Connor Njegovan

Connor Njegovan (born June 23, 1992) is a Canadian curler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He currently plays lead on Team Jason Gunnlaugson.[2]

Connor Njegovan
Curler
Born (1992-06-23) June 23, 1992
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Team
Curling clubGranite CC,
Winnipeg, MB[1]
SkipJason Gunnlaugson
ThirdAdam Casey
SecondMatt Wozniak
LeadConnor Njegovan
Career
Member Association Manitoba
Brier appearances1 (2020)
Top CTRS ranking6th (2017–18)

Career

Juniors

Njegovan made his first and only Canadian Junior Curling Championships appearance in 2010 playing second for the Alex Forrest rink. The team finished the round robin in first place only suffering two losses to Northern Ontario and Saskatchewan. This meant the team had an automatic bye to the final. There, they faced Ontario who they had previously beaten in the round robin. Unfortunately, the team gave up two in the final end to lose the game 8–7. Njegovan curled an average 81% during the round robin.[3]

Men's

Njegovan played for the Jeff Stoughton rink for the 2014–15 season, which would be Stoughton's last. The team played in four Grand Slam of Curling events but only qualified in one, the 2014 Masters. At the 2015 Manitoba provincials, the team qualified for the championship round as the third seed. They defeated Braden Calvert 6–4 in the 3 vs. 4 game before being eliminated in the semi-final by the Mike McEwen rink.[4]

The following year at the 2016 Viterra Championship, his rink of Alex Forrest, Travis Bale and Ian McMillan failed to make the final four championship round after losing the Double Knockout qualifier against Matt Dunstone 7–3.[5] Njegovan joined Dunstone the following season with Forrest and McMillan to try to qualify for the Brier again at the 2017 Viterra Championship. But once again, his team would be bested in the Double Knockout round, this time to Jason Gunnlaugson.[6]

For the 2017–18 season, Njegovan would once again stay with Forrest and McMillan but would bring on Gunnlaugson to skip the team. The team had a successful Grand Slam season, playing in every slam and qualifying in six of their seven events including winning the 2017 Tour Challenge Tier 2.[7] However at the 2018 Viterra Championship, the team struggled going 1–2 in the Double Knockout bracket and missing the playoffs. The team had a less successful following season, only playing five slam and qualifying in one of them. At this years provincials, the team qualified for the Championship Round as the number one seed. But they fell apart in the playoffs, losing the 1 vs. 2 game against Carruthers and the semifinal against Lyburn.[8] The team did get to represent Canada at the Second Leg of the 2018-19 Curling World Cup, where they went 1–5.[9][10]

The team won the 2019 Cargill Curling Training Centre Icebreaker to start the 2019–20 season.[11] They also won the Mother Club Fall Curling Classic and the Ed Werenich Golden Wrench Classic.[12][13] Njegovan won his first Provincial title at the 2020 Viterra Championship after defeating the Mike McEwen rink 7–4 in the final.[14] Team Gunnlaugson represented Manitoba at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, where they finished in eighth place with a 5–6 record.[15]

Coaching

During the 2019–20 season, Njegovan coached the Sayaka Yoshimura team from Japan. He coached them to a bronze medal finish at the 2020 Japan Curling Championships and a runner-up finish at the 2019 Masters Grand Slam event.

Personal life

Njegovan is married to fellow curler Selena Njegovan.[16] He is currently a real estate agent with Royal LePage - The Neufeld Group.[17] He attended the University of Manitoba.

Teams
Season Skip Third Second Lead
2009–10[18] Alex ForrestJoey WitherspoonConnor NjegovanMike Neufeld
2011–12 Joey WitherspoonConnor NjegovanTaylor McIntyreBrett Brezden
2012–13 Kyle DoeringConnor NjegovanDerek OryniakKyle Kurz
2013–14 William LyburnAlex ForrestConnor NjegovanTyler Forrest
2014–15 Jeff StoughtonRob FowlerAlex ForrestConnor Njegovan
2015–16 Alex ForrestTravis BaleIan McMillanConnor Njegovan
2016–17 Matt DunstoneAlex ForrestIan McMillanConnor Njegovan
2017–18 Jason GunnlaugsonAlex ForrestIan McMillanConnor Njegovan
2018–19 Jason GunnlaugsonAlex ForrestDenni NeufeldConnor Njegovan
2019–20 Jason GunnlaugsonAlex ForrestAdam CaseyConnor Njegovan
2020–21 Jason GunnlaugsonAdam CaseyMatt WozniakConnor Njegovan

References
  1. "Connor Njegovan Profile". Curl Manitoba. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  2. "CurlingZone Profile". CurlingZone. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  3. "2010 Canadian Junior Men - Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  4. "2015 Safeway Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. "2016 Manitoba Viterra Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  6. "2017 Viterra Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  7. "Gunnlaugson wins 2017 Tour Challenge Tier 2". CurlingZone. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  8. "2019 Viterra Championship". Curl Manitoba. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  9. "Curling World Cup Second Leg - Teams". Curling World Cup. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  10. "Curling World Cup Second Leg - Standings". Curling World Cup. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  11. "Gunnlaugson wins 2019 Cargill Curling Training Centre Icebreaker". CurlingZone. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  12. "Gunnlaugson wins 2019 Mother Club Fall Curling Classic". CurlingZone. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  13. "Gunnlaugson wins 2020 Ed Werenich Golden Wrench Classic presented by The Lodge Sasquatch Kitchen". CurlingZone. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  14. "Team Gunnlaugson upsets Team McEwen in Manitoba Men's Finals". Sportsnet. February 10, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  15. "Is this the year?". Curling Canada. March 6, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  16. "Modern Romantic Wedding in Winnipeg, Manitoba". Wedding Bells. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  17. "2020 Tim Hortons Brier Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  18. "Connor Njegovan Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
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