Team Mike McEwen adds a veteran presence: Jon Mead climbs aboard

Hot on the heels of Craig Savill's announcement that he would be curling for a Nova Scotia team this season, comes the revelation that Savill's 2014-15 teammate with Glenn Howard's foursome, Jon Mead, has landed a casual role with a new team of his own.

And it's no small potatoes.

Mead will return to curling in his home province of Manitoba, as a member of last season's juggernaut (mostly) Team Mike McEwen.

"Mentor, manager, coach, fifth man, all wrapped up into one,” McEwen told Curling Canada's Al Cameron, describing Mead's part-time role with the rink, which ran up an unconscious record of 73 wins and 11 losses last season, winning most everything in sight, except for their long sought-after berth in a Brier.

Mead, the six-time Manitoba champion (and two-time Brier, one-time World Champ) heads back to his provincial roots after spending last season with Team Howard. However,  when Howard decided to invite his son, Scott, as well as Wayne Middaugh to join he and Rich Hart for the upcoming season, both Mead and Savill were given their releases. Savill announced, earlier today, that he was joining Mark Dacey, Shawn Adams and Andrew Gibson.

Mead is perhaps best known for his prodigious hitting talents, which he's showcased time and again over his career, most notably in his time playing third for Jeff Stoughton. With Stoughton, Mead won national championships in 1999 and 2011, adding adding a world title to his resume in 2011. Also of note, Mead was the first overall pick when the TSN Skins Game held an all-star format in 2013.

Part of him being selected that high had to do with his abilities, no doubt. However, it likely had to do with his personality as well. One of the most-liked players on tour, Mead's psyche may just be the tonic the McEwen team has been looking for as they set their sights on a Brier berth in 2016. This move is another step in the evolution of a foursome that was almost dismantled in dismay at the end of the 2013-14 season, only to be reborn with changes in philosophy amidst a new dedication to each other.

As described by McEwen, above, it looks like Mead's talents will be used both on and off the ice. The team soared last season with some training and sports psychology help. They will hope that adding Mead to the mix will give them that little extra something that can propel them to their first provincial championship next winter.