2018 Elite 10.
Born (1985-11-28) November 28, 1985
Beaverlodge, Alberta
Team
Curling clubBally Haly G&CC,
St. John's, NL
SkipBrad Gushue
ThirdMark Nichols
SecondBrett Gallant
LeadGeoff Walker
AlternateJeff Thomas
Career
Brier appearances9 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
World Championship
appearances		2 (2017, 2018)
Top CTRS ranking1st (2016–17, 2017–18)
Grand Slam victories10 (2014 Masters, 2014 Canadian Open, 2015 National, 2016 Elite 10, 2016 Players', 2017 Canadian Open, 2017 Tour Challenge, 2017 Masters, 2018 Champions Cup, 2018 Elite 10 (Sept.))
Medal record
Curling
Representing  Canada
World Championships
2017 Edmonton
2018 Las Vegas
World Junior Championships
2006 Jeonju
2007 Eveleth
Tim Hortons Brier
2018 Regina
Representing  Newfoundland and Labrador
Canadian Olympic Curling Trials
2017 Ottawa
2016 Ottawa
Tim Hortons Brier
2017 St. John's
2020 Kingston
2016 Ottawa

Career

Walker was born in Beaverlodge, Alberta. As a junior, Walker played for the Charley Thomas Grande Prairie, Alberta rink. In 2006, the team won the Canadian and World Junior Curling Championships. Walker was too old to stay with the rink for the 2007 Canadian Junior Championships. He was invited to join the team after they won the event as their alternate for the 2007 World Junior Curling Championships. The World Juniors allows curlers to be one year older than the Canadian Juniors. As the alternate, Walker won his second straight World Junior Championship.

After Juniors, Walker joined the Kurt Balderston rink as his second. The team missed the playoffs at the 2008 Boston Pizza Cup (the Alberta provincial championship), but qualified for the playoffs at the 2009 Boston Pizza Cup, where they lost to James Pahl. After missing the playoffs again at the 2010 Boston Pizza Cup, Walker left the team to form his own rink. Walker would do well on his own, and went all the way to the semifinal of the 2011 Boston Pizza Cup, where he lost to Kevin Koe.

After the 2010–11 season, Walker left Alberta to join the Brad Gushue rink in Newfoundland as his lead. The team won the 2012 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard, earning the team a spot at the 2012 Tim Hortons Brier, Walker's first. The team finished in seventh with a 5–6 record. The team would win the provincial title the following year as well at the 2013 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard. The team would make the playoffs at the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier with an 8–3 record. They would lose the 3 vs. 4 game to Northern Ontario's Brad Jacobs and the bronze medal game to Ontario's Glenn Howard. The Gushue rink failed to make the playoffs at the 2014 Tim Hortons Brier after going 6–5 in the round robin. They would improve on their best finish at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier where they lost in the semifinal to Team Canada skipped by Pat Simmons. During the 2014–15 season, Walker would also win his first Grand Slam of Curling event, the 2014 Masters and the 2014 Canadian Open.

The Gushue rink would win three more slams during the 2015–16 season, the 2015 National, the 2016 Elite 10 and the 2016 Players' Championship. With their successful tour season, the team went into the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier as the number one seed. They led Newfoundland and Labrador to a 9–2 round robin record, earning them a spot in the 1 vs. 2 game. They would defeat Northern Ontario's Jacobs before losing to Alberta's Kevin Koe 9–5 in the final. The team finished second on the CTRS standings for the season, just behind the Koe rink.[2]

Team Gushue added one more slam title during the 2016–17 season at the 2017 Canadian Open. The team would also have their most successful Brier to date at the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier which was hosted in St. John's. They once again finish 9–2 in the round robin and would win the 1 vs. 2 game over Manitoba's Mike McEwen rink. Tied 6–6 in the final end of the final against Koe, Gushue needed to draw full eight foot to win the title. The team swept it all the way down the sheet and the stone was just close enough for the win.[3] It was Newfoundland's first Brier title since 1976. The team represented Canada at the 2017 World Men's Curling Championship where they went undefeated en route to capturing the gold medal. The whole Canadian team was named the All-Star Team for the tournament. This would earn them first place on the CTRS standings for the season.[4]

The team followed this successful season up with another great season for the 2017–18 season. It did come with a bit of heartbreak though, as the team lost the semifinal of the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. They shook this off though, able to win three more slams, the 2017 Tour Challenge, the 2017 Masters and the 2018 Humpty's Champions Cup. His rink would defend their title at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier. Representing Team Canada, they went 10–1 through the round robin and championship pool and defeated Alberta's Brendan Bottcher 6–4 in the final. They would lose the final of the 2018 World Men's Curling Championship to Sweden's Niklas Edin team.

The team added a tenth slam title to their name at the 2018 Elite 10 (September) the following season. They would lose the 3 vs. 4 game of the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier to Bottcher's rink. On the tour, they lost in the finals of the China Open to Russia's Sergei Glukhov and the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic to Scott Howard who was skipping the Glenn Howard team. They began their 2019–20 season at the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic where they lost to eventual champions John Epping in the quarterfinals. They then lost in the semifinal of the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard to Brad Jacobs who also went on to win the event. In Grand Slam play, the team didn't win any events, but finished runner-up at both the 2019 Masters and the 2019 Tour Challenge and lost in the semifinals of the 2019 National and the 2020 Canadian Open. The team would win the 2020 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard after not having to play in it for the previous two seasons. At the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, the team finished 8–3, which qualified them for the 3 vs. 4 game. They would beat Brad Jacobs in the 3 vs. 4, Saskatchewan's Matt Dunstone in the semifinal and Alberta's Bottcher rink in the final to win their third Brier title. The team was set to represent Canada once again at the 2020 World Men's Curling Championship before the event got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] The Brier would be their last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were also cancelled due to the pandemic.[7]

Personal life

Walker works for the turf team at The Derrick Golf & Winter Club in Edmonton, AB.[8] He is married to fellow curler Laura Walker.[9]

Awards
  • Brier: Second Team All-Star, Lead - 2017 and 2018
  • World Men's Curling Championship: All-Star Lead - 2017 and 2018
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References
  1. 2018 Home Hardware Canada Cup Media Guide: Geoff Walker
  2. "2015–16 CTRS Standings – Men". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDjwtgb2gBw
  4. "2016–17 CTRS Standings – Men". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  5. The Canadian Press (March 14, 2020). "World Men's Curling Championship Cancelled". The Sports Network. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  6. "LGT World Men's Curling Championship 2020 cancelled in Glasgow, Scotland". World Curling Federation. March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  7. "GSOC cancels remaining events of 2019–20 season". Grand Slam of Curling. Grand Slam of Curling. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  8. "2020 Tim Hortons Brier Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  9. 2018 Home Hardware Canada Cup Media Guide: Geoff Walker
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