Prediction for your favorite skaters next season

CanadianSkaterGuy said:

Yeah, a B-list event where she beat the current Olympic champion.

Uh, she beat her lower ranked teammate overall. Gold also lost to her "lower ranked teammates" if you recall, but beat them overall.

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Top 5 at Worlds :scowl:
well I suppose dreams and fantasy are free

sky_fly20 said:

Top 5 at Worlds :scowl:
well I suppose dreams and fantasy are free

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Top 5 at Worlds. That's not bad! Almost as good as Wagner's top 4, but not quite.

sky_fly20 said:

well I suppose dreams and fantasy are free

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As somebody who was certain that Gold would vie for the Olympic title and the World title, only to place 19 and 22 points off the gold medal and not even make the podium at either event, dreams and fantasies are something you're totally entitled to. :agree:

I expect Yulia to win several competitions next season. I'd be surprised if Gold surpassed her in the results.

What I've seen from Yulia this far has convinced me she's an exceptional athlete and a fine competitor, but the choreography she's given and her presentation feel a bit like a gymnastic routine to me. It's certainly impressive in its own way, but it leaves me cold, and I feel that she hears but doesn't feel the music. Of course, these are subjective matters... and her brand of artistry certainly gets love from judges.

Looking forward to seeing her mature and develop as a skater. Maybe her future programs will change my perception of her as somewhat robotic skater, maybe not, but I'm gonna keep watching anyway.

nimi said:

I expect Yulia to win several competitions next season. I'd be surprised if Gold surpassed her in the results.

What I've seen from Yulia this far has convinced me she's an exceptional athlete and a fine competitor, but the choreography she's given and her presentation feel a bit like a gymnastic routine to me. It's certainly impressive in its own way, but it leaves me cold, and I feel that she hears but doesn't feel the music. Of course, these are subjective matters... and her brand of artistry certainly gets love from judges.

Looking forward to seeing her mature and develop as a skater. Maybe her future programs will change my perception of her as somewhat robotic skater, maybe not, but I'm gonna keep watching anyway.

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It's extremely rare to expect a 15 year old to exude the refinement of a world-class skater. She's clearly a skater who focuses in her programs and methodically does it instead of somebody like a Lipinski who skates with abandon, or Baiul who puts on a show beyond the elements. Especially with the parameters of CoP, it's really hard for a skater to give the technical goods at such a young age while also showing refinement and maturity. Personally, I'd rather she land the jumps and then get the artistry, rather than the other way around where she would certainly get buried in the depth of the Russian field if she were artistically/performance-wise decent but technically inconsistent (see: Makarova/Leonova).

I posted this elsewhere but think since the topic shifted a bit here it's relevant

Yulia's 2a is improving!!! Look at it just a week or two before skate Canada this year. (0:50 mark)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1052CQRfdw

Now compare it to WC!!

WC 2014 (1:18 mark) smooth as silk!!
http://youtu.be/HEoVqttv6bc

Call me crazy all you want but I love her 2a and think its the best technique for combo's. I've been saying if she gets a quad it will be 2a-4t

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This shows not only her technical aspect improving but she lands it so smooth in Worlds with artistic arm movements which help her presentation and transitions score but also her TES. If you watch both programs in full it's unreal the amount of artistry she has added. Just my opinion though. I'm kind of a fan.

Polina competed in the 2013-2014 JGPF. She had two serious mistakes in the SP and was 5th going into the FS. But she was 2nd in the FS, landing 7 clean triples and finished 4th overall, just 1.97 points out of 3rd place.

BTW, on the Ladies panel at the JGPF: Alla SHEKHOVTSEVA and Yury BALKOV

SHEKHOVTSEVA also sat on the JR MEN's panel at the JGPF.

Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya were the ones the Russians payed millions of dollars to be scored as they were this year, knowing they were the two most likely to compete at the Olympics in Russia. Even though the worlds was after the Olympics the money that Russia put into the season would have carried in that too. The season is over so things will be reset and we will see where everyone goes from her. Overscoring aside Julia's consistency will always stand her in good stead, atleast until/if she loses some of it.

pangtongfan said:

Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya were the ones the Russians payed millions of dollars to be scored as they were this year

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How many millions exactly? You appear to have some inside knowledge, so I am curious how many to each judge? Can you publish it?

YLFan said:

Yea we get it. Yulia is a robotic gumby. And Sotnikova has all the grace of a neanderthal.


Just my opinion but Yulia has a really high xfactor. Anything she does will stand out.

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It was also said here that Adelina so evil she devours newborn children for breakfast. I am serious, some people suggested that. That pangpangpangfan is saying that all the time...

Its really a dream, but my prediction is that Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin skate to Conchita Wurst's "rise like a phoenix"

http://youtu.be/ToqNa0rqUtY

Like a free or gala... Im sorry I have the lyrics stuck in my head hehehe

pangtongfan said:

Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya were the ones the Russians payed millions of dollars to be scored as they were this year, knowing they were the two most likely to compete at the Olympics in Russia. Even though the worlds was after the Olympics the money that Russia put into the season would have carried in that too. The season is over so things will be reset and we will see where everyone goes from her. Overscoring aside Julia's consistency will always stand her in good stead, atleast until/if she loses some of it.

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Yup. That's key for her, and she's got that internal fire and competitive spirit that puts her head and shoulders above so many of her peers. The pressure got to her just twice this year: at Rostelecom and the ladies' event in Sochi, but the latter I think can be attributed to her having no peace and being hounded by the media between team and ladies' events, so that was a bit of an outlier. I think the press will give her more space in the coming months (unless she becomes to Russia what Mao is to Japan, the country's biggest star).

Ladies:

Julia (assuming she gets past/somehow delays puberty): win 2 GP, silver/gold in GPF, fight for Russia title with Elena/Adelina?, silver/gold in Euros, silver/gold in Worlds
Gracie: win SA and medal in other GP, medal in GPF, fight for US title with Polina, medal in Worlds --> favourite for Boston (depends on whether she places higher than Polina)
Elena: win 1 GP,medal in the other, silver/gold in GPF, fight for Russia title with Julia/Adelina?, silver/gold in Euros, medal in Worlds
Polina: medal in 2 GP, fight for medal in GPF, fight for US title with Gracie, top 5 in Worlds --> medal contender in Boston (depends on whether she places higher than Gracie)
Anna: medal in 2 GP, fight for medal in GPF, bronze in Russian Nationals? ,podium in Euros (depends on whether Adelina competes), top 5 in Worlds

Adelina (Personally I think she only deserves bronze in Sochi after Yuna and Carolina while Mao places first in FS, so I don't really know what to expect of her): medal in 2 GP, fight for podium in GPF (if she competes in GP circuit), fight for Russian title with Julia/Elena (if she competes), podium in Euros, top 5 in Worlds --> hopefully fades out and retires (seriously I don't think she has the motivation to continue competing after "winning" the Olympic gold)

Li Zijun (if she regains her form in 2013 Worlds): medal in COC, fight for gold in 4CC with Kanako/Park So-youn/Miyahara (assuming that Gracie/Polina/Ashley/Mao don't compete), top 10 in Worlds
Kanako: medal in NHK, fight for gold in JPN Nationals with Miyahara (if Mao doesn't compete), fight for gold in 4CC with Li Zijun/Park So-youn/Miyahara (assuming that Gracie/Polina/Ashley don't compete), top 10 in Worlds --> potential retirement
Park So-youn (if she maintains her form in Saitama): 4th/5th in GP, fight for gold in 4CC with Li Zijun/Park So-youn/Miyahara (assuming that Gracie/Polina/Ashley don't compete), top 10 in Worlds
Miyahara: medal in NHK, fight for gold in JPN Nationals with Kanako (if Mao doesn't compete), fight for gold in 4CC with Kanako/Park So-youn/Li Zijun (assuming that Gracie/Polina/Ashley don't compete), top 12 in Worlds
Kaetlyn: medal in SC, medal in 4CC?, top 10 in Worlds

Mao (I think she may pull off a "Yuna" season: compete in Nationals and Worlds only since Japan needs her to earn 3 placements for ladies and I don't think Kanako and Miyahara can pull it off): gold in JPN Nationals (if she competes), podium in Worlds (gold if she lands both 3As cleanly and Gracie/Julia/Elena fall)

Men:

Yuzuru: gold for everything except GPF (it's held in Barcelona), fight for gold in Worlds with Javier/Patrick (if he competes)
Javier: medal in 2 GP, fight for gold in GPF with Yuzuru (slight advantage in PCS since it's in Barcelona), gold in Euros, fight for gold in Worlds with Yuzuru/Patrick (if he competes)
Machida: medal in 2 GP, medal in GPF (disadvantage in PCS against Yuzuru and Hanyu), silver in JPN Nat, podium in Worlds (his only chance of winning is skating cleanly in both programs and Yuzuru fall)
Denis Ten: medal in 2 GP?, medal in GPF (if he qualified), fight for gold in 4CC with Yan Han(if Yuzuru/Machida doesn't compete), podium in Worlds (I think he will beat Machida if they both skate cleanly in PCS since he is the Olympic bronze medalist)

Patrick (he really needs to fix his 3A or at least don't fall on it like in TEB, or else I doubt the judges will continue give him PCS as high as Yuzuru's. Same as Mao, I hope he will pull off a "Yuna" season since Canada needs him to earn 3 placements for men and while Nam has potential, the kid still lacks a quad and Kevin is way too unstable): gold in nationals, fight for gold in Worlds with Yuzuru (Javier will need to skate cleanly in both programs and both Yuzuru/Patrick fall to win gold)

Kovtun: medal in 2 GP (gold in COR?), qualify for GPF, silver in Euros, top 5 in Worlds (his only chance of medaling is when Ten/Machida fall)
Yan Han: medal in 2 GP (gold in COC?), qualify for GPF, fight for gold in 4CC with Ten (if Yuzuru/Machida don't compete), top 5 in Worlds (surprise bronze if Machida/Ten/Kovtun fall and he skate clean since Worlds is in Shanghai)

I actually think Kovtun will surprise a lot of people next season. His trajectory in terms of jumping ability has been extremely rapid, and his artistry is continually improving. I wish he wasn't so darn cocky though, although he must have a very thick skin after the flak he gets for 2013 Worlds. I don't understand people who say Voronov will surpass him because clearly Kovtun isn't showing many signs of slowing down, not yet at least. Already his quads are fairly reliable and his axel is very reliable. I'm guessing he can medal at the GPF and win at least one GP event. His PCS will quite likely clear 42/85 points by the end of the season, and potentially a PB of about 95 points in the SP (if he does 4-3 along with 4/3A) and 170+ in the FS, which could put him in contention for a world medal.

someone is developing a fandom crush for Kovtun
and is now devoid of logic

Kovtun will not win the GPF for sure, Javier will have a huge boost in Barcelona
and Kovtun chokes in big events, Euros and Worlds alike

Kovtun is light years behind the current top 3 in ability and Dennis Ten and Kozuka when they are "on" will easily beat him too (although who knows if Kozuka will ever be on again). Chan if he returns will be easily beating Kovtun for atleast another year or two. I definitely dont see Kovtun on the world podium barring some massive improvements over the summer, or a very messy event at worlds. He was 4th at worlds, but the top 3 were in their own event, another league from everyone else.

pangtongfan said:

Kovtun is light years behind the current top 3 in ability and Dennis Ten and Kozuka when they are "on" will easily beat him too (although who knows if Kozuka will ever be on again). Chan if he returns will be easily beating Kovtun for atleast another year or two. I definitely dont see Kovtun on the world podium barring some massive improvements over the summer, or a very messy event at worlds. He was 4th at worlds, but the top 3 were in their own event, another league from everyone else.

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exactly, the only way Kovtun medals if other top skaters implode

sky_fly20 said:

someone is developing a fandom crush for Kovtun
and is now devoid of logic

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Oooh... and what do we call someone who develop an obsession negatively or positively for a skater? Sky fly?!

sky_fly20 said:

someone is developing a fandom crush for Kovtun
and is now devoid of logic

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should I let the massive love threads for Gold speak for themselves?

Would devoid of logic be saying Gold will vie for the Olympic gold and get PCS like Kim? Or saying she will still win Worlds, even after Mao posts a score so high that Gold need 146 to beat it? Or saying she will even medal a Worlds and then failing to so do after Kostner implodes and Lipnitskaia has errors. Would defying logic be saying a skater is beyond grand when they don't even have an international win or qualified for the GPF.

You of all people shouldn't be calling me out for suggesting Kovtun will exceed expectations next season, given how much of an epic failure your grandiose Gracie Gold predictions were. I said Kovtun can win a GP or even medal at Worlds or the GPF, and I said he will still be the top ranked Russian. Those are realistic.

It's not like he's the 5th place finisher at Worlds and then I suggested Kovtun would win all his GP events and the GPF and then silver/gold at Worlds. Because that would actually be crazy and illogical.

As for Kovtun requiring Hanyu and Fernandez and Machida to bomb, that's true... But it has happened. Kovtun has beat Fernandez last season when the latter bombed at CoR and was lucky to even medal. If Fernandez has a bad Worlds or GPF, Kovtun could get a medal. But I never said he would win Worlds or the GPF.