Takeaways: What we learned at Grand Slam season opener

The first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season has come and gone. Canada’s new-look Kerri Einarson squad and Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller were the first teams to be crowned champions in the new quadrennial at the Co-op Invitational in Victoria. However, there is a lot more to the story than just the winners. We saw the GSOC debuts for many new rinks, how teams managed playing with one less minute of thinking time from last year and a newish sweeping technique that seems to be taking over the women’s game. Along with the fact Canadian curling fans didn’t boo…