New Favorites/Discoveries from 2014-15 Season

beabstress said:

The most pleasant *surprise* by far, for me, is Marchei/Hotarek. It sounded like a disaster in the making when it was announced that they were teaming up. But no! Valentina was a lovely, but basically middle-of-the-pack, singles skater. As a pairs skater, though, she's a star! Andrei complements her perfectly. They look like they were born to skate with each other. And when they up the technical content (i.e., get a triple twist), watch out, world!

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My thoughts exactly. I'm not a big pairs fan but was curious to see how Valentina would fare. I almost wish that they had paired up sooner, but it seems the time was right for both. Such a charismatic, talented pair.

beabstress said:

The most pleasant *surprise* by far, for me, is Marchei/Hotarek. It sounded like a disaster in the making when it was announced that they were teaming up. But no! Valentina was a lovely, but basically middle-of-the-pack, singles skater. As a pairs skater, though, she's a star! Andrei complements her perfectly. They look like they were born to skate with each other. And when they up the technical content (i.e., get a triple twist), watch out, world!

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I am very curious if they can progress. We have to keep in mind that the Chinese silver medalists from this year are very young and the Junior World Champions from China are going to seniors even as early as next year. Having said that, I absolutely adore this couple, so much personality on stage, there will be no blah moments with them!

Papadakis/Cizeron -- missed them completely last year.

I can't speak to their technique but their chemistry and lyricism reminded me of V/M, which isn't a comparison I make lightly. As soon as they started their FD, it seemed fairly clear (IMO, anyway) that W/P and C/B would have to settle for medals of a different color. P/C have set a high standard for themselves and upped the ante for the rest of the field.

Let the twizzles begin!

For those who listed Chartrand as one you noticed - and for anyone really - What does she need to move up in the ranks? Do you feel if she can get her nerves in check and actually rotate her jumps she could be top 6 in the world. Had she not under rotated her 3/3 in the short she would have been skating in the final group. However that given the fact that some of the favs had some big errors.
Her Tec content can surpass Osmond's if she can get all her jumps to count. And her spins and footwork are just as good. Chartrand just seems a little more reserved and tentative then Osmond. But one thing she has going for her is that even when she is having problems like she did in her Free skate she keeps going for it and keeps racking up the points.

I really enjoyed watching Mariah Bell skate at Nationals. She just radiates happiness!

I also enjoyed Emily Chan's performances.

Sackie said:

For those who listed Chartrand as one you noticed - and for anyone really - What does she need to move up in the ranks? Do you feel if she can get her nerves in check and actually rotate her jumps she could be top 6 in the world. Had she not under rotated her 3/3 in the short she would have been skating in the final group. However that given the fact that some of the favs had some big errors.
Her Tec content can surpass Osmond's if she can get all her jumps to count. And her spins and footwork are just as good. Chartrand just seems a little more reserved and tentative then Osmond. But one thing she has going for her is that even when she is having problems like she did in her Free skate she keeps going for it and keeps racking up the points.

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I really do think its as simple as executing her jumps better. If she does them to her capability she will easily recieve positive GOE given her technique and ease in and out of her transitions. The good news is her scores are continuing to rise but she needs to crack 120 in the FS. Right now her PB is only 112.

I like David Wilson's choreography for her and trust her performing abilities will stay in tact so if I were her coach I'd up her off ice training to build muscle and increase her stamina. More cardio and some strength conditioning can go a long way in feeling out jumps. I'd look at giving her every advantage possible with her jumps and trust in her artistic and performing abilities to remain with less focus on that.

Sam-Skwantch said:

I really do think its as simple ad executing her jumps better. If she does them to her capability she will easily recieve positive GOE given her technique and ease in and out of her transitions. The good news is her scores are continuing to rise but she needs to crack 120 in the FS. Right now her PB is only 112.

I like David Wilson's choreography for her and trust her performing abilities will stay in tact so if I were her coach I'd up her off ice training to build muscle and increase her stamina. More cardio and some strength conditioning can go a long way in feeling out jumps. I'd look at giving her every advantage possible with her jumps and trust in her artistic and performing abilities to remain with less focus on that.

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She needs to have smoother jumps that look effortless. Right now, she's making the effort to get them done, which is great, but she needs to get more assurance on them. Her posture also really needs improvement, but already this has been a nice season of improvement for her.

For me:
Papadakis/Cizeron
Medvedeva
Marchei/Hotarek
Iliushechkina/Moscovitch
Shoma Uno

Sackie said:

For those who listed Chartrand as one you noticed - and for anyone really - What does she need to move up in the ranks? Do you feel if she can get her nerves in check and actually rotate her jumps she could be top 6 in the world. Had she not under rotated her 3/3 in the short she would have been skating in the final group. However that given the fact that some of the favs had some big errors.
Her Tec content can surpass Osmond's if she can get all her jumps to count. And her spins and footwork are just as good. Chartrand just seems a little more reserved and tentative then Osmond. But one thing she has going for her is that even when she is having problems like she did in her Free skate she keeps going for it and keeps racking up the points.

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She needs to rotate those jumps. She gets a decent amount of height, so rotating is more a matter of control and timing. (Summer camp with Mishin? I'm not very creative, so I just suggest that for everyone. )

Alaine has a certain grittiness and determination to land the jumps even if they look bad in the air. The next step is to land them pretty and get that GOE. Especially in the FS. She was first in the SP at CoR (ahead of Anna and Rika) only to drop behind after the FS.

She could also skate a bit more "free." There are times when she's a little deer-in-headlights. She does have good speed and footwork, so if she can bring some command and go out there like she owns the place, she'll climb up the ranks, imo.

Medvedeva
Piotr Gumennik
Nugumanova
Gubanova
Torgashev
Vasiljevs
Papadakis/Cizeron

I really liked the Russian Junior dance team Shpilevaya/Smirnov on the JGP this season. They've got a cute look that matches really well compared to some of the other juniors. I hope they can get their tech up.
Carreira/Ponomarenko for the USA were neat too.

I love that the ISU put the JGP officially on youtube these past few years, It's fun to already know who all the promising upcoming senior skaters are.

I wonder if Carreira and Ponomarenko have any affiliation with Klimova and Ponomarenko? Isn't Bukin's son part of the Stefanova and Bukin ice dance team.

Skater Boy said:

I wonder if Carreira and Ponomarenko have any affiliation with Klimova and Ponomarenko? Isn't Bukin's son part of the Stefanova and Bukin ice dance team.

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Yep, your instinct is right. Anthony is Marina and Sergei's son.

This is what it says at the bottom of the ISU Bio for Carreira / Ponomarenko:

Ponomarenko is the son of 1992 Olympic Ice Dance Champions, 1988 Olympic silver and 1984 Olymipc bronze medalists Marina Klimova/ Sergei Ponomarenko, who competed for the Soviet Union. Coach Greg Zuerlein is the 2009 World Junior Champion (with Madison Chock) and coach Fabian Bourzat is the 2011 and 2012 European Champion (with Nathalie Pechalat, competing for France).

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And you are also correct about Ivan Bukin being Andrei's son. Again, from the bottom of the ISU Bio for Stepanova / Bukin:

Stepanova/Bukin teamed up in 2006. She was a single skater before and moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow to take up ice dance. Bukin is the son of 1988 Olympic Ice Dance Champion Andrei Bukin. Stepanova names two-time World Champions Albena Denkova/Maxim Staviski (BUL) and Ekaterina Rubleva/Ivan Shefer (RUS) as her idols in skating. Bukin looks up to Natalia Bestemianova/Andrei Bukin and his mother Elena Vasiuk, who also was an ice dancer.

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Hope this helps

CaroLiza_fan

New Favorites
Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov
Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron

Yu Xiaoyu / Jin Yang

New Discoveries
Oleksandra Nazarova / Maksym Nikitin

Evgenia Medvedeva is my new fav now. Like almost everyone else, I didn't see anything special in her at all. But his year, she improved so much and love her LP (not the senior version with added music). Her rise tells me you don't have to the fastest skater from the beginning, but as long as you are doing everything correctly, it's fine.

Add another vote for Turzynbaeva, Irakli Maisuradze, Fournier Beaudry/Sorenson, Nazarova/Nikitin and all the Latvians.

With some of the others mentioned (e.g. Nugumanova, Wakababy, Nguyen, Yu/Jin, Papadakis/Cizeron), I had seen them before this season kicked off, but they only became favourites during this season.

Not sure whether Kaitlin and Jean-Luc count, as I had come across her before this season, but not him. Which is highly ironic, given that Jean-Luc’s parents are Steve Baker and Sharon Jones, both of whom I had heard tell of …!

But, can I add a few more names?

Although he did not get through to the FS at Junior Worlds, another promising skater that I discovered this season was James Min (Australia). He’s only 14, so there’s plenty of time for him to move up the order. But, he is one of those people that you can’t help but like. Whenever I was watching Nam Nguyen’s antics in the Green Room during the Men’s FS at Worlds, it reminded me so much of the way James Min was when waiting for his SP results at Junior Worlds.

OK, so I never shut up about this during Europeans. But, sorry, I have to bring it up again here!

Along with Angelīna Kučvaļska (Latvia), I was really impressed with the other 2 girls that competed at both the European Youth Olympic Festival and European Championships, Anastasia Galustyan (Armenia) and Aleksandra Golovkina (Lithuania).

These girls first came up on my radar at the Warsaw Cup. Liza Tuktamysheva won the title by a huge margin. But, joining her on the podium were 2 girls I had never come across before: Galustyan (2nd) and Golovkina (3rd). (Kuchvalska was 7th, largely due to a disastrous SP).

I thought these girls were mad to even attempt to compete in the European SP in Sweden the day after they competed in the EYOF FS in Austria. But all 3 of them not only held themselves together in the Europeans SP, but they qualified for the FS as well! Think about it: 4 segments in 2 different championships held in 2 different countries in 6 days! Remarkable!

It just shows how strong these 3 girls are, both physically and mentally. And that should serve them well for the future.

Finally, she may not be setting the world on fire just yet, but I have to mention another skater that competed in the EYOF, Alexandra de Hanovre (Monaco). OK, so I'm biased because I have always really liked her Mum (Princess Caroline) and her Uncle (Prince Albert). They have always come across as so down to Earth despite being Royalty. And it is so nice to see that the younger generation is the same.

I just found a coupe of news reports (29th Jan; 30th Jan) about her competing at the EYOF, and it shows some clips of her in action. And you know, she doesn't look too bad!

CaroLiza_fan

This has definitely been a year of discoveries for me and my, what gems have I discovered!

Pairs. Ok, so I have discovered two teams that have become favourites of mine: Tarasova/Morozov (please get better programs next year) and Yu/Jin. The future of pair skating right there. I also really liked Astakhova/Rogonov and Wang/Wang, definitely looking forward to seeing them again. And, while I had noticed Peng/Zhang last year, this year they really became favourites of mine, their programs are to die for.

Ice Dance. Papadakis/Cizeron solidified their positions as favourites (I was already in love with them last season) and I noticed lots of interesting teams during the Europeans this year. I especially liked Nazarova/Nikitin. Although they were only 17th at Worlds, I loved their innovation.

Ladies. Although there were several interesting discoveries, the one that immediately jumps out is Rika Hongo. I mean, come on, noone saw her coming and she just BURST onto the scene! Love her! Hope she keeps her consistency up next season as well.

Men. JOSHUA FARRIS. At the end of last season I was left with a huge Daisuke Takahashi-shaped hole in my heart, and Joshua has helped me heal. Or not. Their consistency is... fairly similar. I think I have a type. God, why do I keep doing this to myself?
Takahito Mura could stand to be a bit more consistent as well.

So, here's to a wonderful next season with more consistency and even greater programs! :agree:

I have a few.....

Cha Jun Hwan is a little guy to look for in the future....his mentality is outstanding and reminds me of Yuzuru.
Boyang Jin, his jumps are amazing, and I hope to see him improve PCS in the future
Liza is everything right now for me. Her SP at worlds was a difference class from other ladies.
An So Youn from Korea is promising, Elena's programs are starting to grow on me. I did not like her at first, but something about her is making me rewatch her programs.

Pretty much every American pair except S/K was a new discovery this season. As for my favorites, I really liked So Youn Park-her FS is stunning and she has a lovely style. I watched Paradis/Ouelette at Skate America and thought their FD was gorgeous-same with Hawayek/Baker at NHK (I had heard of them but never seen them compete). And, as with most anyone else who attended US nationals, Karen Chen is another new favorite.

Yuna Aoki
Wakaba Higuchi
Sota Yamamoto
Andrew Torgashev
Deniss Vasiljevs