Ryan Harnden


Ryan Harnden is a Canadian curler. He currently throws lead stones for the Canadian champion Brad Jacobs rink. The team represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal.

Curling career

Ryan joined forces with his father Eric Harnden for the 2007–08 season, as his second. The team, which also included brother E. J. and Caleb Flaxey at lead won the Dominion Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship that season, and would represent Northern Ontario at the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier. The team would have an unsuccessful Brier, finishing with a 3–8 record. Following the season, Harnden joined forces with Brad Jacobs, and has played with Jacobs ever since. He would play second for the team from 2008 to 2011 and then lead since 2012, after Ryan Fry joined the team as third, and E. J. replaced Ryan at second. In their first season together, the team lost in the 2009 Northern Ontario final to Mike Jakubo. The following season would be more successful. The team played in one Grand Slam, the 2012 The National that season, Harnden's first. The team went 0–5. However, the team did win The Dominion 2010 Northern Ontario Provincial Men's Championship and had a tremendous Brier that season. At the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier, the team finished 2nd after the round robin with a 9–2 record. However, they lost both of their playoff games and would have to settle for a bronze medal.
During the 2010–11 curling season, the team played in two Grand Slams, the 2010 World Cup of Curling and the 2011 BDO Canadian Open where they made the playoffs for the first time, but lost in the quarter final. The team would then go on to win The Dominion 2012 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, their third straight title. At the 2012 Tim Hortons Brier, they once again finished 5th, but with a worse 5–6 record.
The 2012–13 season would be the team's best season to date. The team welcomed Manitoba-born Ryan Fry at the third position, bumping E. J. to play second, and Ryan at lead. The team would make the playoffs in all three Slams they entered, losing in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Masters of Curling and 2013 The National. They made it to the final in their first ever slam at the 2012 Canadian Open of Curling where they lost to the Glenn Howard rink. The team won The Dominion 2013 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship once again, qualifying for the Brier for the fourth straight year. At the Brier, the team finished the round robin with an 8–3 record, good enough for 4th. The team pulled off victories against Newfoundland and Labrador's Brad Gushue, Ontario's Glenn Howard and Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton en route to win Northern Ontario's first Brier title in 28 years. The team would later go on to represent Canada at the 2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship where they won a silver medal, after losing to Sweden's Niklas Edin in the final.

Personal life

Harnden is the son of three-time Northern Ontario champion Eric Harnden. He attended Sault College, the University of British Columbia and Algoma University. He is married to Jasmine Gassi. He is currently employed as a sales representative for Lock City Dairies.

Teams