Best hopes for the next 4 years (until sochi 2014) | Golden Skate

Best hopes for the next 4 years (until sochi 2014)

BRaZILIANSKaTER

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
Hi, another olympic cycle has ended. Time to look ahead and make our predictions on the potential next champions.

Men:
Takahashi. I think he only just begun to write his skating history. This guy has a great future to capture.
Oda. I really want him to deliver all his potential in the next years. I´ve watched many videos on YouTube of him doing 4toe/3toe/3loop! I hope he will be able to transport this to his competitons.
Brezina. I just love his jumps and his speed. He also has great interpretation, remiding me Buttle. But he will need the quad. I´ve seen him doing quad salchow on You Tube.
Amodio. This frenchman has superb interpretation and style and his jumps have wonderful quality. Will need to make his quad salcow a consistent jump.
Jeremy. He is still young enough so, has time to become more consistent. His jumps are huge when he is on and his artistry in spetacular.
Kozuka. I was impressed with him in Vancouver. What a refreshing performance. He could be the best in the next years... who knows?
Chan. He had a hard season.. he needs to find his path once again to keep his development. he has 1# grade skating skill, amazing footworks and can be a champion if he reaches consistency on his jumps.
Borodulin. This russian has great potential... I hope he will keep developing.
Denis Tan. This little guy has awesome SPs but need to work on his FS. He has sucha a great control of his body and edges, really a plesure to watch. He will need a quad too.
Brandron Mroz. I think he still have time to improve and impress. He has great jumps, needs to improve artistry and to gaisn maturity in his skating.
Adam Rippon. Wonderful musicality, good interpretation, charima... will need to work on the jumps.
Adrian Schultheiss. Ok this guy caugth my attention in Vancouver. Will he step out to the world scene challenge or will he fade away? He has potential... good jumps, so-so artistry (I hope someone will work on that area with him)

I will post men only but people, fell free to post about ladies, pairs and dance.
 

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
I hope that Mirai becomes a good Freeskate skater and develops I t
into a major international condendor.

I hope Virtue and Moir / Davis and White continue their rivalry which brings us amazing skating from them both. And I hope the Americans get a world title at some point.

I would love to see Dai, Aliona and Robin continue bringing us beautiful exciting new programs and dominating their respctive fields. I want Dai to land a ratified quad flip!

I would like Jeremey to learn how to peak in March and win a wold medal (maybe gold?).

It would be great to see Keauna and Rockne skate up to thief potential and skate with confidnce again.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Ladies
Mirai - She had an awesome breakout season this year and showed us the future has already arrived, but the best is yet to come. Love the speed, spins, spirals and big jumps, if she can get a 3-3 solid, she will be a force to be reckoned with.

Christina Gao - She has a long way to go but a terrific foundation and super-solid technique. Her jumps are always rotated, her flow out of jumps is good, her body line beautiful, and under Orser she has been showing tremendous improvement. She also has good speed but needs to work on maintaining it throughout. With a more difficult 3-3 and a couple years to develop the rest of her skating, I have no doubt she will be a star.

Ksenia Makarova - She has also had an impressive breakout season into seniors and I really like her regal elegance on the ice. Her jumps are nice, and with a more difficult 3-3 and a 3lz in her arsenal, she will be in the hunt to become "the" next European lady.

Anna Ovcharova - Okay, maybe I'm biased because I just love this girl's skating, but watching her skate this season, I honestly think her expression rivals that of Sasha Cohen. On the ice, she is an actress and a dancer in addition to a figure skater- a special ability that most senior ladies even lack. I know her jump technique is not the best but judging from the improvement we saw from her this season, she seems pretty driven. If she can consistently land the jumps, she will stand out when she moves to the senior level, if she gets a 3-3, watch out world!

Liza Tuktamsysheva - The best technician, and at such a young age, the jumps she can do are ridiculous. If she can survive puberty, she will be like Miki Ando when she was still attempting (and landing) the 3lz-3lo and 4s. POWER JUMPER. This girl is one to watch.

Sarah Hecken - The savior of 2010 Worlds! :laugh: No, but really, she has a lot of potential and I think is capable of making European podiums as early as next year maybe. I think she could also be vying for becoming "the" European lady come Sochi. Great speed and great jumps, with more technical difficulty she will really stand out.

Kanako Murakami - The next great Japanese lady skater. But, with Mao and Miki sticking around, it might be harder for her to get the results she needs to be taken seriously as a medal threat for Sochi. I wouldn't put it past her though, she is so happy and adorable and really performs a programs. If she fixes the flutz and gets a solid 3-3 she can probably compete with the likes of Mao and Miki and Akiko for Worlds spots as early as next year.
 
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gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
Ashley Wagner could be good.

Good to see Schultheiss-he needs work on PCS. It's so low. Also he is frontloading jumps..

Brezina also needs higher PCS. It is why he didn't medal at Euros or Worlds. I feel him sticking with his American in Paris program is smart because he could show improved artistry next season if he is working on that during this off season. His jumps are done really well so that is not an issue. He is backloading jumps. If he added a non combo quad to his first three jumps he could increase is technical score.

2012-2013 should be where those Russian girls move to seniors to get ready for 2013-2014.
 

ManyCairns

Medalist
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Country
United-States
I hope Kozuka goes to the top! I have to admit, I think my Daisuke fandom kind of blinded me to the "other" Japanese men, but not just Takahiko's Oly performance but looking back to 2008 when he debuted at Worlds, I love the height on his jumps and just his overall look on the ice! I hope he makes everyone sit up and take notice!

(As an aside personally I'd rather see Dai retire on top and save that knee of his for a long and healthy life post-skating! Not that Dai or anyone else cares about my opinion, of course!)
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Of course, I'm waiting for Brezina to get on with it. Skating to Louis Prima's jazz and Gershwin's classical jazz is not that much of a stretch. Maybe a Flamenco or a Tango to show he can dance to other rhythms would suit me. He's very dancy not unlike Browning and he is quite consistant with the tricks, but I would like to see more flow and a definite style. He really needs a N.American coach and choreographer. No doubt he'll be at the GPs and hopefully the Finals, and podium at Euros and Worlds. No rush, there's time to pace himself for the big one in Sochi.

Only Yuna and Evan can tie Kat, and Dick's back to back Oly golds.
 

blue_idealist

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Men: Rippon, Chan, Brezina, Fernandez (no one's mentioned him yet!!), Kozuka, Ten (although I think he's overrated right now), Reynolds, Voronov, Borodulin..
Idk about Mroz for a Worlds podium contender. We'll see. I also don't know about Oda. His marriage and kid might distract him.. look how he performed at last Worlds, too, and it was probably something to do with that other stuff being a distraction. I think Takahashi will be a contender as long as he stays, probably the top guy, but how long is he even staying?

Ladies: Nagasu, Wagner, Gao, MAYBE Flatt if she stays but I don't know if she'll really progress that much further placement-wise than she is now, Mao still if she's staying around, Yuna too, Cynthia Phaneuf, Ksenia Makarova for sure.. I'm not sure about the ladies moving up from junior 'cause I've never seen them. Amanda Dobbs, Sarah Hecken.. I feel like I'm forgetting someone but that's all I've got for now. I really think Makarova could be the Next One.

Pairs: Savchenko and Szolkowy if they stay around, ditto Pang and Tong, Kawaguchi and Smirnov (barf), Volosozhar and Trankov if they actually ARE together, Mukhortova and whoever she skates with if it goes well, Denney and Barrett, Evora and Ladwig although those two teams might retire soon - the guys are old.. Bazarova and Larionov.. maybe Morand and Dorsaz (maybe just because I like them :p), James and Bonheur.. I think the Zhangs will have trouble getting on a world podium again unless they drastically do something about their PCs.

Dance: Davis and White, Virtue and Moir.. duh, Pechalat and Bourzat, Faiella and Scali if they're staying, ditto Kerrs, Bobrova and Soloviev, Samuelson and Bates especially with the coaching change, Crone and Poirier, maybe Weaver and Poje, the Zaretskys.. I'm definitely forgetting people here but that's all I can think of right now. (edited to add Cappellini and Lanotte)
 

BRaZILIANSKaTER

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
Men: Rippon, Chan, Brezina, Fernandez (no one's mentioned him yet!!), Kozuka, Ten (although I think he's overrated right now), Reynolds, Voronov, Borodulin..

I forgot to mention Fernandez and would like to add Voronov ( I love his last SP but he needs to improve artistry and become more consistent in his FSs)
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
Men: Rippon, Chan, Brezina, Fernandez (no one's mentioned him yet!!), Kozuka, Ten (although I think he's overrated right now), Reynolds, Voronov, Borodulin..
Idk about Mroz for a Worlds podium contender. We'll see. I also don't know about Oda. His marriage and kid might distract him.. look how he performed at last Worlds, too, and it was probably something to do with that other stuff being a distraction. I think Takahashi will be a contender as long as he stays, probably the top guy, but how long is he even staying?

Ladies: Nagasu, Wagner, Gao, MAYBE Flatt if she stays but I don't know if she'll really progress that much further placement-wise than she is now, Mao still if she's staying around, Yuna too, Cynthia Phaneuf, Ksenia Makarova for sure.. I'm not sure about the ladies moving up from junior 'cause I've never seen them. Amanda Dobbs, Sarah Hecken.. I feel like I'm forgetting someone but that's all I've got for now. I really think Makarova could be the Next One.

Pairs: Savchenko and Szolkowy if they stay around, ditto Pang and Tong, Kawaguchi and Smirnov (barf), Volosozhar and Trankov if they actually ARE together, Mukhortova and whoever she skates with if it goes well, Denney and Barrett, Evora and Ladwig although those two teams might retire soon - the guys are old.. Bazarova and Larionov.. maybe Morand and Dorsaz (maybe just because I like them :p), James and Bonheur.. I think the Zhangs will have trouble getting on a world podium again unless they drastically do something about their PCs.

Dance: Davis and White, Virtue and Moir.. duh, Pechalat and Bourzat, Faiella and Scali if they're staying, ditto Kerrs, Bobrova and Soloviev, Samuelson and Bates especially with the coaching change, Crone and Poirier, maybe Weaver and Poje, the Zaretskys.. I'm definitely forgetting people here but that's all I can think of right now. (edited to add Cappellini and Lanotte)

Is Kanako who you're forgetting?
 

Layfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Well, next season I'll be watching Mao and Mirai the most. Really hope Mao finds the right coach and choreography to truly show off her amazing skating. Really hope Mirai continues her improvement and that she finds the confidence to feel comfortable about being among the world's best instead of freaking out about it.

Mirai is my best hope for the U.S. ladies finally be world medal contenders ... so I hope one of the up-and-comers bursts through ala Tara Lipinski so that the U.S. emerges from its rut.

I'll be rooting for Yuna if she continues. But I only want her to do it if she is truly motivated and passionate ... I'd hate to see someone of her caliber her struggle like Sarah Hughes did after she won her OGM.

Hope what happened to the U.S. ladies these last few years doesn't happen to the U.S. men. I have hopes for Adam and Brandon Mroz and maybe even Jeremy - maybe next year he won't crumble under pressure since the Olympics will be so far off....

But they'll have a job keeping up with the Japanese... speaking of which, I'm so excited to watch the Japanese men! They are a breath of fresh air for men's skating.

But as cool as it is to watch the Asians, I also hope that European skating, men and women, comes out of ITS rut.
 

koheikun90

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
This year's world jr. champs was a great glimpse for the future. I was very impressed by all the champions. SUI/CONG, HANYU Yuzuru, ILYINIKH/KATSALAPOV and MURAKAMI Kanako. Other skaters from that competition that impressed me and we should look out for is MITCHELL/ISLAM, SHIBUTANI/SHIBUTANI, Polina AGAFANOVA, Artur GASCHINSKI, Artur DMITRIEV.

What I love about figure skating is that there is always a fresh face on the scene. I mean who really knew about Patrick Chan prior to 2007/2008?
 

BRaZILIANSKaTER

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 29, 2010
This year's world jr. champs was a great glimpse for the future. I was very impressed by all the champions. SUI/CONG, HANYU Yuzuru, ILYINIKH/KATSALAPOV and MURAKAMI Kanako. Other skaters from that competition that impressed me and we should look out for is MITCHELL/ISLAM, SHIBUTANI/SHIBUTANI, Polina AGAFANOVA, Artur GASCHINSKI, Artur DMITRIEV.

Is Arthur Dmitriev actually son of the former pairs champion Arthur Dmitriev?
He is really good. Check this video of him doing a clean quad and triple axels easily! (But he needs to work on those landings)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW_6EYV63hU
 

koheikun90

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Is Arthur Dmitriev actually son of the former pairs champion Arthur Dmitriev?
He is really good. Check this video of him doing a clean quad and triple axels easily! (But he needs to work on those landings)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW_6EYV63hU

Yes, he is the son of Artur Dmitriev. He has incredible jumps but can take a lesson from his father about polishing, posture and artistry. Otherwise, a very bright future.
 

gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
Dmitriev does have great jumps. Only junior man to do a quad but in the short program at jr worlds level one and two spns and steps. Maybe he was just dispirted because of the fall because in the LP they went up to level 3 spins but really needs spin and step work. Then there is Gachinsky. But Borodulin will almost certainly be Russian champion for 2011.
 

princess9

On the Ice
Joined
May 1, 2010
Nagasu, Wagner, Asada, Makarova are the ones I hope continue on and excel. All very watchable. Murakami reminds me of Yoshie at this point, who was never my fave Japanese skater. But she is young and will improve lots in presentation hopefully. I find Abbott the whole package for the men and enjoy Brezina. I'm lukewarm on most pairs though have not paid much attention.

As for dancers, I see Davis and White as the next world champions. I hope, anyway.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Men
Chan
Kozuka
Abbott (if he stays)
Rippon
Amodio
Brenzia
Ten (especially since he's going to Frank Carroll!)


Women
Kim (if she stays)
Asada
Nagasu
Lepisto
Hecken
Murakami
Kwak (under Orser's watch)
 
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