Canadian Olympic gold medalist Mark Nichols of Labrador City, Newfoundland is joining Team Dunstone for the 2026-27 curling season according to CBC Sports on Tuesday. Dunstone was looking for a new second with the retirement of E.J. Harnden. The Nichols option was a clear possibility due to the fact that Canadian Olympic gold medalist Brad Gushue was retiring too.
Nichols and Gushue won a gold medal for Canada at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. They then teamed up again to win a world championship title in Edmonton, Alberta in 2017, and an Olympic bronze medal for Canada at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. Nichols has also won six Brier titles (2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024).
Nichols is currently second all-time in Brier appearances with 22. Gushue is the all-time leader in Brier appearances with 23. However, due to the fact that Nichols is joining Dunstone, who won the 2026 Montana’s Brier in Nichols’s home province of Newfoundland a month ago, there is an excellent chance he will tie Gushue’s record in 2027 if he remains healthy. That is because Dunstone has already qualified for the 2027 Montana’s Brier in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan as the defending Brier champion. Team Dunstone will be Team Canada at the Brier for the first time.
Dunstone is the third skip that Nichols will have played for. He also played for Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton for two years from 2012 to 2014.
