Grand Prix Final: Ice Dance Preview

Comparing Davis & White to Virtue & Moir is like splitting hairs, but Davis & White have the highest score of the season and if the judges stay consistent, they should come out on top. I expect Virtue & Moir to lead after the short, but Davis & White should win the free by enough to take the overall lead. Pechalat & Bourzat are a good bet for bronze, though neither of their programs seems World Class to me this season. Weaver & Poje are the most beautiful team on the scene today and they have more chemistry and better presentation skills than anybody, in my opinion. I liked Bobrova & Soloviev last season, and I appreciate their effort, but their high-drama programs this season are very 1990s ice dance. While they won Cup of China, I think their scores will slide when compared directly to Davis & White and Virtue & Moir. I'm not sold on the Shibutanis' programs this season and I don't know how they'll hold up in this field. They have the lowest scores of this group, but they are very consistent and will be able to climb if other teams make mistakes.

Placement Predictions:
1) Davis & White (USA) Season's Highest GP Score 179.02
2) Virtue & Moir (CAN) Season's Highest GP Score 178.34
3) Pechalat & Bourzat (FRA) Season's Highest GP Score 164.56
4) Weaver & Poje (CAN) Season's Highest GP Score 161.18
5) Bobrova & Soloviev (RUS) Season's Highest GP Score 163.52
6) Shibutani & Shibutani (USA) Season's Highest GP Score 151.85


Competitive History:


Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev (RUS)-3rd at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 1st at 2011 Cup of China, 6th 2011 Worlds, 2nd 2011 Europeans, 4th 2010 Grand Prix Final, 1st 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 2nd 2010 Cup of China; PB: 163.52 at 2011 Cup of China (Cup of China, Rostelecom Cup)


Meryl Davis & Charlie White (USA)-1st at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 1st at 2011 Skate America, 1st 2011 Worlds, 1st 2011 Four Continents, 1st 2011 Grand Prix Final, 1st 2011 Skate America, 1st 2011 NHK Trophy; PB: 185.27 at 2011 Worlds (Skate America, Rostelecom Cup)


Nathalie Pechalat & Fabian Bourzat (FRA)-2nd at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 2nd at 2011 Skate America, 4th 2011 Worlds, 1st 2011 Europeans, 2nd 2010 Grand Prix Final, 1st 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st 2011 Cup of China, 1st 2010 Finlandia Trophy, 1st 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy; PB: 167.40 at 2011 Europeans (Skate America, Trophee Eric Bompard)


Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani (USA)-1st at 2011 NHK Trophy, 2nd at 2011 Cup of China, 2nd 2011 Finlandia Trophy, 3rd 2011 Worlds, 2nd 2011 Four Continents, 3rd 2010 Skate America, 3rd 2010 NHK Trophy, 5th 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy; PB: 163.79 at 2011 Worlds (Cup of China, NHK Trophy)


Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN)-1st at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st at 2011 Skate Canada, 1st 2011 Finlandia Trophy, 2nd 2011 Worlds, 1st 2010 Worlds, 1st 2010 Winter Olympics; PB: 181.79 at 2011 Worlds (Skate Canada, Trophee Eric Bompard)


Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje (CAN)-2nd at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 2nd at 2011 NHK Trophy, 2nd at 2011 Skate Canada, 5th 2011 Worlds, 4th 2011 Four Continents, 4th 2010 Grand Prix Final, 4th 2010 Skate America, 2nd 2010 NHK Trophy; PB: 160.32 at 2011 Worlds (Skate Canada, NHK Trophy, Rostelecom Cup)

Grand Prix Final: Pairs Preview

Savchenko & Szolkowy struggled in their first 2 events of the season, but only because they're trying really difficult elements. They are one of those teams that I expect to win every time they take the ice, and this event is no exception. This is certain to be an exciting event as it is the first head-to-head match up between the Germans and Volosozhar & Trankov. Each team picked up two Gold medals, but neither team has peaked yet so it will be exciting to see them grow throughout the rest of the season. Kavaguti & Smirnov also picked up two Gold medals this season and can seize Gold here if the other teams make mistakes.

So we have the medal favorites, and then a second wave of teams that are pretty good in their own right. Zhang & Zhang are back after a year off and they've been competent, but not inspired. Takahashi & Tran are so young and they have the elegance and beauty to be a top team if they could improve the consistency in their technical elements. Skating against this field will help them take their careers to a new level. Duhamel & Radford are a feel good team  because you know they are workhorses and it's great to see that work pay off. They are a joy to watch and I love their programs, though they don't have the polish of the top flight.

Placement Predictions:
1) Savchenko & Szolkowy (GER) Season's Highest GP Score 208.69
2) Volosozhar & Trankov (RUS) Season's Highest GP Score 201.38
3) Kavaguti & Smirnov (RUS) Season's Highest GP Score 197.84
4) Zhang & Zhang (CHN) Season's Highest GP Score 178.66
5) Duhamel & Radford (CAN) Season's Highest GP Score 176.62
6) Takahashi & Tran (JPN) Season's Highest GP Score 172.09


Competitive History: 


Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford (CAN)-3rd at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 3rd at 2011 Skate Canada, 7th 2011 Worlds, 2nd 2011 Four Continents, 5th 2010 Skate Canada, 3rd 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy; PB: 181.79 at 2011 Four Continents (Skate Canada, Trophee Eric Bompard)


Yuko Kavaguti & Alexander Smirnov (JPN)-2nd at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 1st at 2011 NHK Trophy, 1st at 2011 Cup of China, 4th 2011 Worlds, 2nd 2011 Europeans, 1st 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 3rd 2010 Worlds, 4th 2010 Winter Olympics; PB: 213.15 at 2010 Europeans (Cup of China, NHK Trophy, Rostelecom Cup)


Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy (GER)-1st at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 3rd at 2011 NHK Trophy, 1st at 2011 Skate America, 1st 2011 Worlds, 1st 2011 Europeans, 1st 2010 Grand Prix Final, 1st 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st 2010 Skate America, 2nd 2010 Worlds, 3rd 2010 Winter Olympics; PB: 217.85 at 2011 Worlds (Skate America, NHK Trophy, Rostelecom Cup)


Narumi Takahashi & Mervin Tran (JPN)-2nd at 2011 NHK Trophy, 4th at 2011 Skate America, 9th 2011 Worlds, 7th 2011 Four Continents, 1st 2010 JGP Final, 2nd 2010 Cup of Russia, 3rd 2010 NHK Trophy, 2nd 2010 JGP Germany, 2nd 2010 JGP England; PB: 172.09 at 2011 NHK Trophy (Skate Canada, NHK Trophy)


Tatiana Volosozhar & Maxim Trankov (RUS)-1st at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st at 2011 Skate Canada, 1st 2011 O Nepela, 1st 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 2nd 2011 Worlds, 1st 2011 Mont Blanc Trophy; PB: 210.73 at 2011 Worlds (Skate Canada, Trophee Eric Bompard)


Dan Zhang & Hao Zhang (CHN)-2nd at 2011 Cup of China, 2nd at 2011 Skate America, 5th 2010 Worlds, 5th 2010 Winter Olympics, 6th 2009 Grand Prix Final; PB: 197.82 at 2008 Worlds (Skate America, Cup of China)

Grand Prix Final: Ladies Preview

She's baaaaaaack. After a disastrous 2010 Grand Prix, World Champion Mao Asada is gradually returning to top form. Though she has yet to do 2 clean programs at one event, she is showing her fighting spirit and I believe in her, enough to think she can topple the only double Gold winner of this Grand Prix season, Elizaveta Tuktamisheva. Liza has been outstanding, but she's also been almost 100% clean in all 4 programs thus far, which the other ladies cannot say. Because she lacks the maturity and elegance of the other ladies, Liza is beatable if other skaters go clean. Akiko Suzuki is another feel-good story this season, becoming one of the oldest ladies ever to win a Grand Prix at NHK Trophy. She receives very high PCS marks if she can land the jumps. Carolina Kostner & Alissa Czisny have had very comparable seasons, each winning one event and medaling in the other. Both are elegant and mature, but often make silly mistakes and beat themselves out of titles. Alena Leonova is not my favorite and that is no secret. I respect that she does the best she can with what she is given but her choreography is crap, in my opinion. You can shoot me if I'm wrong, but I say she is the only lady who has no shot of winning this thing.

Placement Predictions:
1) Mao Asada (JPN) Season's Highest GP Score 184.19
2) Elizaveta Tuktamisheva (RUS) Season's Highest GP Score 182.89
3) Akiko Suzuki (JPN) Season's Highest GP Score 185.98
4) Carolina Kostner (ITA) Season's Highest GP Score 182.12
5) Alissa Czisny (USA) Season's Highest GP Score 179.15
6) Alena Leonova (RUS) Season's Highest GP Score 180.45


Competitive History: 


Mao Asada (JPN)-1st at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 2nd at 2011 NHK Trophy, 6th 2011 Worlds, 2nd 2011 Four Continents, 5th 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, 8th 2010 NHK Trophy, 1st 2010 Worlds, 2nd 2010 Winter Olympics; PB: 205.50 at 2010 Winter Olympics (NHK Trophy, Rostelecom Cup)


Alissa Czisny (USA)-3rd at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st at 2011 Skate America, 5th 2011 Worlds, 5th 2011 Four Continents, 1st 2010 Grand Prix Final, 3rd 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st 2010 Skate Canada; PB: 182.25 at 2011 Worlds (Skate America, Trophee Eric Bompard)


Carolina Kostner (ITA)-2nd at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st at 2011 Cup of China, 2nd at 2011 Skate America, 3rd 2011 Worlds, 1st 2011 Gardena Spring Trophy, 2nd 2011 Europeans, 3rd 2010 Skate America, 1st 2010 NHK Trophy; PB: 184.68 at 2008 Worlds (Skate America, Cup of China, Trophee Eric Bompard)


Alena Leonova (RUS)-2nd at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 3rd at 2011 NHK Trophy, 4th at 2011 Skate Canada, th 2011 Worlds, 5th 2011 Europeans, 9th 2010 Cup of Russia, 3rd 2010 Cup of China, 1st 2010 Coup de Nice, 3rd 2010 Finlandia Trophy; PB: 183.92 at 2011 Worlds (Skate Canada, NHK Trophy, Rostelecom Cup)


Akiko Suzuki (JPN)-1st at 2011 NHK Trophy, 2nd at 2011 Skate Canada, 7th 2011 Four Continents, 1st 2011 Triglav Trophy, 5th 2010 Grand Prix Final, 2nd 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 2nd 2010 Cup of China; PB: 185.98 at 2011 NHK Trophy (Skate Canada, NHK Trophy)

Elizaveta Tuktamisheva (RUS)-1st at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st at 2011 Sktae Canada, 2nd 2011 World Junior Championships, 1st 2010 Junior Coup de Nice, 2nd 2010 Junior Grand Prix Final, 1st JGP Romania, 1st JGP Germany; PB: 182.89 at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard (Skate Canada, Trophee Eric Bompard)

Grand Prix Final: Men's Preview

I promised myself that I would make my predictions for this Grand Prix Final based on scores alone, but even though Takahashi's NHK score is higher than Chan's best this season, I can't help but believe Takahashi's was inflated and that Chan has yet to perform anywhere close to his best this season. The men skate their short Friday December 9th at 9:15 p.m. and their free Saturday December 10th at 4:55 p.m.

Of all the men competing in the Final, I like Javier Fernandez the best. I think he stretched himself more in the off-season than anybody and nobody else has impressed me yet. I think Chan takes the easy way out by only doing one new program each year. Takahashi & Abbott have both upped their performance level, but each still struggles to land the quad. Hanyu may be the most talented of the lot in his combination of athleticism and artistry, but he still lacks the maturity to pace himself for an entire free skate. I've never enjoyed Brezina's skating and this season is no different. He is messy and can't compete under pressure.

Placement Predictions: 
1) Patrick Chan (CAN) Season's Highest GP Score 253.74
2) Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) Season's Highest GP Score 259.75
3) Javier Fernandez (ESP) Season's Highest GP Score 250.33
4) Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) Season's Highest GP Score 241.66
5) Jeremy Abbott (USA) Season's Highest GP Score 229.08
6) Michal Brezina (CZE) Season's Highest GP Score 226.35

Competitive History: 


Jeremy Abbott (USA)-3rd at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 1st at 2011 Cup of China, 3rd at 2011 Four Continents, 3rd at 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 2nd at 2010 NHK Trophy, 4th at 2009 Grand Prix Final; PB: 237.72 at 2009 GPF (Cup of China, Rostelecom Cup)


 Michal Brezina (CZE)-4th at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 2nd at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st at 2011 Skate America, 2nd 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 4th 2011 Worlds, 8th 2011 Europeans, 1st 2011 Bavarian Open, 2nd 2010 Golden Spin of Zagreb, 7th 201 Nebelhorn Trophy; PB: 236.06 at 2010 Worlds (Skate America, Trophee Eric Bompard, Rostelecom Cup)

Patrick Chan (CAN)-1st at 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st at 2011 Skate Canada, 1st at 2011 Worlds, 1st at 2011 Grand Prix Final, 2nd at 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 1st at 2010 Skate Canada; PB 280.98 at 2011 Worlds (Skate Canada, Trophee Eric Bompard)

Javier Fernandez (ESP)-2nd at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 2nd at 2011 Skate Canada, 4th 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 10th at 2011 Worlds, 9th at 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 5th at 2010 Skate Canada, 5th at 2010 Coup de Nice; 250.33 at 2011 Skate Canada (Skate Canada, Rostelecom Cup)

Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN)-1st at 2011 Rostelecom Cup, 4th at 2011 Cup of China, 1st 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 2nd 2011 Four Continents, 7th 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 4th 2010 NHK Trophy; 228.01 at 2011 Four Continents (Cup of China, Rostelecom Cup)

Daisuke Takahashi (JPN)-1st at 2011 NHK Trophy, 3rd at 2011 Skate Canada, 5th at 2011 Worlds, 1st at 2011 Four Continents, 4th at 2010 Grand Prix Final, 1st at 2010 Skate America, 1st at 2010 NHK Trophy; PB: 264.41 at 2008 Four Continents (Skate Canada, NHK Trophy)

Junior Grand Prix Final Predictions

I've returned to blogging after two weeks off and if feels like a lifetime! Anyway, we're approaching one of the biggest weekends of the year in figure skating, the Grand Prix Final. While the seniors are the headliners, there were some truly outstanding juniors on the circuit this season, many even outscored top seniors. The Gold medalists in the junior events are fairly easy to predict, but the other medals are up for grabs. Here are my predictions for each event.

Junior Pairs: Short Program (Dec 8th 5:00 p.m.) Free Skate (Dec 9th 11:25 a.m.)
1) Sui/Han (CHN) Highest JGP Score 167.14
2) Yu/Jin (CHN) Highest JGP Score 154.37
3) Bobak/Beharry (CAN) Highest JGP Score 147.72
4) Petaikina/Kurduykov (RUS) Highest JGP Score 144.47
5) Simpson/Blackmer (USA) Highest JGP Score 141.42
6) Tudvaseva/Lisiev (RUS) Highest JGP Score 129.35

Junior Ladies: Short Program (Dec 8th 6:15 p.m.) Free Skate (Dec 9th 6:30 p.m.)
1) Julia Lipnitskaia (RUS) Highest JGP Score 183.05
2) Risa Shoji (JPN) Highest JGP Score 157.83
3) Polina Shlepen (RUS) Highest JGP Score 157.61
4) Vanessa Lam (USA) Highest JGP Score 156.58
5) Zijun Li (CHN) Highest JGP Score 156.40
6) Polina Korobeynikova (RUS) Highest JGP Score 149.87

Junior Ice Dance: Short Dance (Dec 8th 7:20 p.m.) Free Dance (Dec 10th 2:20 p.m.) 
1) Sinitsina/Zhiganshin (RUS) Highest JGP Score 151.10
2) Stepanova/Bukin (RUS) Highest JGP Score 149.98
3) Yanovskaia/Mozgov (RUS) Highest JGP Score 142.72
4) Aldridge/Eaton (USA) Highest JGP Score 136.86
5) Nosulia/Kholoniuk (UKR) Highest JGP Score 128.34
6) Galyeta/Shumski (UKR) Highest JGP Score 122.35

Junior Men: Short Program (Dec 8th 8:35 p.m.) Free Skate (Dec 10th 7:00 p.m.) 
1) Han Yan (CHN) Highest JGP Score 219.37
2) Joshua Farris (USA) Highest JGP Score 207.67
3) Jason Brown (USA) Highest JGP Score 197.23
4) Keiji Tanaka (JPN) Highest JGP Score 192.36
5) Maxim Kovtun (RUS) Highest JGP Score 186.67
6) Ryuju Hino (JPN) Highest JGP Score 182.71