Roar Of The Rings: Kevin Martin’s Brier nightmare now far off in the rearview mirror as Dave Nedohin settles in

Kevin Martin is putting the agony behind him, it seems.

Looking for the third Olympic berth of his hall of fame career, you'd have been forgiven for feeling that it was not too likely to happen, after a dismal 2013 Brier appearance that saw he and teammates Ben Hebert, Marc Kennedy and John Morris suffer a a 1-4 start and ultimately miss the playoffs.

A 2-0 start at the Roar Of The Rings means so far, so good, however. A scrappy, 6-5 win over Jeff Stoughton (in a highly entertaining affair) has Martin on target for a playoff spot. It also means that the team that was grenading last season is coalescing this year and doing it with Dave Nedohin at vice instead of Morris.

There'd been some speculation that the addition of Nedohin wasn't quite working out the way Martin had wished. Was the new vice performing well enough to lift the rink in the way it needed? Could they mesh in time to make an Olympic run?

The addition of 2006 Olympic gold medal skip Brad Gushue as the team's alternate, just before this week's Canadian Olympic qualifying tournament, piqued some curiosity and started some whispers.

While the reason for bringing in Gushue was that Martin had been experiencing a revisiting of some back troubles, there'd been some speculation - unfairly or not - that it may have been as much for insurance at the vice position.

Nedohin, who began the tournament with an 85% effort in the team's first win over Mike McEwen (he's third among vices after two games at 84%), had a tough third end against Stoughton, missing a couple of shots including a draw that sailed right through the house. However, he rebounded with a couple of pistols in the fourth, including a perfect freeze and a double that got Team Martin out of trouble.

Then, in the eighth, he did it again, firing a raise-double take out that led to Team Martin grabbing two and forging a 5-2 lead. That's top drawer vice play and essential for any championship team.

Martin, who'd shot 96% in his opening win over McEwen, continued his torrid play with another 96% against Stoughton. His one blemish, really, was drawing a wee bit deep with his first in the 6th, opening the door on a possible big end. However, The Bear rebounded with a nifty little hit and roll with his last that, in 'plan B' fashion, cozied up to another stone to force Stoughton into a circus shot for a possible multiple. In the end, Stoughton settled for one and Martin retained control of the game.

Credit to Stoughton, though, who made Team Martin regroup to earn the victory when he made the shot of the tournament so far, a gorgeous shave-take out of a Martin stone that saw the shooter then carom into the house to remove another counter and give him an improbable three-spot to tie it, in the ninth end.

Stoughton may or may not be able to recover from an oh and two start, but if he doesn't, you can't say he went meekly.

But, back to Nedohin. It seems he's ready to rise to the occasion and that is no surprise to TSN commentator Russ Howard, who sang his praises during the Tuesday afternoon telecast.

"I think they’re helping each other," said Howard. "Nedohin threw skip rocks for so long and was so successful... to throw vice rocks, I don’t think there’s any big adjustment for him at all."

As well, Howard believes Nedohin is a better fit for Martin now than he would have been a few years ago, back when Nedohin was helping Randy Ferbey win four Briers. "The Ferbey team played a lot more soft shots," said Howard. "The Martin team’s doing that more in the last few years."

As for Gushue, his well-known ability to chart and read rocks may be the added bonus that could make this team even better. Early in the telecast, visuals of him sitting with a clipboard making notes, while his teammates practiced, were shown. If he gives Martin's crew a leg up on that sort of thing they might very well become unbeatable.

Just like the old days. But with a couple of new faces. The wreckage of the 2012/13 season - right now at least - seems a relic of another age.