Jacobs take over rink previously skipped by Bottcher

Brad Jacobs is heading West. 

The 2013 Brier and 2014 Olympic champion will take over the rink previously skipped by Alberta's Brendan Bottcher, it was officially announced on Wednesday night. 

"We are extremely excited to announce that Brad Jacobs will be joining our team for the upcoming curling season," the team said in a statement on X. 

Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert stunned the curling world on Tuesday when they announced that they had parted ways with skip Brendan Bottcher after just two seasons together, highlighted by back-to-back third-place finishes at the Montana's Brier. 

"Brendan Bottcher has been an outstanding teammate and friend. We thank him for the time we spent together, during which we won multiple Grand Slams and bronze at the last two Briers," the statement read in part. "We know that Brendan, who is an elite skip and has already represented Canada at the Worlds, will have great success wherever his curling pursuits take him. We wish him the very best."

Jacobs announced earlier on Wednesday that he was parting ways with Manitoba's Team Reid Carruthers following a short two-year run.

After representing Northern Ontario at 14 Briers, the 38-year-old native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. took a brief hiatus from competitive curling following the Lethbridge Brier in 2022. 

Jacobs joined Team Carruthers as a third for a handful of events during the 2022-23 campaign before becoming a permanent member of the squad this season. He took over full skip duties in December, leading the rink to the Montana's Brier in Regina after winning the provincial championship in Manitoba. 

Team Bottcher posted a 53-21 record in 2023-24, finishing No. 2 in Canada and No. 4 in the world. They won three Tour events and lost two Grand Slam finals.

The 32-year-old Bottcher, who won the 2021 Brier inside the Calgary bubble, has yet to announce his plans for the future. 

Bottcher, Kennedy, Gallant and Hebert came together ahead of the 2022-23 curling campaign with the expectation they would be major contenders to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.