2012 Skate Canada: Mens Preview

Patrick Chan (CAN) looks to take back his Skate Canada title after Javier Fernandez won last season. He is going with Rachmaninov for the short and Vivaldi for the free...trying to win over those Europeans eh? Patrick is literally on thin ice with the skating fans this season for multiple reasons. Aside from his many off-color comments in the press, many people believe that he was undeserving of the World title over Denis Ten last season. He needs to clean up his skating this season and put together perfect programs in order for skating fans to believe that he is deserving of Gold in Sochi.

Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) is one of our favorite skaters. He has the artistic soul of Johnny Weir and Sasha Cohen, but unfortunately he also has their competitive mentality. He does well on the Grand Prix, however, and luckily for him, he earns extremely high PCS marks and levels so he can absorb a few small mistakes and still earn high scores overall. I want to see him put together a full season this year and earn the Olympic medal that he truly deserves. I cannot wait to see his interpretation of Rota's Romeo & Juliet and Parisian Walkways made famous by our own Lang & Tchernyshev.

Jeremy Abbott (USA) is a sentimental favorite for me to make the Sochi team. His Vancouver trip was disappointing and unfortunately, the last quad has been a roller coaster for him. He only went to Worlds 2 of the last 4 seasons, finishing 5th in 2010 and 8th in 2012. He has everything he needs to make an Olympic podium, but he has to catch lightning in a bottle and put them all together in 2 programs. I'm so thrilled that he is revisiting Muse, because his previous Muse program was fantastic and his best of the quad. He will face competition at home, but I strongly believe that if he goes clean, he will make it to Sochi. That road starts here and there's no reason he can't medal here. I actually think it will be good for him to face two of the best in the world here. Why not meet the competition face to face early on?


My Podium Predictions:
Gold: Patrick Chan (CAN)
Silver: Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN)
Bronze: Jeremy Abbott (USA)

The Rest of the Field:
Elladj Balde (CAN)
Andrei Rogozine (CAN)
Michal Brezina (CZE)
Takahito Mura (JPN)
Nobunari Oda (JPN)
Joshua Farris (USA)
Ross Miner (USA)

2013 Skate Canada: Ladies Preview

Julia Liptnitskaia (RUS) is the one to beat here. She doesn't necessarily have the best skills or artistry of the field, but she is the best competitor and at these early events, that generally wins the day. She has her sights set on Sochi and as long as she can stay healthy, she is all but guaranteed to make the Olympic team. She has fared the best overall of the "Russian babies" as she transitioned from the junior to the senior ranks and I appreciate her skating more than that of Sotnikova, Tuktamisheva, or Radionova. She qualified for the Final last year and likely would have done quite well if not for that concussion. My only concern for her is that Schindler's List is beyond her current range as a performer. We shall see.

Akiko Suzuki (JPN) is a longtime favorite of nearly the entire skating world, but the biggest question mark with her is a competitive edge. I'm afraid that her window of opportunity has passed her by and and that she reached her peak in 2012 with that World bronze. She recently finished behind Lipnitskaia at the Finlandia Trophy. I question her choice of Phantom of the Opera for her free skate because I think she can do better than that warhorse. She is so classical and refined that I'd prefer she choose something more nuanced.

Kaetlyn Osmond (CAN) won this event last year and she has the potential to do it again. However, she won primarily because she was simply cleaner that the other women. I personally don't believe that she has the maturity or performance quality to beat a clean Suzuki, Lipnitskaia, or even Gao. I truly believe this event will be decided by who makes the fewest mental errors.

Gracie Gold (USA) is the "no pun intended" Golden Girl in US Figure Skating. USFS wants her to be the answer that we've all been looking for, the next Michelle Kwan who can dominate national and international events. She is almost guaranteed a spot on the Sochi team, but she needs to prove that she has the mental game to compete and that's where she's been lacking recently. Luckily for her, she is a late bloomer across the course of a season. She bombed at this event last year, but went on to win silver at Cup of Russia, silver at US Nationals, and placed a respectable 6th at Worlds. If the wheels fall off here, we don't need to lose our minds yet, but it will be cause for concern for Team Gold if Gao or Hicks beat her here.

Christina Gao (USA) is a personal favorite of mine and I am really pulling for her to make the Sochi team. She has a much more international look than many of the US ladies and much more classical elegance than either Wagner or Gold. We know that she is an extremely hard work and my biggest fear for her, opposite of Gold, is that she will peak too early. She has finished 5th at US Nationals for the past four years, so she's going to have to show USFS that she is the real deal on the Grand Prix before their judges will PCS her high enough at Nationals to make the podium.




My Podium Predictions:
Gold: Julia Liptnitskaia (RUS)
Silver: Akiko Suzuki (JPN)
Bronze: Kaetlyn Osmond (CAN)

The Rest of the Field:
Amelie Lacoste (CAN)
Veronik Mallet (CAN)
Natalia Popova (UKR)
Christina Gao (USA)
Gracie Gold (USA)
Courtney Hicks (USA)

2013 Skate Canada: Pairs Preview

I am a big fan of Meaghan Duhamel & Eric Radford (CAN). They have really shown us the value of hard work and also that a pair can rise up the ladder quickly if they are on the same page. I was thrilled to see them on the World podium last season and they have a real shot at the Olympic podium. They are the favorites here and if they win, it will be their first GP win. Two huge performances on home ice could help set them apart from Moore-Towers & Moscovitch.


We didn't see much of Wenjing Sui & Cong Han (CHN) last season, only a disappointing 12th at

Worlds. They were a force to be reckoned with in their first two years on the Grand Prix. They are exciting to watch and I hope they get that little bit of magic back. They are a near lock for the Olympic team since the Chinese pairs are in such dire straits, but they need to work their way back up the rankings and their road to Sochi starts here. Knowing their energy, I cannot wait to see their Chicago free skate, but I hope they've worked on their connection and chemistry.

Stefania Berton & Ondrej Hotarek (ITA) are not my favorite team in the world, but in a weak field, they look poised to medal. His yellow pants blinded us at Skate America....how lucky are we to see them again? All jokes aside, I must say that their one handed lift in the short was the highlight of the pairs event for me. They are a taller pair, so they have much longer lines and some more impressive lifts than the smaller pairs. I missed their free skate at Skate America, so I'll be excited to see it here. They have a handful of Grand Prix medals and I think they'll add to their collection here.




I'm looking for Paige Lawrence & Rudi Swiegers (CAN) to step it up. They have been spinning their wheels for the past two seasons, but with Canada earning 3 pairs spots for the Sochi Olympics, they have a golden opportunity to step up and seize it. If they flop here again, Canada could look to send a younger team of the future.

My dark horse pick, not necessarily to medal, but to turn some heads and make a splash would be Haven Denney & Brandon Frazier (USA). They are the reigning World Junior champs and this is their first major senior event. It isn't nearly as hard to break into the senior level in pairs as it is in ice dance, case in point, Sui and Han. This team has the technical goods, their artistry is improving, and they are quite consistent. Don't be surprised if they sneak in for a bronze.

Podium Predictions:
Gold: Duhamel & Radford (CAN)
Silver: Sui & Han (CHN)
Bronze: Berton & Hotarek (ITA)

The Rest of the Field:
Lawrence & Swiegers (CAN)
Purdy & Marinaro (CAN)
Vartmann & Van Cleave (GER)
Davis & Brubaker (USA)
Denney & Frazier (USA)