Ben Hebert

Benjamin "Ben" Hebert[2] (born March 16, 1983) is a Canadian curler, a Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist, 2008 World Champion and four time Brier Champion from Chestermere, Alberta.[3]

For the French golfer, see Benjamin Hébert.
Ben Hebert
Curler
Born (1983-03-16) March 16, 1983
Regina, Saskatchewan
Team
Curling clubThe Glencoe Club,[1]
Calgary, Alberta
SkipKevin Koe
ThirdB. J. Neufeld
SecondJohn Morris
LeadBen Hebert
AlternateTed Appelman
Career
Member Association Saskatchewan (1998-2006)
 Alberta (2006-present)
Brier appearances12 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020)
World Championship
appearances		4 (2008, 2009, 2016, 2019)
Olympic
appearances		2 (2010, 2018)
Top CTRS ranking1st (2006–07, 2007–08, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2015-16, 2018-19)
Grand Slam victories12 (2007 Canadian Open (Jan.), 2007 National (Mar.), 2007 Canadian Open (Dec.), 2007 Players', 2007 National (Dec.), 2010 Canadian Open, 2010 Players', 2010 National (Dec.), 2011 Players', 2014 Players', 2015 Tour Challenge, 2018 Players')
Medal record
Men's Curling
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
2010 Vancouver
World Curling Championships
2008 Grand Forks
2016 Basel
2009 Moncton
2019 Lethbridge
Tim Hortons Brier
2017 St. John's
World Junior Curling Championships
2003 Flims
Representing  Alberta
Tim Hortons Brier
2008 Winnipeg
2009 Calgary
2016 Ottawa
2019 Brandon
Canadian Olympic Curling Trials
2009 Edmonton
2017 Ottawa
2005 Halifax
2013 Winnipeg

In 2019, Hebert was named the greatest Canadian male lead in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers.[4]

Career

Hebert, originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, played lead for Pat Simmons from 2003 to 2006, where he played in two Briers for Saskatchewan (2005 & 2006). The team finished 6-5 and 5-6 respectively. Hebert was also the 5th player on Team Canada, skipped by Steve Laycock, which won the World Junior Curling Championships in 2003.[5]

Hebert moved to Alberta, and joined up briefly with the John Morris team. He then went with Morris later on in the year to play for Kevin Martin. With his new team, he won the Canada Cup in 2007 and finished fourth place at the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier. In 2008, Hebert was a part of the Alberta team that won the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier, and a member of Team Canada that won the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship. In 2009, Hebert was again the Lead for Team Alberta that repeated as 2009 Tim Hortons Brier Champions as they went 13-0 for the second consecutive Brier, and in the process set a new Brier record with most consecutive wins at 26.

Scandal broke out in their final round robin game at the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials against the Glenn Howard rink. Howard's third, Richard Hart, accused Hebert of an illegal brushing move in the 9th end. Replays show Hebert illegally lifting his broom off the ice in a vertical direction, instead of lifting it off to the side. This tactic is sometimes made to slow down a rock by dropping debris in front of the rock. Indeed, the rock he was sweeping was heavy, and Hebert's tactic may have caused the rock to veer off course slightly. Whether or not the act was intentional was left undiscovered.

Hebert and the rest of Team Martin went on to defeat Glenn Howard in the Final of the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. Team Martin went on to represent Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, winning the gold medal after their 6-3 defeat of Thomas Ulsrud in the finals. Team Martin then capped an amazing 2009/2010 season by winning The Players Championship with an 8-7 extra end victory over Brad Gushue. Martin's team finished 2010 at the top of the WCT Money List with $139,750 and at the top of the WCT Order of Merit. Martin and co. capped the season with a 32-game winning streak.

Hebert and Team Martin won The National in December 2010. In January 2011, Team Martin won the TSN Skins Game defeating Scotland's David Murdoch in the Final and earning $57,000 in the process. They later defeated Kevin Koe in the Alberta Provincial Final and went on to finish 4th at the 2011 Tim Horton's Brier where Hebert was named a First Team All Star at Lead. They capped the season with a win at the Players Championship. With the win, Hebert and his team won the $25,000 first-place prize, plus took home a $50,000 bonus for winning the season-long Capital One Cup points race. The rink finished the season with $125,500 in prize money, second only to Winnipeg's Mike McEwen, who collected $127,490.[6]

Personal life

Hebert is married and has two children.[7] He is a Business Development Manager with Caltech Surveys Ltd, primarily an oil and gas land surveying company servicing Western Canada (BC, AB, SK, and MB).[8] His cousins DJ and Dustin Kidby are also curlers,[9] as is his uncle Brad Hebert.[10]

Teams
From left: Kevin Martin, John Morris, Marc Kennedy, Hebert
Season Skip Third Second Lead Events
1998–99[11] Kyle GeorgeBen HebertAdan VeareDustin Kidby
1999–00[12] Kyle GeorgeBen HebertTodd MontgomeryDustin Kidby
2000–01[10] Kyle GeorgeBen HebertTodd MontgomeryDustin Kidby
2001–02 Kyle GeorgeBen HebertTodd MontgomeryDustin Kidby2002 CJCC
2002–03[13] Kyle GeorgeBen HebertTodd MontgomeryDustin Kidby
2003–04 Pat SimmonsJeff SharpChris HaichertBen Hebert2004 CC
2004–05 Pat SimmonsJeff SharpChris HaichertBen Hebert2005 Sask.,[14] Brier
2005–06 Pat SimmonsJeff SharpChris HaichertBen Hebert2006 Sask.,[14] Brier
2006–07 Kevin MartinJohn MorrisMarc KennedyBen Hebert2007 Alta., CC, Brier
2007–08 Kevin MartinJohn MorrisMarc KennedyBen Hebert2008 Alta., CC, Brier, WCC
2008–09 Kevin MartinJohn MorrisMarc KennedyBen Hebert2009 Alta., CC, Brier, WCC
2009–10 Kevin MartinJohn MorrisMarc KennedyBen Hebert2009 COCT, 2010 OG
2010–11 Kevin MartinJohn MorrisMarc KennedyBen Hebert2010 CC, 2011 Alta., Brier
2011–12 Kevin MartinJohn MorrisMarc KennedyBen Hebert2011 CC, 2012 Alta.
2012–13 Kevin MartinJohn MorrisMarc KennedyBen Hebert2012 CC, 2013 Alta., Brier
2013–14 Kevin MartinDavid NedohinMarc KennedyBen Hebert2013 COCT, 2014 Alta.
2014–15 Kevin KoeMarc KennedyBrent LaingBen Hebert2014 CC, 2015 Alta., Brier
2015–16 Kevin KoeMarc KennedyBrent LaingBen Hebert2015 CC, 2016 Alta., Brier, WCC
2016–17 Kevin KoeMarc KennedyBrent LaingBen Hebert2016 CC, 2017 Brier
2017–18 Kevin KoeMarc KennedyBrent LaingBen Hebert2017 COCT, 2018 OG
2018–19 Kevin KoeB.J. NeufeldColton FlaschBen Hebert2018 CC, 2019 Alta., Brier, WCC
2019–20 Kevin KoeB.J. NeufeldColton FlaschBen Hebert2019 CC, 2020 Brier
2020–21 Kevin KoeB.J. NeufeldJohn MorrisBen Hebert

References
  1. "Ben Hebert Profile". Curling Canada. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  2. 2017 Brier Media Guide: Previous Rosters
  3. "Curling Scores on Curling.ca".
  4. Horne, Ryan (4 March 2019). "Canada's Greatest Curlers: Hebert edges Rocque for best lead". TSN. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2010-05-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. http://www.canada.com/sports/Martin+caps+curling+season+Grand+style/4631393/story.html#ixzz1JrBr1PP6%5B%5D
  7. https://www.curling.ca/files/2019/11/2019-Home-Hardware-Canada-Cup-Media-Guide-online.pdf
  8. "Caltech Surveys Ltd. - Surveying, Mapping & Data Management". Caltech Surveys Ltd.
  9. Heroux, Devin (March 8, 2017). "Out at the Brier: Gay curler fulfils childhood dream". CBC.
  10. "Hebert busy on all ice". Regina Leader-Post. February 14, 2001. p. B4. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  11. "Scoreboard". Regina Leader-Post. March 18, 1999. p. B8. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  12. "George serves notice with older competition". Regina Leader-Post. December 31, 1999. p. B3. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  13. "Local SocreBoard". Regina Leader-Post. January 2, 2003. p. C6. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  14. "Saskatchewan Curling Centre : saskcurl.com". 12 May 2006. Archived from the original on 12 May 2006.
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