The SaskTel Tankard men's provincial curling championship starts Wednesday in Melville.

A few of the 16 teams that are in this year's Tankard have Moose Jaw connections, including skip Ben Gamble, who is now skipping a rink in Regina with fellow Moose Javians Brayden Mohns and Tyler Krupski.

They are curling this season with Regina’s Rory McCusker as lead. Gamble has been looking forward to this year's Tankard for some time.

“For Brayden and I since last year, I mean we spent so long trying to get there,” said Gamble, who curls every week in the Original 16 Cash League at the Moose Jaw Ford Curling Centre. “And then after last year we both gained experience, and the we realized we can do it again.”

Last year, Gamble was the third and Mohns was the second on the Steven Howard rink that went 1-3 at the Tankard – and were coached by curling legend Russ Howard.

This season, the Gamble rink qualified through winning a Saskatchewan Men’s Curling Tour Bonspiel in Estevan early in the season.

“Especially doing it with Rory and Tyler, this will be their first Tankard so it’s nice getting to experience that with them.”

McCusker is the son of legendary curler and now Gamble team coach Joan McCusker. Gamble and the team enjoy Joan's influence on them.

“We actually got to throw on the Slam ice (a couple of weekends ago), and just the way she is and the person she is is just unreal,” Gamble said. “She’s positive, she’s enthusiastic and she views the game... You can tell there’s a genuine love for the game and it’s infectious."

Gamble's rink plays in Wednesday draw against the Kirk Muyres rink, who are the defending provincial champions.

Other Moose Jaw content at the Tankard includes Derek Owens, who is a second on the Brent Gedak rink, and Grady LaMontagne is a third on the Sam Wills rink in Regina.

The winner of the Tankard will represent Saskatchewan at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier in Kingston Ontario Feb. 29 to March 8.