Eric Christopher "E. J." Harnden, Jr. (born April 14, 1983)[1] is a Canadiancurler. He currently playssecond on TeamMatt Dunstone.
Harnden is the son of three-time Northern Ontario championEric Harnden, Sr. and Susan Hardnen.[1] As a junior, he spared forPierre Charette at the2002 M&M Meat Shops National, which was played in his home town of Sault Ste. Marie.[2] E. J. was a skip during his junior career, but joined forces with his father for the 2007–08 season, as his third. The team, which also included brotherRyan andCaleb Flaxey at lead wonthe Dominion Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship that season, and would representNorthern Ontario at the2008 Tim Hortons Brier. The team would have an unsuccessful Brier, finishing with a 3–8 record. Following the season, Harnden joined forces withBrad Jacobs, and has played with Jacobs ever since. He would play third for the team from 2008 to 2011 and then second since 2012, afterRyan Fry joined the team. In their first season together, the team lost inthe 2009 Northern Ontario final toMike Jakubo. The following season would be more successful. The team played in oneGrand Slam, the2012 The National that season, Harnden's first. The team went 0–5. However, the team did winThe Dominion 2010 Northern Ontario Provincial Men's Championship and had a tremendous Brier that season. At the2010 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 the2010–11 season, the team played in two Grand Slams. They first played in the2010 World Cup of Curling, where they finished 2–3. The team also played in the2011 Players' Championship, but Harnden sat the event out, and was replaced byTed Appelman. That season, the team would then go on to win their second straight provincial title, by winningThe Dominion 2011 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship. While they had a decent 7–4 record at the2011 Tim Hortons Brier, it was not enough to make the playoffs, and they had to settle for 5th. For the 2011–12 season, the team entered two Slams, the2011 World Cup of Curling where they had a 2–3 record) and the2011 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 winThe Dominion 2012 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, their third straight title. At the2012 Tim Hortons Brier, they once again finished 5th, but with a worse 5–6 record.
The2012–13 season would be the team's best season to date. The team welcomed Manitoba-born Ryan Fry at the third position, bumping Harnden to play second. The team would make the playoffs in all three Slams they entered, losing in the quarterfinals of the2012 Masters of Curling and2013 The National. They made it to the final in their first ever slam at the2012 Canadian Open of Curling where they lost to theGlenn Howard rink. The team wonThe 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 Ontario's Glenn Howard and Manitoba'sJeff Stoughton en route to win Northern Ontario's first Brier title in 28 years. The team would later represent Canada at the2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship where they won a silver medal. The next season, the team won the2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, earning them the right to represent Canada at the2014 Winter Olympics. At the Olympics inSochi, they led Canada to a 9–3 victory in the men's final, defeating Great Britain to claim the gold medal.
Following their Olympic success, the Jacobs rink once again made it to the Brierin 2015. After posting a 10–1 round robin record in first place, they won the 1 vs. 2 game sending them to the finals against the defending Brier champions, Team Canada (skipped byPat Simmons), which they lost. Later in the season the Jacobs rink won their first careerGrand Slam event, winning the2015 Players' Championship.
At the2016 Tim Hortons Brier, the Jacobs rink once again tore through the round robin, going undefeated to finish in first place. However, they ran into trouble in the playoffs, losing to Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1 vs. 2 game and to Alberta in the semifinal. They did rebound in the bronze medal game, defeating Manitoba to finish third overall.
The2016–17 season would be the best to date for the Jacobs rink on theWorld Curling Tour, winning two slams, the2016 Boost National and the2017 Humpty's Champions Cup. At the2017 Tim Hortons Brier, the team would once again make the playoffs, after posting an 8-3 round robin record. However, they lost both of their playoff games, settling for fourth place.
The Jacobs team played in the2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials attempting to head to the Olympics again, but his team would finish with a disappointing 3–5 record, missing the playoffs. The team again represented Northern Ontario at the2018 Tim Hortons Brier, making it to the playoffs with an 8–3 record, but lost to Alberta'sBrendan Bottcher rink in the 3 vs. 4 game.
The next season, the Jacobs rink won the2018 Tour Challenge Grand Slam event. A month later, the team won the2018 Canada Cup, their first Canada Cup title, defeatingKevin Koe's rink in the final. The team hadMarc Kennedy playing third, filling in for Ryan Fry, who was on sabbatical following unsportsmanlike behaviour and excessive drinking at the 2018Red Deer Curling Classic.[3]The team once again represented Northern Ontario at the2019 Tim Hortons Brier. The team went 9-2 in the round robin and championship round combined. Jacobs lost the 1 vs. 2 game toKevin Koe and the semifinal toBrendan Bottcher resulting in the team getting the bronze medal.[4]
The following season, the team officially added Kennedy to the line-up at third with Fry going to play withJohn Epping. In their first event, the2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, the team went undefeated up until the final where they would lose to former teammate Fry and Team Epping. Team Jacobs won three straightGrand Slam events, at theTour Challenge,National and theCanadian Open. They would win the2020 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship for the sixth year in a row. At the2020 Tim Hortons Brier, they battled through two tiebreakers before losing toNewfoundland and Labrador'sBrad Gushue in the 3 vs. 4 game, all within the same day. It would be the team's last event of the season as both thePlayers' Championship and theChampions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Team Jacobs played in two tour events during the2020–21 season, winning theStu Sells Oakville Tankard and losing in the qualification game of theAshley HomeStore Curling Classic. Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled. As the reigning provincial champions, Team Jacobs was chosen to represent Northern Ontario at the2021 Tim Hortons Brier.[6] At the Brier, they finished with a 7–5 record.[7]
Team Jacobs began the2021–22 curling season by winning the2021 Oakville Labour Day Classic, then lost in the final of the2021 Masters. In the2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials they tied for first in the round robin, but missed another Olympic berth when they lost toBrad Gushue in the final. The team represented Northern Ontario at the2022 Tim Hortons Brier, they were eliminated by Saskatchewan'sColton Flasch rink in the Championship round, the initial playoffs round after the round robin games.
In May 2022, after Brad Jacobs decided to step away from curling for at least a season, Harnden joinedBrad Gushue's Newfoundland and Labrador rink, replacing their long-time secondBrett Gallant, who had decided to move to Alberta with plans to marry mixed doubles partnerJocelyn Peterman and joinBrendan Bottcher's team in the western province. Harnden had already served as the Gushue rink's alternate at the2022 world men's curling championship the previous month and earned a silver medal.[8] The team would win Canadian titles at the2023 and2024 Briers, and a silver medal at the2023 world championship.
Outside of curling, Harnden works as a senior manager for Instant Products and Operations at theOntario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.[9] He attendedAlgoma University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing.[10] He is married to Rachelle Harnden and has two children.[11]
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Eric Harnden | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden | Caleb Flaxey |
| 2008–09 | Brad Jacobs | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden | Caleb Flaxey |
| 2009–10 | Brad Jacobs | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden | Caleb Flaxey |
| 2010–11 | Brad Jacobs | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden | Scott Seabrook |
| 2011–12 | Brad Jacobs | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden | Scott Seabrook |
| 2012–13 | Brad Jacobs | Ryan Fry | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2013–14 | Brad Jacobs | Ryan Fry | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2014–15 | Brad Jacobs | Ryan Fry | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2015–16 | Brad Jacobs | Ryan Fry | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2016–17 | Brad Jacobs | Ryan Fry | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2017–18 | Brad Jacobs | Ryan Fry | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2018–19 | Brad Jacobs | Ryan Fry | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2019–20 | Brad Jacobs | Marc Kennedy | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2020–21[12] | Brad Jacobs | Marc Kennedy | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2021–22 | Brad Jacobs | Marc Kennedy | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2022–23 | Brad Gushue | Mark Nichols | E. J. Harnden | Geoff Walker |
| 2023–24 | Brad Gushue | Mark Nichols | E. J. Harnden | Geoff Walker |
| 2024 (Sept.–Oct.) | Brad Gushue | Mark Nichols | E. J. Harnden | Geoff Walker |
| 2024–25 (Dec.–Apr.) | Matt Dunstone | Colton Lott | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
| 2025–26 | Matt Dunstone | Colton Lott | E. J. Harnden | Ryan Harnden |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| Demonstration events | |
|---|---|
| Official events |
|
Year: (country's flag) championskip | |
Year: (country's/province's flag) championskip | |
| |
Year: (country's/province's flag) championskip | |
| |
Year: (country's/province's flag) championskip | |
Year: (country's/province's flag) championskip | |
Year: (country's/province's flag) championskip | |
| |
Year: (country's/province's flag) championskip | |
| |
