Randy Ferbey wears the captain's C as Canada takes on Europe at the Continental Cup of Curling

Randy Ferbey doesn't seem to be feeling much pressure as some of the best curlers in the world gather in Calgary for this week's Continental Cup. The four-time Brier champion skip - who'll be inducted into the World Curling Hall of Fame this year - won't be on the ice, but he will be very near it and to the collection of players who will be trying to win this Ryder Cup-style team curling event.

As team captain for Canada, Ferbey sees his role as being somewhat ceremonial, although that is not entirely so. He refers to himself as the 'honorary' captain of the team and insists that coach Rick Lang is the one who does and will do most of the guiding and decision-making.

“I said, you know what? You’ve done a good job the last five years, just go with your heart,” Ferbey says of Lang, as we launch into a discussion about the Continental Cup, life after competition, the state of Edmonton curling and his still missing Brier jacket.

Lang, long a much-respected coach after a stellar career as a player, has been instrumental in guiding Team North America (it will be strictly Team Canada this time around) to its successes and it failures at the Continental Cup for a number of years, now. Because of that, Ferbey, who has been consulted about player match-ups and strategies, has deferred to the coach when it comes right down to the brass tacks.

Honestly, Ferbey says, there isn't much to do as captain, considering the team of curlers Canada has assembled for this series of games that will ultimately decide if they - or Team Europe - get bragging rights for the season.

“This is probably the strongest team we’ve ever sent, to be honest with you,” Ferbey declares, before going on to add that it might afford he and Lang the luxury of pointing them towards the ice and hitting cruise control.

“These are pretty seasoned curlers. They don’t need much advice from me or from Rick for that matter. We’re there to make sure everything flows perfectly and maybe set few match ups that we think might be more beneficial.”

As Thursday's opening games draw near, Ferbey says that most of the decisions on pairings and match-ups have been done, but that there could be some tinkering as the fun and excitement of opening day turns into the more seriously natured crunch time of Saturday and Sunday.

“Some of the teams, for mixed doubles, we’ve already determined who’s gonna be playing together. Rick knows these players pretty good and quite frankly, you could probably draw a lot of these out of a hat and it’s gonna be pretty good no matter who you get.”

Make no mistake about it; Ferbey, who has played in four of these competitions himself, says there is a definite change in mood as the crowning of a champion gets closer and closer. Continental Cup is a combination of fun spiel and world championship, with the mood slowly but surely changing as the games progress.

“In the beginning it’s loosey-goosey. But as you get closer, you get a little more serious,” he says, remembering his days as a competitor at past Continental Cups. When asked if the notion that the pressure really ratchets up on the weekend is real or just imagined by a television viewer watching at home, he replies in the affirmative. The tension takes over.

“It does," he says, knowingly. "It does."

"You’re actually looking forward to that final point. I’ve been on both sides. Where you won and where you lost. Trust me, it’s a lot more fun when you win. There is that build up and that anticipation. It’s kind of a neat feeling because you’re sharing it with 25 other people rather than just three individuals.”

"At the beginning you think 'hey this is gonna be fun. It’s not very serious. We can drink, we can party, we can socialize.' You know, all that sort of good stuff. But as it gets rolling, it is a very serious event," he says, then adds a phrase he used a total of three or four times during our conversation. “You don’t wanna lose.”

Not that there won't be room for good-natured ribbing and lighter moments. At last year's Continental Cup, both Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris (both of whom will be back to play this year), punctuated the event with some trick-shooting. Lawes pulled off her first spinarama shot, while Morris showed off a dipsy-doodle shot of his own. Part of Ferbey's task as captain will be to make sure the players approach the competition with a healthy balance.

“It’s a combination. You’ve got to know when to have fun and when not to," he says. "The fans coming out want to see that sort of stuff. But at the end of the day, they want to see a legitimate winner and loser. They do want to see the serious side of it all.”

Since stepping back from the competitive grind of the game - "I still play a little bit," he says - Ferbey has noticed a change in his knowledge base, when it comes to players and teams, as he's been afforded plenty of time to observe the game from a bit of a distance.

“I’ve watched more curling in the last two or three years. I know everything that’s going on with everybody and every team more than ever. More than ever,” he repeats.

So, it may be that Ferbey will have a little more to offer at the Continental Cup than he lets on. You'd have to assume that he goes into it with some knowledge of team strengths and weaknesses and little things that might need an adjustment along the way. Who knows? The experience here might just propel him into the coaching ranks on a more full-time basis, although he says that's not something he's really searching for right now.

“I’ve had an opportunity to coach a lot of teams," he explains. "I just couldn’t see myself sitting around a weekend coaching these teams, like a competitive men’s or women’s team. I can’t see myself giving what a team needs, from a time perspective.”

Instead, Ferbey will continue to work with World Financial Group, the title sponsor for this event. In the coming weeks, he'll hopscotch across the country, promoting seniors' curling and a contest that will see somebody win a chance to play against him later this year.

This week, though, he'll be in Calgary to provide strategy and advice to Canada's young gun curlers as they meet the best Europe has to offer. Or to hear him tell it, just trying not to gum up the works.

FERBEY CONCERNED ABOUT EDMONTON CURLING, MISSING BRIER JACKET

A conversation with one of Edmonton's greatest ever curlers could not be had without having him weigh in on the recent turn of events in that city, as outlined by Con Griwkowsky in the Edmonton Sun. The city's provincial qualifier was cancelled when only seven teams signed up. All of them were give byes to the Northern Alberta Playdowns.

“It’s very disappointing," Ferbey says. "We’ve tried to analyze this for the last ten years, why it’s dropped.”

“We used to think it was because there were too many good teams and people don’t want to waste their time. I still think that has something to do with it. It’s $450 dollars to play in the thing. Are you going to spend $450 dollars when you know you’re really not going to win?”

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I bring it up because I'm hopeful there's been a happy ending to the story. Almost two years ago, someone stole Ferbey's Brier jacket, complete with eight purple hearts affixed to it, from his vehicle while it was parked in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

“I attempt to forget about it and then someone else calls about it and I think ‘damn, I don’t have that thing. It is disappointing because there’s a lot of history, a lot of stories in that jacket.”

Ferbey's fear is that the thieves - not knowing what they had - just tossed the jacket in a dumpster. There is always the hope that there is more to the story and that someone out there has some information as to where it might be.

The Crime Stoppers toll free number is: 1-800-222-8477. Strathcona County RCMP: 780-467-7741.