Jeremy Mallais wins provincial final, will represent New Brunswick at the Brier

Jeremy Mallais joined the field for the Canadian men’s curling championship by winning the New Brunswick final Sunday.

Mallais and his team out of Saint John defeated James Grattan 5-4 in Fredericton.

The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier from Feb. 28 to March 8 in Calgary will include a defending champion, Team Canada, for the first time.

Calgary’s John Morris is skipping the team— which includes third Pat Simmons, second Carter Rycroft and lead Nolan Thiessen. Kevin Koe left the foursome to form a new team after winning last year’s Brier.

Provincial championships for British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northern Ontario, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador get underway this week and conclude with next Sunday’s final.

Prince Edward Island’s men’s championship is scheduled for Feb. 10.

Jean-Michel Menard will wear Quebec’s colours at the Brier for the ninth time in his career. Menard won the provincial championship Jan. 18.

He became the first francophone skip to win a Canadian title in 2006 and also took silver at the world championship that year.

Yukon’s Bob Smallwood punched his ticket to Calgary last month when his team went unbeaten through the territorial championship.