Émile Asselin

Émile Asselin (born November 15, 1996) is a Canadian curler from Montreal, Quebec.^[2] He currently plays second on Team Mike Fournier.

Émile Asselin
Curler
Born	(1996-11-15) November 15, 1996 (age 28) Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
Team
Curling club	Glenmore CC, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC[1]
Skip	Michael Fournier
Third	Charlie Richard
Second	Émile Asselin
Lead	Punit Sthankiya
Curling career
Member Association	Quebec (2013–2024)  Ontario (2024–present)
Brier appearances	2 (2020, 2023)
World Mixed Championship appearances	1 (2023)
Top CTRS ranking	14th (2022–23)
Medal record Curling Representing  Canada World Mixed Championship 2023 Aberdeen

Career

Playing lead for his brother Félix Asselin, Émile won back-to-back Quebec Junior Curling Championships in 2015 and 2016.^[3] The team had a strong showing at the 2015 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, qualifying for the championship pool with a 6–0 record. They then went 1–3 in the championship pool, qualifying for the tiebreaker. Team Asselin defeated Alberta in the tiebreaker before losing to Saskatchewan in the second, ultimately being eliminated.^[4] The team just missed the playoffs the following season, finishing tied for fourth place with a 6–4 record.^[5]

After Félix aged out of juniors, Émile joined the Alek Bédard rink out of Lacolle for his final two years of juniors. The team consisted of Bédard at skip, Louis Quevillon at third, Asselin at second and Bradley Lequin at lead. After failing to win the provincial championship in 2017, the team won the Quebec Junior Curling Championship in 2018. This qualified them for the 2018 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, held January 13–21 in Shawinigan, Quebec. At the championship, the team finished the round robin with a 4–2 record, which was enough to qualify them for the championship pool. They then lost three of their four games, finishing the tournament in seventh place with a 5–5 record.^[6]

In 2019, Émile played second on Félix's team at the 2019 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, which also included Laurie St-Georges at third and Emily Riley at lead. The team finished on top of the standings after the championship pool with an 8–2 record before losing in the semifinal to Nova Scotia. They bounced back in the bronze medal game, defeating Ontario for the bronze medal.^[7]

After being the alternate for the Mike Fournier rink during the 2018–19 season, Asselin rejoined the Bédard rink for the 2019–20 season, Team Bédard competed in four tour events but only found success in one, the Challenge Casino de Charlevoix, where they reached the semifinals.^[8] At the 2020 Quebec Tankard, the team qualified for the championship round with a 5–1 record. They then went 2–1 in their next three games, good enough to earn them a spot in the 3 vs. 4 page playoff game. They then defeated Martin Ferland 9–8 in the 3 vs. 4 game, upset Mike Fournier 9–8 in the semifinal and beat Vincent Roberge 7–2 to claim the championship title.^[9][10] Their win earned them a berth to the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier in Kingston, Ontario.^[11] There, they finished with a 1–6 record, only managing to beat Team Nunavut.^[12]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled.^[13] Curling Québec then decided to select Team Fournier to represent Quebec at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, meaning Team Bédard would not have the opportunity to repeat as back-to-back provincials champions.^[14]

Team Bédard had a strong start to the 2021–22 season, reaching the final of the Moosehead Classic. They then won the Challenge Nord-Ouest Air Creebec, beating the Jean-Sébastien Roy rink in the final game.^[15] They had two more playoff appearances during the season at the Challenge Casino de Charlevoix and the Finale du Circuit where they reached the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.^[16] The Quebec Tankard was once again cancelled due to the pandemic and the Fournier rink was appointed as the provinces representatives, ending Team Bédard's season.^[17] After the season, Mike Fournier moved to Ontario and Asselin joined the team which was taken over by his brother Félix. The team also included Martin Crête and Jean-François Trépanier.^[18]

Asselin won the 2022 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship as a member of his brother Félix's Quebec team.^[19] They went on to win the bronze medal at the world mixed curling championships in Aberdeen, Scotland, narrowly defeating Norway 4-3.^[20]

Personal life

Asselin is currently a physiotherapy student at the Université de Montréal. His brother is Félix Asselin.^[2]

Teams

Season	Skip	Third	Second	Lead
2013–14[21]	Félix Asselin	Alex Cormier	Lewis South	Émile Asselin
2014–15	Félix Asselin	Alex Cormier	Lewis South	Émile Asselin
2015–16	Félix Asselin	Nick den Hartog	Maxence Martel	Émile Asselin
2016–17	Alek Bédard	Louis Quevillon	Émile Asselin	Bradley Lequin
2017–18	Alek Bédard	Louis Quevillon	Émile Asselin	Bradley Lequin
2019–20	Alek Bédard	Louis Quevillon	Émile Asselin	Bradley Lequin
2020–21	Alek Bédard	Louis Quevillon	Émile Asselin	Bradley Lequin
2021–22	Alek Bédard	Louis Quevillon	Émile Asselin	Bradley Lequin
2022–23	Félix Asselin	Martin Crête	Émile Asselin	Jean-François Trépanier
2023–24	Félix Asselin	Martin Crête	Émile Asselin	Jean-François Trépanier
2024–25	Mike Fournier	Charlie Richard	Émile Asselin	Punit Sthankiya

References

1. "Émile Asselin Profile". Curling Canada. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
2. "2020 Tim Hortons Brier Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
3. "Past Provincial Champions – Junior Boys". Curling Quebec. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
4. "Saskatchewan reaches men's final at 2015 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors". Independent Sports News. February 1, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
5. "Nova Scotia women, Northern Ontario men headed to finals at 2016 Canadian Juniors". Curling Canada. January 29, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
6. "Defending champs B.C. still alive at 2018 New Holland Canadian Juniors". Curling Canada. January 19, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
7. "Manitoba wins Canadian Mixed title in front of hometown crowd". Curling Canada. November 11, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
8. "2019 Challenge Casino de Charlevoix". CurlingZone. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
9. Marc-André Couillard (January 29, 2021). "Une équipe de Lacolle représentera le Québec au championnat canadien de curling" (in French). Coup d’œil. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
10. "Congratulations to the new provincial champions!". Curling Quebec. 27 January 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
11. "Quebec's Bedard has high hopes for rookie week". CurlingZone. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
12. "Next level!". Curling Canada. March 3, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
13. Monica Dedich (December 2, 2020). "Point de la situation : Championnats Provinciaux". Curling Quebec (in French). Retrieved September 2, 2021.
14. Alanna Routledge (January 14, 2020). "Dévoilement des équipes Québécoises masculine et féminine". Curling Quebec (in French). Retrieved September 2, 2021.
15. "Challenge du Nord-Ouest Air Creebec 2021". WebSpiel. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
16. "Team Alek Bedard". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
17. "Tankard Hardline" (in French). Curling Quebec. February 10, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
18. "📢 NEW TEAMS ALLERT!!! 📢". Facebook. Team Fournier. May 6, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
19. "Quebec beats Northern Ontario for third straight mixed curling title". TSN. 12 November 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
20. "Canada scores late, defeats Norway for world mixed curling bronze medal". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
21. "Émile Asselin Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved September 2, 2021.

External links

• Émile Asselin at World Curling