Ryan Harnden (born June 28, 1986) is a Canadian curler. He currently plays

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

on Team Matt Dunstone. He is the former lead for the

Brad Jacobs Bradley Robert Jacobs (born June 11, 1985) is a Canadian curler from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He currently skips his own team out of Calgary, Alberta. He is an Olympic champion skip, having led Canada to a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Oly ...

rink, with whom he represented Canada at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

, winning a gold medal.

Career

Early career

Ryan joined forces with his father Eric Harnden for the 2007–08 season, as his second. The team, which also included brother E. J. and Caleb Flaxey at lead won the Dominion Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship that season, and would represent

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

at the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier. The team would have an unsuccessful Brier, finishing with a 3–8 record. Following the season, Harnden joined forces with

, and played with Jacobs until 2022. He would play second for the team from 2008 to 2011 and then lead since 2012, after Ryan Fry joined the team as third, and E. J. replaced Ryan at second. In their first season together, the team lost in the 2009 Northern Ontario final to Mike Jakubo. The following season would be more successful. The team played in one Grand Slam, the 2012 The National that season, Harnden's first. The team went 0–5. However, the team did win The Dominion 2010 Northern Ontario Provincial Men's Championship and had a tremendous Brier that season. At the

2010 Tim Hortons Brier The 2010 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held between March 6 until March 14, 2010 in Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Halifax Metro Centre. It marked the sixth time the Brier ha ...

, the team finished 2nd after the round robin with a 9–2 record. However, they lost both of their playoff games and would have to settle for a bronze medal.

2010–2012

During the 2010–11 season, the team played in two Grand Slams. They first played in the 2010 World Cup of Curling, where they finished 2–3. The team also played in the

2011 Players' Championship The 2011 GP Car and Home Players' Championship was a Grand Slam curling bonspiel held at the Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie, Alberta from April 12–17. It features a men's and women's draw, where the top sixteen teams from the Order of Mer ...

, but Harnden sat the event out, and was replaced by

Ted Appelman Ted Appelman (born August 27, 1980 ) is a Canadian curler from Edmonton, Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provin ...

. That season, the team would then go on to win their second straight provincial title, by winning

The Dominion 2011 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship The 2011 The Dominion Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, Dominion of Canada Northern Ontario Provincial Men's Curling Championship was held February 6–13 at the Fort William Curling Club in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The winning team of Br ...

. While they had a decent 7–4 record at the

2011 Tim Hortons Brier The 2011 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held March 5 until March 13, 2011 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, London, Ontario. This event marked the 30th time that the province of Ontario has h ...

, it was not enough to make the playoffs, and they had to settle for 5th. For the 2011–12 season, the team entered two Slams, the

2011 World Cup of Curling The 2011 GP Car and Home World Cup of Curling was held from November 2 to 6 at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It was the first Grand Slam (curling), Grand Slam event of the 2011–12 curling season and t ...

where they had a 2–3 record) and the 2011 BDO Canadian Open where they made the playoffs for the first time, but lost in the quarter-final. The team would then go on to win The Dominion 2012 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, their third straight title. At the

2012 Tim Hortons Brier The 2012 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 3 to March 11 at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This Brier marked the sixth time that Saskatoon hosted the Brier; the last tim ...

, they once again finished 5th, but with a worse 5–6 record.

2012–2014

The 2012–13 season would be the team's best season to date. The team welcomed Manitoba-born Ryan Fry at the third position, bumping E. J. to play second and Ryan to play lead. The team would make the playoffs in all three Slams they entered, losing in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Masters of Curling and 2013 The National. They made it to the final in their first ever slam at the

2012 Canadian Open of Curling The 2012 Canadian Open of Curling was held from December 12 to 16 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The event was the second men's Grand Slam event of the season. The event was held in a ...

where they lost to the

Glenn Howard Glenn William Howard (born July 17, 1962) is a retired Canadian curler who is one of the most decorated curlers of all time. He has won four world championships, four Briers and 17 Ontario provincial championships, including a record eight s ...

rink. The team won The Dominion 2013 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship once again, qualifying for the Brier for the fourth straight year. At the Brier, the team finished the round robin with an 8–3 record, good enough for 4th. The team pulled off victories against Newfoundland and Labrador's

Brad Gushue Bradley Raymond Gushue, ONL ( ; born June 16, 1980) is a Canadian curler from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Gushue, along with teammates Russ Howard, Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam, represented Canada in curling at the 2006 ...

, Ontario's Glenn Howard and Manitoba's

Jeff Stoughton Jeffrey R. Stoughton (born July 26, 1963) is a Canadian retired curler. He is a three-time Brier champion and two-time World champion as skip. Stoughton retired from competitive curling in 2015. He is currently the National Men's Coach and Pr ...

en route to win Northern Ontario's first Brier title in 28 years. The team would later represent Canada at the 2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship where they won a silver medal. The next season, the team won the

2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials The 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials (branded as the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings for sponsorship reasons) were held from December 1 to 8 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The winners of the men's and women's events were chosen ...

, earning them the right to represent Canada at the

. At the Olympics in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

, they led Canada to a 9–3 victory in the men's final, defeating Great Britain to claim the gold medal.

2014–2019

Following their Olympic success, the Jacobs rink once again made it to the Brier in 2015. After posting a 10–1 round robin record in first place, they won the 1 vs. 2 game sending them to the finals against the defending Brier champions, Team Canada (skipped by Pat Simmons), which they lost. Later in the season the Jacobs rink won their first career Grand Slam event, winning the 2015 Players' Championship. At the

2016 Tim Hortons Brier The 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5–13, 2016 at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario. It is the fourth time the Brier has been held in Ottawa, and the fifth time the Brier has been held i ...

, the Jacobs rink once again tore through the round robin, going undefeated to finish in first place. However, they ran into trouble in the playoffs, losing to Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1 vs. 2 game and to Alberta in the semifinal. They did rebound in the bronze medal game, defeating Manitoba to finish third overall. The 2016–17 season would be the best to date for the Jacobs rink on the

World Curling Tour The World Curling Tour (WCT) is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male, female, and Doubles curling, mixed doubles curlers in the world. History The World Curling Tour was founded by former World Champion Ed Lukowich, with later ass ...

, winning two slams, the 2016 Boost National and the 2017 Humpty's Champions Cup. At the

2017 Tim Hortons Brier The 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 4–12, 2017 at the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. This marked the second time the Bri ...

, the team would once again make the playoffs, after posting an 8-3 round robin record. However, they lost both of their playoff games, settling for fourth place. The Jacobs team played in the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials attempting to head to the Olympics again, but his team would finish with a disappointing 3–5 record, missing the playoffs. The team again represented Northern Ontario at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, making it to the playoffs with an 8–3 record, but lost to Alberta's

Brendan Bottcher Brendan Michael Bottcher (born December 19, 1991) is a Canadian curler from Spruce Grove, Alberta. Bottcher is a three-time provincial men's champion, and was the skip of the 2021 Canadian men's championship team, having led Alberta to victory ...

rink in the 3 vs. 4 game. The next season, the Jacobs rink won the

2018 Tour Challenge The 2018 Tour Challenge was held from November 6 to 11 at the Tournament Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario. This was the third Grand Slam of the 2018–19 curling season. In the men's Tier 1 competition, Brad Jacobs defeated Brendan Bottcher in ...

Grand Slam event. A month later, the team won the 2018 Canada Cup, their first Canada Cup title, defeating

Kevin Koe Kevin Koe ( ; born January 11, 1975) is a Canadian curling, curler. Koe is a two-time World champion and four-time Canadian champion. He was the skip (curling), skip of the Canadian men's team at the Curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics - Men's to ...

's rink in the final. The team had

Marc Kennedy Marc Kennedy (born February 5, 1982) is a Canadian curler, and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist from St. Albert, Alberta. He currently plays third on Team Brad Jacobs. In 2019, Kennedy was named the greatest Canadian male second ...

playing third, filling in for Ryan Fry, who was on sabbatical following unsportsmanlike behaviour and excessive drinking at the 2018 Red Deer Curling Classic. The team once again represented Northern Ontario at the

2019 Tim Hortons Brier The 2019 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 2 to 10 at Westoba Place in Brandon, Manitoba. In the final, Kevin Koe of Alberta defeated Team Wildcard skipped by Brendan Bottcher 4–3 by scoring ...

. The team went 9-2 in the round robin and championship round combined. Jacobs lost the 1 vs. 2 game to

and the semifinal to

resulting in the team getting the bronze medal.

2019–present

The following season, the team officially added Kennedy to the line-up at third with Fry going to play with

John Epping John Allan Epping (born March 20, 1983) is a Canadian curler from Toronto, Ontario. He currently skips his own team out of the Leaside Curling Club in East York, Toronto. Career Junior Men's Born in Peterborough, Ontario, Epping was a top ...

. In their first event, the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, the team went undefeated up until the final where they would lose to former teammate Fry and Team Epping. Team Jacobs won three straight Grand Slam events, at the

Tour Challenge The Tour Challenge, known as the HearingLife Tour Challenge for sponsorship reasons, is a bonspiel, or curling tournament, which is one of the Grand Slam of Curling events. It was introduced into the Grand Slam lineup starting in the 2015–16 c ...

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and the Canadian Open. They would win the 2020 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship for the sixth year in a row. At the

2020 Tim Hortons Brier The 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from February 29 to March 8 at the Leon's Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario. The winning Brad Gushue rink was scheduled to represent Canada at the 2020 ...

, they battled through two tiebreakers before losing to

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

in the 3 vs. 4 game, all within the same day. It would be the team's last event of the season as both the

Players' Championship The Players' Championship, currently known as the AMJ Players' Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the final event of the Grand Slam of Curling tour, and is formerly the championship of the World Curling Tour season. From 2016 to 2019, i ...

and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Team Jacobs played in two tour events during the 2020–21 season, winning the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and losing in the qualification game of the Ashley HomeStore Curling Classic. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario The COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario was a viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Canada w ...

, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled. As the reigning provincial champions, Team Jacobs was chosen to represent Northern Ontario at the

2021 Tim Hortons Brier The 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5 to 14 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. In the final, Team Alberta, skip (curling), skipped by Brendan Bottch ...

. At the Brier, they finished with a 7–5 record.

Personal life

Harnden is the son of three-time Northern Ontario champion Eric Harnden. He attended Sault College (where he received a business diploma), the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

(for real estate appraisal) and

Algoma University Algoma University, commonly shortened to Algoma U, is a Canadian public university in the province of Ontario, with campuses in Brampton, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, and Timmins. Algoma U offers bachelor's degrees, master's degre ...

(geography). He is married to Jasmine Gassi. He is currently employed as a sales representative for Royal LePage and has been a substitute teacher with the Algoma District School Board.

Teams

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harnden, Ryan 1986 births Sportspeople from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Living people Curlers from Northern Ontario Brier champions Olympic curlers for Canada Curlers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in curling Canadian male curlers Algoma University alumni Canada Cup (curling) participants Canadian schoolteachers 21st-century Canadian sportsmen