Typhoon GM Lind proud of players for supporting each other

TORONTO — J.D. Lind had quite possibly the toughest task of all of Rock League’s general managers. 

Typhoon Curling Club brought together curlers from six different nations (seven if you add Lind) for Rock League’s debut season last week at TMU Mattamy Athletic Centre. 

Lind’s players had to get to know each other on and off the ice in a short amount of time while also overcoming language barriers that other franchises may not have had to face. 

Despite the challenges, Typhoon rallied as one to reach the inaugural final. Although Typhoon lost to Shield Curling Club 2-1, with the match coming down to a draw-to-the-button shootout in the mixed doubles game, Lind couldn’t be prouder of his players.

“I know our group coming into this, everyone was a little unsure of how it was going to go, how things are going to be with such a diverse group of players, and I'm very proud of all of them,” Lind said after the final this past Sunday. “I think the reason why it went so well was just all of them really buying in, supporting each other and playing well this week. It was a great week.”

The franchise featured curlers from China (Dexin Ba), Japan (Tori Koana, Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi and captain Chinami Yoshida), New Zealand (Anton Hood), Scotland (Bobby Lammie), South Korea (Min-ji Kim and Ye-eun Seol) and Sweden (Niklas Edin and Anna Hasselborg) plus a Canadian (Lind) tasked with steering the ship. Lind was a natural fit given his experience coaching teams in Japan, but this would be next level.

Only six of them were regulars on the Grand Slam of Curling circuit. On top of that, Yamaguchi and Edin had arrived in Toronto straight from Ogden, Utah, where they were competing in the World Men’s Curling Championship. Edin in particular was on the ice for Typhoon's debut match less than 48 hours after winning his record-extending eight gold medal as a skip at the men’s worlds.

If Typhoon Curling Club had gone winless, no one would have batted an eye, but Lind believes the key was everyone buying into the concept. 

“I think it's easy to come into this and just say, well, I'll try my best myself and see what happens, but everyone made an effort to get to know each other, ask each other about what they think about different things, and it really was all of us as a team just finding common ground on a lot of things and looking at it like we need to support each other,” Lind said. “I think all the credit goes to the players really making the effort to be the best team we could.”

It seemed fitting then that Rock League’s debut season took place in Toronto. If there’s one place that could bring curlers from different backgrounds together, why not one of the most diverse cities in the world.

The fans embraced the franchise, too. April 8 was “Typhoon Takeover Night” as curling fans from Toronto’s Asian communities gathered to cheer them on. That support carried on through the weekend and into the final.

"We love Toronto. I know a lot of the players that play in the Grand Slam series, we're used to coming here for the Players' Championship. We love playing Mattamy with the history in this building and all the stuff around here," Lind said. "Toronto was a great venue for the first Rock League and I would always love coming back here."

The all-new professional curling league also rolled out some unique rules from a full no-tick zone to awarding two points for covering the pin in the final end of play. Franchises also competed in different disciplines from men’s fours, women’s fours and mixed doubles in the round robin and playoffs to mixed fours during Saturday’s seeding matches. 

Lind said the inaugural season of Rock League was awesome and believed the format and rule changes were well thought out.

“I thought the athletes really enjoyed it and as you can see all the games are really close because the teams are so even. It's like having a bunch of all-star teams,” he said. “From my side, this was the most exciting curling I've seen in a long time. I know for me in my role, it was a little nerve-racking too, so for me, this event couldn't have gone any better.”