2011 Skate Canada: Men's Preview

Skate America 2011 is in the books and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series will make its second stop this weekend in Mississauga, Ontario for Skate Canada. The Men's competition will be particularly exciting as it features the past two World champions and some other key players. I'll be blogging sporadically during the events, but tweeting and re-tweeting as much as possible. The men take the ice at 7:30pm EST on Friday October 28th for the short program and 7:10pm EST on Saturday October 29th for the free.

Some skaters have a hard time winning, but 2011 World Champion Patrick Chan (CAN) has a hard time losing. If you like to predict winners, he is a good bet because he racks up so many points on Grade of Execution (GOE) and Program Components that he's been known to win even with falls. He is a superstar and he should have an extra edge on home ice. His major competition will come from Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) who is also a World Champion, from 2010. He is probably the most stylish male skater on the scene today and is a crowd favorite, even away from Japan. He struggled technically last season and suffered a freak blade problem that kept him off the World podium. He'll be looking for redemption here and signs of whether or not to continue to 2014. Adam Rippon (USA) is another major player looking for redemption. He started 2010 well with a Skate Canada bronze and gradually fell off resulting in a disaster at US Nationals. He is claiming to have a solid Quad Lutz and if he can successfully land that, he could topple Takahashi. Javier Fernandez (ESP) sparked interest with a solid 2010 Grand Prix and blew us away with 2 quads and a top-ten finish at 2011 Worlds. Ross Miner (USA) was also a shocker late last season, taking bronze at US Nationals and 11th at Worlds and either of these up-and-comers could sneak onto the podium. Don't forget perennial favorite Kevin Van Der Perren (BEL) who has killer quads and is back for another season after contemplating retirement. He pulled off a silver at Skate America last weekend, but this seems to be a much tougher field. We'll see if he threatens for the podium again. Denis Ten (KAZ), though he wasn't perfect, surprised us at Skate America with a 5th place finished and will hope to build upon that this week. Reigning World Junior Champion Andrei Rogozine (CAN) will hope to make a splash as well.

My Podium Predictions:
1) Patrick Chan (CAN)
2) Daisuke Takahshi (JPN)
3) Adam Rippon (USA)


Competitive History:


Elladj Balde (CAN)-10th 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 7th 2008 JGP Final, 3rd 2008 JGP South Africa, 2nd 2010 JGP Mexico City; PB: 184.89 at 2010 JGP South Africa


Patrick Chan (CAN)-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


Javier Fernandez (ESP)-4th 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 10th at 2011 Worlds, 9th at 2010 Rostelecom Cup, 5th at 2010 Skate Canada, 5th at 2010 Coup de Nice; 218.26 at 2011 Worlds


Alexander Majorov (SWE)-4th 2011 Finlandia Trophy, 28th at 2011 Worlds, 1st at 2011 Nordics, 1st at 2010 NRW Trophy, 1st at 2010 Ice Challenge; PB: 195.71 at 2011 Worlds


Ross Miner (USA)-11th at 2011 Worlds, 7th at 2010 Cup of China, 9th at 2010 NHK Trophy; PB: 217.93 at 2011 Worlds


Adam Rippon (USA)-4th at 2010 America, 3rd at 2010 Skate Canada; PB: 233.04 at 2010 Skate Canada


Andrei Rogozine (CAN)-1st 2011 World Juniors, 3rd 2010 JGP Final, 1st 2010 JGP Japan, 1st 2010 JGP France; PB: 200.13 at 2011 World Juniors 


Daisuke Takahashi (JPN)-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


Denis Ten (KAZ)-5th at 2011 Skate America, 9th 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 14th at 2011 Worlds, 1st at 2011 Winter Asian Games, 11th at 2010 Skate America, 12th at 2010 NHK Trophy; PB: 211.43 at 2009 Worlds


Kevin Van Der Perren (BEL)-2nd at 2011 Skate America, 2nd 2011 O Nepela, 17th at 2011 Worlds, 4th at 2011 Europeans, 6th at 2010 Skate America, 8th at 2010 NHK Trophy, 5th at 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy; PB: 219.36 at 2009 Europeans 

2011 Skate America: Men's Preview

Can you believe it? The 2011-2012 Figure Skating season is finally upon us! Some very exciting things have been happening on the Junior Grand Prix and at some ISU Senior B events, but nothing compares to the Senior Grand Prix. And starting it off with Skate America seems like old times again. The men take the ice Friday at 10pm (EST) for their short program and 2:35pm on Saturday for their free. I'll be live-blogging all 8 events this weekend so be sure to check back for all my thoughts and feelings! Welcome back and let's have a great season!

I have every reason to believe that reigning World Silver Medalist Takahiko Kozuka will take this title. Taka won 2 Grand Prix Golds and a Bronze at the Final last season as well. He has solid technique and a quiet artistry that always puts up a great score. Without Evan Lysacek, he has no real competition unless he makes major mistakes. I see a three-way battle for Bronze between Michal Brezina (CZE), Florent Amodio (FRA), and Richard Dornbush (USA), who placed 4th, 7th, and 9th respectively at the 2011 Worlds. Brezina & Amodio have more experience, but both are very inconsistent. Dornbush lacks the polish of Kozuka, but he is quickly improving and has been working on Quads. Do not count out last year's Skate America Bronze Medalist Armin Mahbahnoozadeh (USA), who is known for clean, consistent skating that often wins the day when others make mistakes. Rounding out the field we have Daisuke Murakami (JPN), Kevin Van Der Perren (BEL), and Samuel Contesti (ITA) who finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively at this season's O Nepela Memorial Trophy and Denis Ten (KAZ) who finished 9th earlier this month at Nebelhorn Trophy. Douglas Razzanno (USA) was a last minute addition after the withdrawal of Evan Lysacek. He brought home a silver at the Finlandia Trophy this season and could make a splash if he throws down his best programs. None of the five are likely to factor into the medals, but they have the potential to build their International reputation with a good showing here.

Podium Predictions:
1) Takahiko Kozuka (JPN)
2) Richard Dornbush (USA)
3) Florent Amodio (FRA)


My USFSA Fantasy Picks:
A) Takahiko Kozuka (JPN)
B) Richard Dornbush (USA)
C) Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA)


Competitive History:

Florent Amodio (FRA)-7th 2011 Worlds, 1st 2011 Europeans, 6th 2010 Grand Prix Final, 2nd 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard 3rd place 2010 NHK Trophy; PB: 229.68 at 2011 Worlds


Michal Brezina (CZE)-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 


Samuel Contesti (ITA)-3rd 2011 O Nepela, 18th 2011 Worlds, 6th 2011 Europeans, 1st 2011 Mont Blanc Trophy, 4th 2010 NRW Trophy, 4th 2010 Cup of Russia, 4th 2010 Cup of China, 3rd 2010 Finlandia Trophy; PB: 226.97 at 2009 Worlds


Richard Dornbush (USA)-9th 2011 Worlds, 1st 2010 Junior Grand Prix Final, 1st 2010 JGP Germany, 4th 2010 JGP Austria; PB: 222.42 at 2011 Worlds


Takahiko Kozuka (JPN)-2nd 2011 Worlds, 4th 2011 Four Continents, 3rd 2010 Grand Prix Final, 1st 2010 Trophee Eric Bompard, 1st 2010 Cup of China; PB: 258.41 at 2011 Worlds


Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA)-7th 2011 Four Continents, 3rd 2010 Skate America, 4th Nebelhorn Trophy; 211.17 at 2010 Skate America


Daisuke Murakami (JPN)-1st 2011 O Nepela, 2nd 2011 Triglav Trophy, 3rd 2011 Winter Universiade, 5th 2010 Skate America, 5th 2010 Finlandia Trophy; PB: 213.37 at 2010 Skate America


Douglas Razzanno (USA)-2nd at 2011 Finlandia Trophy, 2nd at 2010 Ice Challenge, 8th at 2009 Ice Challenge, 4th at 2007 Junior Grand Prix Final; PB: 174.71 at 2007 JGPF


Denis Ten (KAZ)-9th 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy, 14th at 2011 Worlds, 1st at 2011 Winter Asian Games, 11th at 2010 Skate America, 12th at 2010 NHK Trophy; PB: 211.43 at 2009 Worlds


Kevin Van Der Perren (BEL)-2nd 2011 O Nepela, 17th at 2011 Worlds, 4th at 2011 Europeans, 6th at 2010 Skate America, 8th at 2010 NHK Trophy, 5th at 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy; PB: 219.36 at 2009 Europeans