Alina Pavlyuchik-World Curling Federation
What kind of program does USA Curling want to be?
The core of traditional four-player USA Curling has been largely constant over the last decade. At some point that core will change, and that core could include Coreys (or rather a Korey and a Cory).
Both American Olympic curling teams have featured Tabitha Peterson/Nina Roth and John Shuster standing in the house for some time. Eventually that will no longer be the case. And with Broomspringa in full swing, teams have been changing faces and different American faces were sent to worlds, which is standard fare right after the Olympics. Korey Dropkin’s team of Young Bucks—who were one game, and possibly one shot away from being in the Olympics themselves—went to Las Vegas, while the other Trials runner-ups led by Cory Christensen went to Prince George, by all measures the Las Vegas of northern British Columbia.
The experience Dropkin and Christensen received from those championships was invaluable, but they already possessed earned confidence. Yes, it was their first worlds (not as an alternate) but based on their poise it felt like their third or fourth. In the end, both teams made the playoffs, one made the top four, and they both picked up quality wins (Dropkin over Gushue, Christensen against Hasselborg). The beats, they were not missed.
Cory Christensen • Jeffrey Au-WCF
Now hold on. We’ve long learned that it’s never anybody’s “turn” to represent their country. Yes, Dropkin seems like a safe bet to finally be there in 2026, while Christensen is the heir apparent. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
For one, the 33-year-old Peterson is still improving. The same goes with Roth, who probably had her finest year while settling into the third position. For the men, Shuster is also not showing any wrinkles other than on his chin. At 39, he likely has one good run left in him and the rest of his scraggly-chinned team seems equally committed.
But remember, this is American curling, not Canadian. USA Curling has the final say on these teams. They have not announced the future of these teams one way or another. They could tinker with the rosters. And who doesn’t love tinkering? Because if there were two vulnerable spots on the “A” teams, it would be Chris Plys and Becca Hamilton.
Plys may have suffered from playing both doubles and team curling but he was near the bottom of the curling percentages among thirds and visibly struggled in both playoff matches. As for Hamilton, she was not just the lowest Olympic second at 71 shooting percentage, but that was the lowest percentage of any position. It could’ve simply been a bad week (it happens to everyone) as she redeemed herself with a national mixed doubles title, and with so many athletes looking toward that discipline for a curl-life balance, perhaps this speculative paragraph would give her a glide path toward that option.
Maybe their teams will stick up for their struggling mates, but there are some prime athletes available in the country. Colin Hufman and Andrew Stopera, for example. And Jamie Sinclair, long thought to be the top American skip, is also out there as a wild card. Her current team hasn’t officially announced a breakup, but given their Trials finish it seems inevitable as there are rumors she may resurface on a Canadian team.
Vicky Persinger, Chris Plys • Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
But as for these recent worlds teams, would Dropkin, Christensen or someone like Vicky Persinger be poached from the younger team and inserted into a lineup of America’s finest?
The question here is what type of high-performance program USA Curling wants to be. Do they want to build one great team like Sweden? A couple of great teams, like Switzerland and Japan? Or 10 great teams like Canada?
Their vision will dictate this decision, but right now it seems that the USA could move ahead with two great ones. All options are on the table, and a couple Cory/Koreys are going to be affected by it.

source