Event Preview - Men

MEN

I think the gold will go to Ivan Bariev, if he shows up. I expect Alexander Johnson, Keegan Messing, Stephen Kovalev, Akio Sasaki and Christopher Boyadji to fill out the rest of the top 6.

Ivan BARIEV RUS
2nd Harghita 166,92
2nd Croatia 172.00
Ivan BARIEV RUS has had a total point score as high as 175.06 when he finished 7th at the World Jr. Championships last year.
edited to add, sadly he withdrew at Courchevel. I hope he will actually perform here.
2008 Russian Nationals SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLm7Xmu1DcQ
2008 Jr Worlds LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPvCKR1I12U
K&C view
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtCodjHD4Ho
Stars 2014 EX
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ0gq7FNw_Q&feature=related


Alexander JOHNSON USA
Ice Network Bio
http://web.icenetwork.com/skaters/detail.jsp?id=100072&mode=I
JGP Sofia 4th 164.92
US Nationals Juniors 7th 169.19
4th in the Junior LP At Liberty (Mahbanoozedeh was first ) scoring 109.49
1st in the Junior SP at Liberty (ahead of Mahbanoozedeh) scoring 60.35 (Total then would be 169.84)

Stanislav KOVALEV RUS
168.79 , 6th in Juniors at Russian Nationals

Christopher BOYADJI FRA
8th Seniors at French National Championships
5th Croatia 157.54
9th Chemnitz 143.35
7th Courchevel 2008 159.17
Personal Best 159.17
His LP at Courchevel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNIXlo4zQ_8

Keegan MESSING USA
Ice Network Bio
http://web.icenetwork.com/skaters/detail.jsp?id=100086&mode=I
US Nationals Jrs 5th 176.63
13th Sheffield 140.19
Keegan skated in the Senior SP at Liberty this summer. He scored 51.19
He also skated the Junior SP at Liberty where he scored 53.44 and finished 3rd.

How can you not like a guy who skates his exhibition with a horse's head mask on?

Akio SASAKI JPN
4th Lake Placid 141.62
13th Croatia 127.80
Best total score at Worlds 2008 155.14 (17th place)
His SP at Japanese Nationals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWDZmnYQDG4
His LP at Japanese Nationals (I'm not sure what the wrench on the front of his costume is about
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qakdxLcTAw&feature=related
His 2007 Exhibition, done with a horse's head mask over his head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7XUqTMcn0Y

Alexander MAJOROV SWE
1st Swedish National Championships in Juniors 166.95
142.2 Chemnitz 2007
10th Chemnitz
10th Zagreb

Andrew LUM CAN
4th Canadian Juniors (145.88)
7th Harghita 141.45
12th Sofia 133.08
Best total score 141.45 Harghita

Andrei ROGOZINE CAN
Best total score Vienna 131.96
5th Canadian Jrs 140.34
Lake Placid 8th
Vienna 14th

Morgan CIPRES FRA
11th in Seniors at French National Championships 139.27
Appears not to have competed internationally in the 2007/2008 season
His total best score (from 2006) is 117.35

Denis WIECZOREK GER
4th in Juniors at German National Championships
21st Chemnitz
12th Croatia
22nd World Junior Championships 137.17

Ruben ERRAMPALLI ITA
Best total score 133.14
4th in Seniors at Italian championships
10th at Merano
31st at Junior Worlds
His Merano SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgrWCSjn1vk
His last season's LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJweNdB_03Q&feature=related

Jiri VASICEK CZE
Best total Score 119.94
15th Budapest 2006
22nd Chemnitz 2007
16th Merano 2008 Score 119.94
2007 SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v67HLhltgCY&feature=related
2007 LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv2OHfxqW3E

Kamil BIALAS POL
22nd Tallinn 108.79
8th AEGON 115.46
5th in Juniors at Polish National Championship

Tomi PULKKINEN SUI
1st Swiss Junior National Championships (128.71)
Merano 116.41

Dmytro IGNATENKO UKR
11th Harghita 112.22

Mario-Rafael IONIAN AUT
20th Vienna
19th Chemnitz
2nd Juniors Austrian Nationals
Top Score 115.47

Stephane WALKER SUI
4th in Seniors at Swiss National Championships
114.7 Tallinn 2007 (20th)
9th Aegon

Petr COUFAL CZE
He's very young, just up from Novice, I think
His SP in 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzxKfIcHSpI
His LP in 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLIQFC_Vfww

Patrik TIMCAK CZE
24th Sheffield 90.07
His 2007/2008 LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL9YMoar4_Y
Part of his 2007/2008 SP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt8qAAf7HNs

Beka SHANKULASHVILI GEO
is coached by Vahktang Murvanidze! I am looking forward to the crazy choreography for sure!

On a tip from JoeSitz, I checked his Mid Atlantics score. It was 50.23 in the SP.

I apologize for not being able to find any information about the following skaters:

Jung-Sol KIM KOR

Yong Min HAN PRK

Matthias VERSLUIS FIN

Pavel STRAKACH BLR

Igor REZNICHENKO UKR

Good rundown on the Men's entrants. It seems Bariev should win this. Johnson is a hot and cold compeitor. Shankulashvili was at MidAtlantics but I didn't see him. There were several competitors there from Georgia.

Hope we get a youtube of Petr Coufal (Cze). The kid has a lot of talent. Those Czech boys are coming on strong.

Some more scores from summer events:

139.46 44.31 95.15 Andrei ROGOZINE-CAN, Skate Detroit
133.72 43.92 89.80 Andrew LUM-CAN, BCSummerskate
119.09 43.51 75.58 Andrei ROGOZINE-CAN, Thornhill

Looks like Shankulashvili scored 50.23 at MidAtlantics in the SP

Wow, interesting to see Toni Pulkkinen representing Switzerland!! It's the most typical Finnish name, so he must be originally Finnish or from Finnish parent(s). And he's a Swiss junior champion??

Is it true?

http://tracings.net/pulk-tomi.html

Looks like it. But Tracings doesn't give his place of birth.

On the ISU list of biographies, he isn't listed at all.

http://www.isufs.org/events/cat00006369.htm

He is listed as SUI on the Merano results.

Tomi Pulkkinen was born in Helsinki according to his official site: http://www.tomipulkkinen.com/

ETA: Starting orders are up for all 4 disciplines, btw.

Beka Shankulashvili (GEO) scored 50.23 (3rd) in the Mid-Atlantics Jr. Men's SP and he was 2nd in the FS with 77.66 = 127.89 total.

dorispulaski said:

MEN
Alexander JOHNSON USA
4th in the Junior LP At Liberty (Mahbanoozedeh was first ) scoring 109.49
1st in the Junior SP at Liberty (ahead of Mahbanoozedeh) scoring 60.35 (Total then would be 169.84)

Keegan MESSING USA
Keegan skated in the Senior SP at Liberty this summer. He scored 51.19
He also skated the Junior SP at Liberty where he scored 53.44 and finished 3rd.

Click to expand...

Clarification on 2008 Liberty results -- the Junior Men skated an initial SP and FS and the top combined scorers advanced to a Final FS round.
Alexander Johnson scored 60.35 (1st in SP) + 111.74 (2nd in FS) = 172.09 (1st overall). He then scored 109.49 in Final Round FS for 4th place.
Keegan Messing scored 53.44 (3rd in SP) + 118.44 (1st in FS) = 171.88 (2nd overall). Messing elected not to skate the Final Round FS.

Joesitz said:

Hope we get a youtube of Petr Coufal (Cze). The kid has a lot of talent. Those Czech boys are coming on strong.

Click to expand...

Petr Coufal is thirteen years old, he trains in Ostrava. Last season he won Czech Junior Championships (Brezina competed in seniors). He already lands triple jumps - salchow, toeloop, ritberger and he already landed triple lutz in competiton (but this jump - lutz is not stable yet). Probably he will try triple lutz in free skate. He trains triple toeloop - triple toeloop combo.

His mum Alena Drevjana is former artistic gymnast. She won bronze Olympic medal in 1988. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN6uo9foMoU&feature=related (video from Seoul but from another discipline)

His younger sister Jana skates also. His older brother plays football.

Alexei Vasilievski made choreography of Petr's short program.

Thanks for the info on young Petr Coufal, sisinka!

[edited out the Men's SP results]