Coming off a 2022-2023 curling season that featured their first ever trip to the Brier as what was effectively Team Horgan, brothers Tanner and Jake Horgan are understandably pumped for what lies ahead.
Truth is that the talented curling tandem have more reasons than usual to be anxious to get the new year underway.
"What has got us most excited is the opportunity for Tanner and I to play a full season in the back-end together again," noted Jake recently. "We haven't played a full season in the back-end together since 2018-2019."
But, as has also been the norm of late, the siblings are also dealing with some turnover in the lineup.
After joining forces with the nickel city curlers to represent Northern Ontario at the national men's curling championship in London last spring, Darren Moulding (vice) and Colin Hodgson (lead) have both stepped back from the men's four scene this winter.
Having celebrated his 40th birthday in December, Moulding, a long-time member of the ultra-successful Brendan Bottcher Alberta rink has opted to simply step away from the game for a bit.
"This decision wasn’t made because of any bad blood or anything like that," Moulding noted on a Twitter post last month. "I just have been curling so hard for so long - I just need some time to explore what else life has to offer."
"I love Tanner and the guys and it was an agonizing decision."
As for Hodgson, he has decided to focus on the mixed doubles game, at least for the time being.
No surprise that in the tightly-knit community that is elite curling in Canada, the Horgans pursued some very familiar faces to fill the recent vacancies.
Manitoban Ian McMillan will slide in to play second while Scott Chadwick enjoys a second go-around with the Sudbury lads, stepping in at lead.
Part of the Braden Calvert rink that disbanded after five seasons together last spring, McMillan would be well-acquainted with the local rock throwers from a stretch of time when both Tanner and Jake curled out of Manitoba, the trio crossing paths with regularity.
As for Chadwick, the native of Napanee (ON) is back after spending the 2021-2022 season with Team Horgan, competing at both the Pre-Trials and the Trials leading into the Beijing Winter Olympics.
"The biggest challenges with the lineup changes is to get everyone used to their new positions and to their new teammates as quickly as possible," noted Jake.
Team Horgan opens their competitive schedule competing at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard from September 8th to the 10th, heading east a few weeks later to take part in the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in Cornwall from September 20th to the 24th.
