Academics were always going to be important for Dr Evan Lilly.

One does not become a General Practitioner in Oncology without maintaining university studies as a huge priority in their life.

Curling, however, was not about to slip quietly to the side.

“I always knew that it would take a lot for me not to curl,” noted the 33 year-old Sudbury native recently, currently residing in Sarnia, his Family Medicine training completed in 2017. “It’s been such a big part of my life for so long and such an outlet for social connections, stress relief and just overall balance.”

“Fortunately, one of the appealing aspects of my work here is that I knew that it was going to be very flexible.”

Oncology and palliative care were not necessarily at the top of his wish list as Lilly undertook the various rotations of his residency, all while keeping a foot in the competitive curling door in every single season but one since his graduation more than a few years back from Lockerby Composite.

“In my first year of residency, I did a rotation and found that I quite liked it (palliative) and had an affinity for it,” explained the older brother to Team McCarville vice Kendra Killy. “I pursued more training and experience and still quite enjoyed it. I was quite fortunate to land this opportunity.”

On the curling side, Lilly crossed paths with kindred spirit Robert Currie some seven years ago, the tandem a constant through a couple of different incarnations of men’s rinks in southern Ontario.

“Pretty well since I finished medical school, we’ve kind of been a curling package,” said Lilly.

“He and I have always been on the same page in terms of commitment and approach to the game.”

Early on, this would find Currie and Lilly teamed with Ian Dickie and Tyler Stewart, both of whom curled at one time at Laurentian University but have since found their way south. More recently, the duo spent three years with Connor Lawes, a former teammate of the Horgan siblings, as well as skip John Willsie.

With that team disbanding after the 2021-2022 season, the free agent curlers were scooped by Patrick Ferris and Connor Duhaime, two gentlemen who had participated in the Olympic Pre-Trials last year. Throw Lawes back into the mix with Lilly and Currie and you have a team that is definitely looking to make some noise this year, all while striking just the right balance.

“We have a five person team which has quite helped for people with young families and work commitments,” said Lilly, who also emphasized the incredible support that he has received from both the Cancer Care and Palliative Care teams that he works with on a full-time basis.

A skip in his youth who would lead the Lockerby Vikings to an OFSAA championship during his high-school days, Evan Lilly has now turned the tables, migrating to full-time front-end status, typically as a lead in recent years.

“I take a lot of pride in executing the shots that are, on paper, quite simple and straight-forward and repetitive, just knowing how important they are for team success,” he said.

It’s not his only source of pride. Now living in a part of the country that is as jammed-packed with talented male curlers as any other area in Canada, Lilly has qualified for the Ontario Tankard on multiple occasions, including making it there with three different skips.

“I’m not saying that once we get there, that’s it – but it is quite an accomplishment,” he said.

All of which sets the stage for the upcoming few months.

“I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibilities for us to contend for a playoff spot or even take a run at the Tankard this year,” stressed Lilly. “It would be a bit of a stretch goal, but it’s always nice to have something like that to shoot for.”