With her curling future now uncertain beyond this season, Karlee Burgess still decided it was the right time to bet on herself.
The three-time world junior champion recently left Team Chelsea Carey to fill in as an injury replacement on Team Kerri Einarson for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.
The move jolted the domestic women's curling scene and came with some risk. But it could also lead to some big rewards.
"Personally for me, I'm just excited to have a little bit of a fresh start and just go out there and be my best self," Burgess said. "(I'll) just be focused on throwing the rock really well this (season) and having fun to finish it off."
Burgess left a struggling team that lost its pre-qualified berths at the national championship and Canadian Curling Trials as a result of her move. She joined a rink that has won four Scotties Tournament of Hearts titles and is expected to contend for a fifth.
The 26-year-old Winnipeg resident will move from third to second as a replacement for Shannon Birchard, who's out for the season with a knee injury. Burgess will make her Team Einarson debut next week at the WFG Masters in Guelph, Ont.
"We all want to get to know each other the best we can in a short amount of time," Burgess said in her first public comments since Friday's announcement. "We want to accomplish some great things."
The next steps for Carey's rink remain unclear. Her team doesn't plan to comment until an announcement on future plans is made, likely over the coming days.
Carey had replaced Jennifer Jones this season on a Winnipeg-based team with Burgess, Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine. The foursome struggled after the change, slipping from second to 10th in the national rankings.
Burgess took a couple weeks to consider the Einarson option before informing her teammates, adding they were "hard conversations."
"I was emotional sometimes because I don't like being the bad guy," Burgess said from Winnipeg. "Unfortunately I had to put Chelsea and Emily and Lauren in an uncomfortable situation. But sometimes it's the way the sport goes.
"I just had to prioritize myself a little bit. It's hard for me to do that. It wasn't easy. It's a tricky situation."
In order to claim pre-qualified berths at nationals and the trials, three of four members of the team that earned the ranking points must be on the squad, per Curling Canada rules.
Carey no longer appears to have a path to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts next month since the Manitoba championship field is set. A trials berth, meanwhile, would likely require a victory in the pre-trials competition in October.
Edmonton's Selena Sturmay claimed the vacated Scotties berth and Einarson received the berth at the trials in November.
Burgess described Team Carey's results this season as "wishy-washy," adding she "wasn't mentally the best player I could be."
In addition to the team adjusting to a new skip, Zacharias played a limited schedule due to scheduling conflicts.
"I just think we weren't consistent enough to be at the top of the game this year," Burgess said.
She declined to discuss the conversations with Team Carey members regarding her departure, but described it as being "a shock to everyone."
"It's hard. I feel like I'm a loyal person. For me, I know it's probably tough for everyone," she said. "But (it was) extremely emotional for me to say goodbye."
Einarson's team has also used substitute players this season as Birchard only played one bonspiel before shutting things down.
Lead Briane Harris remains under provisional suspension after a doping violation that's under appeal. Alternate Krysten Karwacki has played lead in her absence.
Einarson's side has played well despite the challenges. They have two titles this season and are second in the Canadian rankings behind Team Rachel Homan.
"We've definitely been through a roller-coaster of emotions over this last year," Einarson said in a recent interview. "It's been challenging for everyone. Mentally it's exhausting but we just go back to loving the game and supporting each other."
The team also has the April 8-13 Players' Championship in Toronto on its schedule. The Scotties winner will represent Canada at the March 15-23 women's world curling championship in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
Homan is the defending champion at the Scotties. The rest of the field will include Einarson, Sturmay, Winnipeg's Kaitlyn Lawes and the 14 member association champions.
"I hope I have a good run with the rest of the team this (season) and (we'll) see what happens," Burgess said. "It was a risk I was willing to take."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
