2013-14 GP Season: Brown, Farris, Kovtun, & Han

Jason,Joshua,Maxim,Han.The four are very promising young skaters.
Who will do better in the next GP season?Anyone on the
podium,OR even in the Finals?
Assuming all of them get two GPs.

Jason-3A is OK,no quad,good basic skatings,good personality
Joshua-3A is good,quad in progress,good basic skatings
Maxim-two quads and two 3A in the FS,skating skills not good
Han-3A is amazing,quad not consistent,skating skills very good,not much performance

What do you think?

Welcome, Viscabarca! Thanks for joining us and thanks for the interesting thread.

Joshua Farris has lost the world junior free skate but won the competition and that's because he fell on a quad but he does have a quad and can do one and that's makes him technically ahead of Brown. Brown has great PCS and now at jr worlds he did land all the 3A's and if he can keep it that's good. If he can keep it and move to 4T that's even better. Brown beat Farris at a jrGPF and that's when he had no 3A because of PCS and spin and step levels. Kovtun beat both Brown and FArris because of his tech at the most recent JrGPF. But his PCS isn't impressive. Spin and step levels not on par with Farris and Brown. He has shown by far he can put the most difficult jumps in a program and do them but then he collapsed in the second half of his program at worlds with an ur fall, double, and finally single!! Not to mention the SP with 3t-1t. That was just the worst mistake any of the Farris Brown Kovtun Trio ever made. I have seen Han skate and he can do tremendously well but he's been kind of absent recently so not sure.

I have to say of these four Farris is the one seemingly prepared to do the best. But like none of them have even competed senior aside from Kovtun and what if they collapse like he did when he went to seniors but in a much worse way? So maybe Kovtun will be ahead because of more experience? But Farris does seem the best.

gmyers said:

Joshua Farris has lost the world junior free skate but won the competition and that's because he fell on a quad but he does have a quad and can do one and that's makes him technically ahead of Brown. Brown has great PCS and now at jr worlds he did land all the 3A's and if he can keep it that's good. If he can keep it and move to 4T that's even better. Brown beat Farris at a jrGPF and that's when he had no 3A because of PCS and spin and step levels. Kovtun beat both Brown and FArris because of his tech at the most recent JrGPF. But his PCS isn't impressive. Spin and step levels not on par with Farris and Brown. He has shown by far he can put the most difficult jumps in a program and do them but then he collapsed in the second half of his program at worlds with an ur fall, double, and finally single!! Not to mention the SP with 3t-1t. That was just the worst mistake any of the Farris Brown Kovtun Trio ever made. I have seen Han skate and he can do tremendously well but he's been kind of absent recently so not sure.

I have to say of these four Farris is the one seemingly prepared to do the best. But like none of them have even competed senior aside from Kovtun and what if they collapse like he did when he went to seniors but in a much worse way? So maybe Kovtun will be ahead because of more experience? But Farris does seem the best.

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Han Yan is the current 4CC Bronze medalist...

Yan may be the best jumper with great speed but he needs to improve his presentation skills which will come since he's the youngest of the 4 skaters. Farrais needs to increase his speed a bit and not be so reserved on the ice. But he showed at Nats that he can skate with the big boys.

I think they are all very talented. At this point I would say Farris is the most well-rounded, but the others can outshine him in certain areas: Brown - superior performance/PCS (mostly transitions), Kovtun - consistent quad and 4-3 combo, Yan - amazing speed and huge jumps. But Farris does have all the bases seemingly covered at this point while others have gaps, and he arguably has the best jump technique. I will say that I don't think Kovtun's basics or skating skills are bad though, they just aren't amazing. His PCS is about the same as Farris so not too low, Brown and Yan too are in the same range, only sometimes higher (Yan in seniors and Brown when he skates clean). Mostly Kovtun lacks in performance, so same issue as Yan, but he does not have the speed or jump height of Yan so it's maybe more noticeable? Kovtun has great presence though due to his stature.

I agree with what what's been said so far, but I have to say that out of this group I enjoy watching Jason skate the most. It seems so natural to him and I am always moved by his skills and performance. Not sure if that will translate to success on the senior circuit, but I certainly hope so.

FSGMT said:

Han Yan is the current 4CC Bronze medalist...

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Forgot all about it!! When adding that into the mix it stays the same though with Farris an easy pick for first then Kovtun Brown Yan.

Han Yan appears to have an injury, and it affects his ability to land the 3a. But his overall skating is just amazing. Right now, he doesn't seem to be in physical condition to challenge, but if he gets his strength back, he is a formidable combination of jumps and artistry.

Kovtun is an enigma. He can be commanding on the ice, or he can bomb. But he is primarily a jumper and his presentation is so-so. Lately, he has started off gangbusters in his FS, then sputters towards the end.

Brown's thing is blade artistry. His jumps are getting better and better as he grows and matures; growth in upper body strength is essential for 3a and quads.

Farris is a mixture of artistry and jumping. He does have a quad, but it's about 50% reliable at this point. But if the quad fails, he doesn't let his performance degrade the way Kovtun can at times.

So I'd rate them this way:
JUMPS: Kovtun, Farris, Yan, Brown
ARTISTRY: Yan, Brown, Farris, Kovtun
PERFORMANCE: Farris, Brown, Kovtun, Yan

chuckm said:

Han Yan appears to have an injury, and it affects his ability to land the 3a. But his overall skating is just amazing. Right now, he doesn't seem to be in physical condition to challenge, but if he gets his strength back, he is a formidable combination of jumps and artistry.

Kovtun is an enigma. He can be commanding on the ice, or he can bomb. But he is primarily a jumper and his presentation is so-so. Lately, he has started off gangbusters in his FS, then sputters towards the end.

Brown's thing is blade artistry. His jumps are getting better and better as he grows and matures; growth in upper body strength is essential for 3a and quads.

Farris is a mixture of artistry and jumping. He does have a quad, but it's about 50% reliable at this point. But if the quad fails, he doesn't let his performance degrade the way Kovtun can at times.

So I'd rate them this way:
JUMPS: Kovtun, Farris, Yan, Brown
ARTISTRY: Yan, Brown, Farris, Kovtun
PERFORMANCE: Farris, Brown, Kovtun, Yan

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Yan first in artistry? Yan needs a lot of work on his artistry as he tends to be to reserved and isn't in the same league as Jason is right now.

Jammers said:

Yan first in artistry? Yan needs a lot of work on his artistry as he tends to be to reserved and isn't in the same league as Jason is right now.

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I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking that.

Yan is a fabulous skater but he is well below both Americans in the artistry stakes.

This looks like the place to put Jenny & Dave's most recent interview, with Jason Brown, which includes video of his recent first attempts to do a 4t (it was maybe UR and had a wonky landing, but he didn't fall). There is also a gorgeous 3A, and his 3lz3t (The jump videos are below the interview video)

http://www.theskatinglesson.com/jason-brown-interview/

I hope Jason doesn't go back to the JGP yet again. His 3xel is getting strong and if he's attempting the quad what else does he need to compete? He can already beat most of the Senior US men when he's on. Three trips to Jr Worlds is enough.

dorispulaski said:

This looks like the place to put Jenny & Dave's most recent interview, with Jason Brown, which includes video of his recent first attempts to do a 4t (it was maybe UR and had a wonky landing, but he didn't fall). There is also a gorgeous 3A, and his 3lz3t (The jump videos are below the interview video)

http://www.theskatinglesson.com/jason-brown-interview/

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Yay, thanks doris! The 4T was far from perfect, but taking into account he just got his 3A this season, it's great!

Honestly, I might be biased, but for me Jason has the most potential regarding this 4 guys. Everything that he does has amazing quality, and if he adds the big tricks he will be such a great all around skater. He's the most artistic and musical skater and his choreographies are detailed without looking too crowded. He could work on his speed, but his skating skills are already really good.
Farris is a good all around skater, but I feel like he's missing something. His jumps are nice and his basics strong, but he somehow doesn't have the presence yet to make me remember him or tie me to the screen (all IMO, of course).
Kovtun and Yan are tough to rate for me at this point. I like Yan's skating skills, but his overall lack of the artistic part (sometimes he doesn't even seem to listen to his music) make him a little dull to me. Kovtun isn't that musical either, but when he's on, he at least has some kind of presence and self-confidence that makes him exciting to watch. Yan's jumps have good quality, but I'm a little confused he just does one 4T and one 3A in his FS, eventhough both jumps are very strong, when he hits them.

Rating them, for me it would be...
Jumps: Kovtun > Yan >> Farris >> Brown (although for me, it's just because Jason doesn't have the 4T. The quality of his other jumps is amazing)
Non-Jump elements: Brown > Farris >> Yan > Kovtun
Artistry: Brown >> Farris > Kovtun = Yan
Choreography: Brown >> Farris >>> Yan > Kovtun
(Yes, I told you, I might be biased :biggrin : )

I guees none of those 4 will have a say when it comes to the olympic medals in Sochi. But they could be part of the dominent men squad afterwards. Bring up some good company for Hanyu and Fernandez

All Jason lacks is a quad & he will be next season's newest Sr. star. He is far & away better than the others in non-jump areas, artistry, musicality, & choreography.

dorispulaski said:

This looks like the place to put Jenny & Dave's most recent interview, with Jason Brown, which includes video of his recent first attempts to do a 4t (it was maybe UR and had a wonky landing, but he didn't fall). There is also a gorgeous 3A, and his 3lz3t (The jump videos are below the interview video)

http://www.theskatinglesson.com/jason-brown-interview/

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This was a great interview! And I love Jason's attitude regarding his career and how Kori allows him to take ownership of it.