Kean's Halifax-based rink debuts at Stu Sells Oakville

Mark Kean's first event as a Nova Scotia curler will look a lot like his old life. The Woodstock native, now curling out of Halifax, takes his new team to the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in Oakville, Ontario, a familiar early-season stop from the 15 seasons he spent skipping in the province, including a 2015 Brier appearance as Ontario champion and a career-best ninth in the CTRS in 2012-13.

The rest of the lineup is home-grown. Ryan Abraham at third and Luke Saunders at lead were the core of Owen Purcell's Nova Scotia rink for three straight Briers from 2023 to 2025 and reached last January's provincial final before that team disbanded, with Purcell heading to Ontario to play third for Sam Mooibroek.

Nathan Gray fills out the four at second. The pairing gives Kean two players who know the Nova Scotia playdown grind intimately and a road map to a Brier field that has been without him for more than a decade.

Oakville's field is typically loaded with Ontario's top CTRS teams, which makes it a demanding first look at how a 37-year-old skip with new teammates fits together before the Maritime events begin in earnest.

Before the tour swing, the team is putting its Halifax roots to work, running a Junior Development Camp at the Mayflower Curling Club, giving young Nova Scotia curlers time on the ice with a Brier-experienced lineup.