The "Future" of Figure Skating - 2014 Podium Threats (Men's)

silverlake22 · Feb 22, 2010

bethissoawesome said:
Compared to the other skaters... if you look at the Japanese Nationals, the tallest men are 5'7" (Kozuka and Hanyu)... the rest are either smaller or the same height as Mao Asada at 5'4" So, big for a Japanese male skater, considering he could still go through a growth spurt since he is only 15.

This is true. Most of them really are about the same size as Mao. Oda is 5'4.5" and 123 pounds...I knew he was small but didn't know he was THAT small. Dai is 5'5" and 130 pounds. I wonder if Joubert is at a disadvantage being more substantially built than most of the top skaters.

blue_idealist · Feb 23, 2010

When I saw some male figure skaters in person at Skate Canada 2008, I was surprised to see how thin they are. Most of the women are miniscule. Even Jenna McCorkell, who looks like a larger skater on television, was thinner than me. It made me feel fat.. lol.

aftertherain · Feb 23, 2010

Layfan said:
Nathan Chen

You win. =)

His Kung-Fu Panda routine will knock everyone off their feet.

silverlake22 · Feb 23, 2010

blue_idealist said:
When I saw some male figure skaters in person at Skate Canada 2008, I was surprised to see how thin they are. Most of the women are miniscule. Even Jenna McCorkell, who looks like a larger skater on television, was thinner than me. It made me feel fat.. lol.

Yeah they are pretty thin. Jenna is listed as 5'5" and 125 pounds which for someone that muscular is pretty small. Joannie's buff but I saw her live once and she is teeny. Miki is super thin even though she doesn't look it on tv.

FTnoona · Feb 25, 2010

I am really looking forward to the Japanese team for the next olympics, especially Hanyu. He just looks adorable in his long program. I mean little kid adorable. Hanyu can totally be a podium threat. His 3axel-3toe it beautiful but hopefully he doesn't lose his jumps but since guys don't grow hips like girls do when they go through puberty the chances that happens are slim. Go Yuzuru!!

lavender · Feb 25, 2010

For me I see battles with Amodio, Brezina, Rippon and Ten challenging. I haven't seen a lot of them but these guys really impressed my when I decided to watch junior grand prix. That is a good way to see the up and comers.

Joesitz (RIP) · Feb 25, 2010

Borodulin and Brezina should leave Europe or wind up like Joubert and Verner. They are both very talented young men who need new coaches to get them moving in the right direction. There are some very good coaches in N.America to give them another look at figure skating.

Amodio, Ten, are doing well where they are. A change may be necessary later. Maybe Javier could make it to N.America for another look.

silverlake22 · Feb 25, 2010

Joesitz said:
Borodulin and Brezina should leave Europe or wind up like Joubert and Verner. They are both very talented young men who need new coaches to get them moving in the right direction. There are some very good coaches in N.America to give them another look at figure skating.

Amodio, Ten, are doing well where they are. A change may be necessary later. Maybe Javier could make it to N.America for another look.

Yeah, what is it with all these inconsistent European skaters? We see it not only with the men, but the ladies too! Are the training facilities/coaches really not as good in Europe?

silverlake22 · Feb 25, 2010

Yeah, Borodulin and Brezina need to get out of Europe ASAP. I found this video of 20 year old Tomas Verner from the 2007 worlds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGQCqgTFFn8
4t-3t, 4t, and a 3a, and 6 other triples. His artistry and spins weren't that strong at this point but soo much talent and he actually delivered there. For the most part he's been going downhill since. It's sad to see those quads are HUGE and he can still do them, if only he were more consistent

Pandora · Mar 3, 2010

There's some promising American talent. Jason Brown is awesome...a real crowd pleaser and loaded with talent. Josh Farris is technically marvelous. Nathan Chen is frighteningly good at the age of 11. Four years...any of these could be in Sochi...

mskater93 · Mar 3, 2010

Jason Brown does not have a 3A yet, although he went from 2 triples to all-3A in a few months.

Josh Farris needs to gain some consistency and speed.

Nathan Chen will likely not be age eligible but if healthy would be a good bet for 2018.

Adam Rippon is a good bet as is Armin and Brandon Mroz (if he gets the proper support and coaching FOR HIM as he took a huge step backwards this year).

Blades of Passion · Mar 3, 2010

I don't think Dennis Ten will be a contender.

CdnSkateWatcher · Mar 3, 2010

Well, given the quad discussions, Kevin Reynolds does indeed land quads. He has been working on the skills and interpretation aspect of his skating; it's improved. My biggest concern is if he's going to be able to maintain the jumps if he ever grows and/or fills out ... however, he's young enough to be considering the next Olys.

Myself, I don't really care for Ten's skating. Reynolds I want to get a haircut and decent costuming, but, Ten is simply not someone I enjoy watching.

silverlake22 · Mar 4, 2010

Blades of Passion said:
I don't think Dennis Ten will be a contender.

Ten reminds me of a young Nobunari Oda. Where they are both so small, they don't have the impact that some of the other skaters have, but both have lovely qualities about there skating. I think there is a good chance Ten will win Jr. World's next week and if he does it will garner him more attention from the judges and label him as a rising star.

silverlake22 · Mar 4, 2010

Oh and we need a thread like this for the ladies. Especially after Jr. Worlds next week :agree:

silverlake22 · Mar 11, 2010

I just watched Hanyu's SP at Junior worlds and he seems to have a great future ahead of him! He had a mistake on his combo and some of his spins were uncentered (but great positions and fast :agree

but his 3a is huge and gorgeous and he has great speed and expression on the ice. He reminds me a lot of a young Kozuka or Dai. I think he will be a threat in Sochi, considering he is only 15 now and that good!

Joesitz (RIP) · Mar 11, 2010

The Japanes Men are doing fine. I think the European Men are engulfed in the European Championships rather than the Worlds. When you think of 4CC, how many top skaters avoid it?

silverlake22 · Mar 11, 2010

Joesitz said:
The Japanes Men are doing fine. I think the European Men are engulfed in the European Championships rather than the Worlds. When you think of 4CC, how many top skaters avoid it?

There are a lot of promising young European skaters though, between Czech Buttle (Brezina), Fernandez, the Russian dude with the long hair, and the two Frenchmen.

skatingbc · Mar 11, 2010

CdnSkateWatcher said:
Well, given the quad discussions, Kevin Reynolds does indeed land quads. He has been working on the skills and interpretation aspect of his skating; it's improved. My biggest concern is if he's going to be able to maintain the jumps if he ever grows and/or fills out ... however, he's young enough to be considering the next Olys.

Myself, I don't really care for Ten's skating. Reynolds I want to get a haircut and decent costuming, but, Ten is simply not someone I enjoy watching.

I doubt Kevin Reynolds will get any taller than he already is. I've never met his mum but his dad is no beanpole. He might fill out a bit, but he's been doing quads for at least 3-4 years now. I would be surprised if he lost them!

I agree about Ten. I don't find any joy in his skating. He has great technical talent but his presentation could use some serious work.

silverlake22 · Mar 11, 2010

skatingbc said:
I doubt Kevin Reynolds will get any taller than he already is. I've never met his mum but his dad is no beanpole. He might fill out a bit, but he's been doing quads for at least 3-4 years now. I would be surprised if he lost them!

I agree about Ten. I don't find any joy in his skating. He has great technical talent but his presentation could use some serious work.

You have to keep in mind that Ten is only 16 though, he has PLENTY of time to work on his presentation and everything else too, for that matter. He has a lot of potential and being so small likely makes the jumps easier. I think in a few more years he will be very good, maybe not world medalist material, but Grand Prix medal material for sure.

The "Future" of Figure Skating - 2014 Podium Threats (Men's)

silverlake22

blue_idealist

aftertherain

silverlake22

FTnoona

lavender

Joesitz (RIP)

silverlake22

silverlake22

Pandora

mskater93

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be

CdnSkateWatcher

silverlake22

silverlake22

silverlake22

Joesitz (RIP)

silverlake22

skatingbc

silverlake22

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