Airdrie-based curler Aaron Sluchinski, formerly the eponymous skip of Team Sluchinski, who defeated Alberta curling legend Kevin Koe in the Alberta Provincial Championships and represented Team Alberta in the 2024 Brier, has joined Koe as the team’s second.
Koe, a four-time Canadian and two-time world champion, announced on social media that Sluchinski had joined the team. The move comes just over a month after Team Koe departed with veteran curler Jacques Gauthier, who was reportedly fired by Koe in September.
Sluchinski said he has always admired Koe and added that it was a good opportunity for him to join his team. "He's…one of the greatest throwers of all time," said Sluchinski in a text to the Airdrie City View. "Any time you can align yourself with someone like that, that's going to be a good opportunity."
Koe ranked fifth among Canadian men's teams at the end of last season, but his team went 2-6 and missed the playoffs at the Brier, while Sluchinki and company went 4-4 and lost in the playoffs.
Koe’s team started the season going 2-3 in September's ATB Okotoks Classic, after which Koe reportedly dumped Gauthier. Team Koe’s recent struggles have dated back to last season and a disappointing start to this year for Koe and his team helped to necessitate the move that brought Sluchinski on board.
At the PointsBet Invitational in Calgary, Koe’s three-man team lost in the second round and had a disappointing 2-3 finish at the Grand Slam’s HearingLife Tour Challenge in Charlottetown, PEI. Then last week, Koe’s team added Sluchinski.
But Sluchinski’s team has also undergone some changes since last year. In April, the team announced the addition of Kyle Doering, a 28-year-old who served as an alternate for Team Gushue at last year’s men’s worlds. Doering replaced second Kerr Drummond, who departed Team Sluchinski at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
Sluchinski said that Koe reached out to him about joining Team Koe after the tournament in PEI, adding that both teams did not have the start to the year that they had hoped for.
Talking about the transition from his team to Koe’s, Sluchinski said that his move surprised some of his teammates. “It sucks to give that news to teammates and friends,” he said.
Sluchinski will miss out on playing with Team Koe at the Soo Curlers Fall Classic in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario this weekend, but he is expected to join the team for the Nufloors Penticton Classic, on October 24-26.
Sluchinski will officially join Tyler Tardi, Koe's vice, and lead Karrick Martin on Team Koe, and will be looking to win the Alberta Provincial Championship in February in order to punch a ticket to the 2025 Brier in Kelowna.
"Since I kind of started playing a little more competitively and putting in more effort over the last four or five years,” Sluchinski said. “I've always really wanted to have the opportunity to get picked up and play with one of the top guys in the sport…it’s an opportunity that I couldn't refuse."