There has been a radical change to the game of curling since Todd Troyer won the Canadian junior championship in 1988 with Victoria's Mike Wood.

However, Troyer, the coach of Josh Hozack's team from the Victoria Curling Centre, knows what it takes to come home with the crown.

"When I was playing junior, we used corn brooms and there was no freeguard zone,'' said Troyer as Hozack, third Corey Chester, second Nolan Reid and lead Zac Capron prepare for the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Championships, which start Saturday in Napanee, Ont.

"I played men's curling for about 20 years with players like Mike Wood, Jay Tuson and Barry Moore. I will pass along some of those experiences to the team.

"I think that playing in those tough provincials [the Hozack team needed two tiebreaker wins just to make the playoffs] will help us. We know that the road to a national title will not be easy. The team is pumped up to go and I think our fitness level will be able to handle that many games. We also have to make sure that we are mentally strong enough to handle the adversities. After losses, we'll have to regroup so that we can come out in the next game and make more shots to be successful.''

Hozack won the B.C. title in December at the Victoria Curling Centre after a 3-2 win over Patrick McEachran of the North Shore Winter Club in North Vancouver.

"Playing 11 games at the provincials will help us prepare for the nationals,'' said Hozack. "We don't know very much about the teams and I'm excited about going.

"The key for us is to get a good read on the ice and be comfortable with it. I'm excited about wearing the jackets and representing B.C.''

The junior championships are a marathon. Each team will play 12 round-robin games before the top three (men's and women's teams) advance to the playoffs.

The B.C. junior women's representative is Kesa Van Osch of Nanaimo. Van Osch, with the help of her sisters, Kalia and Marika, and Brooklyn Leitch, won the title with an 8-4 win over Falon Burkitt of Prince George.

"We are going to enjoy every moment at the event,'' said Kesa Van Osch. "We want to play like we can and don't get stressed out. I know absolutely nothing about the field and it really doesn't matter because we have to play all of the teams.''

Van Osch opens the competition Saturday against Jocelyn Peterman from Red Deer and Roxane Perron of Quebec City.

Chester, who throws third rocks for Hozack's rink, said his team hasn't changed its routine since winning at provincials.

"What we have tried to do is get as many games as possible against Jay Tuson, Neil Dangerfield and Roselyn Craig because they were all preparing for provincials," he said.

"We have to stay focused at the nationals and be as consistent as possible. With our team, we know that if we are in a do-or-die situation, we can still pull through, just like the provincials."

"I'm excited about going but not too nervous. I think my dad [Victoria Curling Centre manager Bill] gets more nervous than I do.''

Hozack's first two games Saturday are against Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton and Felix Asselin of Montreal.

"I don't think there are any complete teams returning to the nationals,'' said Troyer. "All of the teams will be an unknown quantity until we start playing and that should make it very interesting.''

rrauch@timescolonist.com