Like finding Mario Lemieux's stick, but for curling

Local curler Bob Valade showed off a pretty special curling brush at the Bon Soo Family Funspiel on Monday.

In 2011, when he was working as part of the ice-crew for the World Curling Tour at the Essar Centre, Valade found world-famous curler Don Bartlett’s curling brush

“He left it at the weigh in area of the rink. When I went in there in the morning to work on the ice I found the broom at the far end. I looked at it and it was Barlett’s broom. I called the Quality Inn hotel they were staying at and they said the team had already left to go back home,” said Valade.

Bartlett came to Sault Ste. Marie in November of 2011 to represent Edmonton in the World Curling Tour.

Valade said that, for a curler, it was like finding Mario Lemieux’s hockey stick after a Stanley Cup Playoff game.

Bartlett has played in the Winter Olympics, several Briers, World Championships, and has had many other accomplishments in the world of curling.

There is even a curling tournament named after him - ‘The Don Bartlett Classic’.

Valade stores the brush in his locker at the Community First Curling Center but takes it out at least twice a week to use it in his senior’s league that plays there.

“Don Bartlett was one of the elite players. He could throw a pretty good rock, he threw heavy takeout, and he was a good sweeper. I feel kind of honoured to have his brush,” said Valade.