Fisher, Kolomaya, Dunstone, Pincott reflect on curling free-agent frenzy

Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame rink Team Brown – a four-time national Scotties participant and two-time provincial women’s champion – called it quits in January, making free agents out of skip Corryn Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Sarah Koltun and lead Fisher.

Fisher and Koltun – first-team all-stars at the 2025 national Scotties – have joined Calgary-based Team Skrlik, which includes lead Fisher, second Koltun, third Myla Plett and skip Kayla Skrlik.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Kayla and her shot-making ability and we’ve competed against her a lot over the last few years,” Fisher said. “Sarah and I had a good connection playing the last two seasons together.”

Fisher said she is looking forward to embracing more responsibility with her new team.

“I feel pretty lucky to have been able to play with Corryn and Erin for most of my career and, honestly, those two did a lot of the back work for the team,” Fisher said. “Corryn took care of a lot of the financials and Erin did a lot of the social media and all these different things.

“A lot of the seasons, I felt like I was really one of those players that just showed up and played. This year, I’m going to be one of the older teammates, so I think that a little bit more will land on me and I’m really excited for the challenge.”

Pincott will curl next season with Winnipeg-based Team Njegovan, which includes skip Selena Njegovan, third Pincott, second Margot Flemming and lead Krysten Karwacki.

“It’s stressful,” Pincott said of navigating free agency. “It’s exciting being able to chat with competitors who you’re maybe interested in playing with. It’s essentially a lot of people reaching out to you, you reaching out to them and just seeing where they’re at in their lives and curling careers. I think that was an important point for me – finding people whose goals aligned with mine.”

Pincott was an alternate for silver-medal-winning Team Kaitlyn Lawes at the 2026 Scotties.

Njegovan, who played third last season for Lawes, formed her own rink after Lawes split in March.

“Selena is someone I was interested in playing with, with that kind of experience,” Pincott said. “I got a front-row seat to that at the Scotties. Things kind of progressed from there.”

On the men’s side, Fisher’s husband Jared Kolomaya and Pincott’s significant other Matt Dunstone made curling news this week.

Dunstone, the reigning Brier champion and world championship silver medallist, had a significant hole to fill in his lineup after the retirement of second E.J. Harnden.

Team Dunstone on Monday (April 13) announced the acquisition of former Brad Gushue third Mark Nichols.

“Six Briers, two Olympic medals,” Dunstone said. “He’s been one of the best thirds in the game for a very long time and now we’re bringing him aboard to play second for us.”

Dunstone said talks with Nichols took place in between the Brier and the world championship.

“He’s an awesome addition,” Dunstone said. “He was the best shot-maker on the market and we happened to get him. It’s great. He was an opponent of mine for a very long time. Actually, he was my trainer when I was in juniors and he was in Winnipeg playing with Jeff Stoughton. He was my personal trainer when I was 17, 18 years old, which is hilarious. We chat fantasy baseball a fair bit. Now, we get to do it a heck of a lot more often.”

Kolomaya played third last season for Team Cody Tanaka, the B.C. championship-winning quartet that also included Mitchell Kopytko and Coburn Fadden of Kamloops.

“After Cody left the team, Jim [Cotter] reached out to me a day later and asked what I was planning on doing,” Kolomaya said. “When you get a chance to play with Jim Cotter, I think you have to take it. Jim’s probably the greatest B.C. curler of all time.”

Kolomaya will play third for the Vernon-based team that includes skip Cotter (who is from Kamloops but lives in Vernon), second Connor Deane and lead Erik Colwell.

Kopytko and Fadden are aiming to form their own Interior-based rink, according to Fadden.

Dunstone and Pincott said Kamloops remains home and they are keeping their house in the River City, but they will live in Winnipeg during curling season.

“Just like Stank [Kamloops forward Logan Stankoven of the Carolina Hurricanes] going and playing in Carolina and then coming back here in the summers, it’s a very similar idea to that,” said Dunstone, noting his family is in Manitoba. “We’re going to be back here during the summers. We love the summers here and Erin’s family is here.”

Pincott said the move will come with mixed emotions, noting she has never lived outside of Kamloops.

“Hopefully, it will be a fairly easy transition,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll really understand what a Winnipeg winter means until I’ve lived it. Matt’s already told me, ‘Don’t complain to him because I chose this.’”

by Marty Hastings

Fisher, Kolomaya, Dunstone, Pincott reflect on curling free-agent frenzy

Our Community