Later this afternoon, odds are that Brad Gushue will win another Newfoundland and Labrador men's curling championship.

This province's best curler hopes to claim the Tankard today at the Remax Centre in St. John's and advance to the Canadian men's championship - the Brier.

If he gets there, it will be Gushue's 10th Brier appearance as a skip. Since 2003, the St. John's native has worn the red jacket of Newfoundland and Labrador at every Brier, with one notable exception.

Gushue did not represent N.L. in 2006, and not because of a loss. He was in Torino, Italy in February 2006, winning an Olympic gold medal for Canada while the NL Tankard was being played.

What happened to the curling boom?

If my memory serves me correctly, curling watchers predicted there would be an incredible boom of curlers following the 2006 Olympics.

Young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians would rush to curling clubs, pull out their brooms and start sweeping their way to great heights, they thought.

To be fair, the number of registered of young curlers did increase in 2007 and 2008. However, the great expectations of turning this province into a major player on the Canadian curling scene have yet to materialize.

Stacie Devereaux did win a Canadian junior women's title, and Colin Thomas is an up-and-comer who captured a Canadian university title in 2011, but by and large, the state of the game at the open level is no better than it ever was, and perhaps not as good.

The women's provincial championship generally has the same five or six rinks participating. Devereaux won this year's five-team women's event in January, and is off to the Canadian Scotties. On the men's side, the competitors in this week's Tankard are not curling because of a Gushue influence.

Most of these curlers, men and women, were well established in the sport before Gushue's gold meal victory.

This year's provincial junior women's tournament featured just four entries.

Where have all the curlers gone?

Truth is, the curlers probably have not gone anywhere. They're just not competing at the high level curling watchers expected back in 2006.

To represent Newfoundland and Labrador at a Scotties requires a huge level of commitment. To topple Gushue from his perch as our Brier rep will take a monumental level of commitment.

The 32-year-old Gushue's team - Adam Casey, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker, are recruits from other provinces who moved to St. John's to play with the former Olympic skip.

They are essentially professional curlers, competing on the World Curling Tour all winter, chasing dollars and preparing to chase that elusive Brier, which N.L. won only once, with Jack MacDuff's rink back in 1976.

Gushue and his teammates have curling as their main priority. That's something most curlers in this province cannot do. I'm not condemning Gushue's style; it's just that his priorities are different. Nothing wrong with that.

In fact, you could say Gushue’s success has hampered the growth of the game. It has deterred others from trying to reach for the top.

Curlers are very social people, and that socialization has always been an integral part of the game. Not so for Gushue. He’s focused on winning, and is not particularly interested in making friends at the local club. Maybe not win-at-all-costs, but he’s in it to win for sure. And while that has made Gushue a household name on the national scene, it hasn’t done much for the local sport.

Bar too high?

Maybe Gushue raised the bar too high. Now, the expectation to match his rink is to place curling before career. Most people who curl do so simply for the pure enjoyment, competing in mixed leagues, company spiels and friendly games.

It's like golf - thousands of people 'play', but only so many 'compete'.

And really, is there anything wrong with that?

Follow Don on twitter at @PowerPlay27