- Joined
- Jun 3, 2009
1.) But IMO this Bradley, unlike the 2007 Bradley, this one has the Triple Axel that has plagued him throughout his career. And he has a quad, which is noteworthy considering that on Chan and a few of the European men have consistently done it. Granted the Triple Axels may go by the wayside when it comes for international competition, but there's something to be said about inner resolve, and I think Bradley has it this year.
2.) As others have established here as well as Miner, that was not his best performance. Consider this: Miner had not competed since the 2009 season. He had an injury in the 2009-2010 season that kept him from competing. It's a similar scenario to Daisuke last year. When you haven't competed for an entire season, it will be a rough road those first few competitions. (Actually you can apply Patrick Chan in this category as well as he came to Skate Canada off an injury). I think his Nationals performance is an indication of things to come rather than the fluke everyone is seeing it as.
3.) Well, glad that Canada gets some gain out of Dorbush's victory. That said the international judges clearly like this guy. When you have the 11th highest score from a junior competition, that fares well for your chances.
Sorry, lets be clear what I believe will happen. In 2008, two senior neophytes had their worlds debut - Stephen Carriere and Jeremy Abbott. They ranked tenth and eleventh. Wier came third so they got three spots, but on their own they would've been fine for two.
I think there are only a handful of skaters who are "guaranteed" to beat the American trio: Chan, the Japanese troika and the Frenchmen. Yes, yes, ice is slippery, but any of these six ranking behind the Americans would constitute a MAJOR shock to my system, frankly.
Then there are so many skaters that COULD potentially beat them. Could. Maybe. Possibly. In the realm of human experience. These include Verner, Brezina, Schlutheiss, Contesti, D. Ten, Fernandez, Majorov, van der Perren, Gachinsky etc.
I think that given the odds of everyone skating well (Fernandez, Brezina coming back from injury, D. Ten has fallen more than Patrick Chan this season etc) being what they are, the Americans should be able to get two spots. Three would require a massive fluke. But it'll be a fight, not a walk in the park.
Miner did compete in the 09/10 season - he came third in the JGPF. He missed Nationals because of that injury.