2023 US Nationals: Men | Thoughts

[gsk8]

Ilia Malinin wins first U.S. men's title

2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships Men In a nail-biting finish, Ilia Malinin won his first U.S. National title on Saturday in San Jose, Calif. Jason Brown maintained second to […]

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So proud of Brown! He actually spent more time "defending" Malinin in the press conference that talking about his own skate! More to come on that.

Glad to see that Torgashev is back. He won the free skate!

 

[karne]

Thoughts: USFS ought to be on their knees in gratitude to Jason for coming back and choosing to do Worlds. Without him...oy. There's not one other US man I would trust to do the job. Not even Ilia, though his issue is probably more being young and impetuous and he'll probably - hopefully - stablise with age. A more experienced skater would recognise he had nothing to gain by trying 4A here and that he could do a simpler program more cleanly and still win.

Last year USFS got lucky when their notoriously inconsistent men all miraculously came good for Worlds. They can't count on the same luck this year. I don't know if they need a team of sports psychologists on staff to fix this issue but the days of being able to pluck the 3rd alternate onto the World team and trust that he'll do a good enough job for spots at Worlds are looooooooong gone.

 

[YuBluByMe]

Ilia doesn’t need defending.

Overall, I thought the men were the best out of the four disciplines. Torgashev by far had the best performance for me; his clean skate was my moment of the night. Actually, of the entire Nationals. I’m happy he had such a great skate and was outright chosen for the Worlds team.

I’ll be keeping an eye on Mindra. He stood out to me with his SP and had a solid Nationals debut. Also happy for Naumov - who has been struggling with injury for a few years now.

Thoughts: USFS ought to be on their knees in gratitude to Jason for coming back and choosing to do Worlds. Without him...oy. There's not one other US man I would trust to do the job. Not even Ilia, though his issue is probably more being young and impetuous and he'll probably - hopefully - stablise with age. A more experienced skater would recognise he had nothing to gain by trying 4A here and that he could do a simpler program more cleanly and still win.

Agreed on the most part, but I absolutely trust Ilia to get the job done at Worlds. He had the mind and guts to throw in an unplanned third jump in the final jumping pass, which says a lot.

The issue wasn’t the 4A attempt. It’s a good jump for him and that was the first time he fell on it all year. The problem is that he was actually attempting a six-quad layout and that’s just unnecessary. His youthful bravado is part of what I like about him, but there’s a time and place for everything. As you said, someone older and more experienced would know better. On the one hand, he really didn’t have anything to lose. A clean SP and high enough TES in the free is a solid win…. domestically. But on the other hand, US Nationals isn’t some low-level Challenger. It’s not the time to experiment with new layouts.

Ilia can’t keep the spots by himself and so I sure as heck don’t trust the other guys to get the job done at Worlds. If he podiums and the two other guys fall below the top 10 then the spots are as good as gone. Last year, Pulkinen’s Worlds performance was a surprise, but if you remove him from the competition, the American men still would have kept their spots. That sort of luck….isn’t happening this year.

 

[DancingCactus]

The question is do the US men need 3 spots if everyone but Jason and Malinin is super inconsistent? I would rather see someone from a different country get a chance than a third US guy who's just there for the sake of...what?

 

[karne]

The question is do the US men need 3 spots if everyone but Jason and Malinin is super inconsistent? I would rather see someone from a different country get a chance than a third US guy who's just there for the sake of...what?

I think this is a fair question. If only Ilia and Jason are consistent - and Ilia has yet to build up any consistency - then the three spots isn't necessarily a requirement. I suppose I am still frozen onto it with trauma.

 

[YuBluByMe]

The question is do the US men need 3 spots if everyone but Jason and Malinin is super inconsistent?

The answer is no. I said a few months ago that if the US don’t have three men that can comfortably make top 10 at Worlds, then they don’t need three spots. Losing a spot wouldn’t be a disaster in that case.

 

[RobinA]

Here's my thought...Jason wuz robbed.. That's all.

 

[yelyoh]

Happy to see Jason back if not for the final time. Happy younger skaters did well. Happy Liam is going to 4CC.

 

[Lamente Ariane]

The answer is no. I said a few months ago that if the US don’t have three men that can comfortably make top 10 at Worlds, then they don’t need three spots. Losing a spot wouldn’t be a disaster in that case.

Agreed. It hurts to lose a spot especially when it’s an edge case, but I don’t see the USA hanging on to three spots for the next four years and I think that’s okay. That’s actually the system working as intended, since USA doesn’t have the depth and consistency in men now. It would bother me a lot more if we somehow lost a spot in dance.

 

[ladyjane]

I just was able to watch a few of the men's FS. Let's just say I enjoyed myself immensely. Jason is such an icon. Wonderful skate. A pity about the flip in the end, but who really cares as long as he's not hurt? So beautiful. Andrew's skate was also a great joy. His jumps are so much a part of the programme. And who would have thought it. I recall Andrew having stamina problems in the FS. Not this time. Wonderful. I enjoyed Samuel's skate as well. Sure, he skates young but so musical. Just wanted to share my thoughts on these three.

 

[Tahuu]

Torgashev by far had the best performance for me; his clean skate was my moment of the night. Actually, of the entire Nationals. I’m happy he had such a great skate and was outright chosen for the Worlds team.

I’ll be keeping an eye on Mindra. He stood out to me with his SP and had a solid Nationals debut.

Feel the same way.

 

[Skater Boy]

Here's my thought...Jason wuz robbed.. That's all.

I really loved Jason's two skates but in this world of quads and the scoring system it is hard to say he was robbed. The system may not favour him granted. If this is part of his swan song it is a beautiful ending. I sense a world medal may be his.The impossible dream...

 

[readernick]

Jason was beautiful. Ilya was impressive. I enjoyed Jimmy Ma, Naumov, Mindra, Camden ( when he wasn't falling), Tomoki's SP.

But, the best surprise of the competition was Torgashev! I've always loved his skating because of his edges, posture, musicality. But, he's never been able to skate clean. He did it here in the LP. How ! And, based on what Jackie Wong said about his practices, it wasn't a fluke he looked great all week. I think he's learned how to train! I'm so glad he's going to Worlds. ( TES pending)

 

[Bookseller]

Ilia doesn’t need defending.

Overall, I thought the men were the best out of the four disciplines. Torgashev by far had the best performance for me; his clean skate was my moment of the night. Actually, of the entire Nationals. I’m happy he had such a great skate and was outright chosen for the Worlds team.

I’ll be keeping an eye on Mindra. He stood out to me with his SP and had a solid Nationals debut. Also happy for Naumov - who has been struggling with injury for a few years now.


Agreed on the most part, but I absolutely trust Ilia to get the job done at Worlds. He had the mind and guts to throw in an unplanned third jump in the final jumping pass, which says a lot.

The issue wasn’t the 4A attempt. It’s a good jump for him and that was the first time he fell on it all year. The problem is that he was actually attempting a six-quad layout and that’s just unnecessary. His youthful bravado is part of what I like about him, but there’s a time and place for everything. As you said, someone older and more experienced would know better. On the one hand, he really didn’t have anything to lose. A clean SP and high enough TES in the free is a solid win…. domestically. But on the other hand, US Nationals isn’t some low-level Challenger. It’s not the time to experiment with new layouts.

Ilia can’t keep the spots by himself and so I sure as heck don’t trust the other guys to get the job done at Worlds. If he podiums and the two other guys fall below the top 10 then the spots are as good as gone. Last year, Pulkinen’s Worlds performance was a surprise, but if you remove him from the competition, the American men still would have kept their spots. That sort of luck….isn’t happening this year.

Defending is in quotes. I would rephrase that by saying Jason supported Ilia, who needed some support right about then. Ilia will do fine at World's and so will Jason. I predict that Jason will be solidly in the top 10 at World's and Ilia will be in the top 5. Jason has the potential for top 6. I think Ilia, Jason and Andrew will deliver.

 

[ladyjane]

I

Defending is in quotes. I would rephrase that by saying Jason supported Ilia, who needed some support right about then. Ilia will do fine at World's and so will Jason. I predict that Jason will be solidly in the top 10 at World's and Ilia will be in the top 5. Jason has the potential for top 6. I think Ilia, Jason and Andrew will deliver.

I think exactly the same. Jason is the kind of guy who is supportive of anyone who needs it at the time (and I think at that moment in time Ilia did). That's just it, and that's just him. I really don't 'get' it that there exist people who don't like him.

 

[TontoK]

The question is do the US men need 3 spots if everyone but Jason and Malinin is super inconsistent? I would rather see someone from a different country get a chance than a third US guy who's just there for the sake of...what?

Ordinarily, I wouldn't disagree. But who is going to beat them?

Let's examine the possibilities, and I think it's very unlikely that ALL of these guys would beat them. There are three Japanese skaters, one or two Frenchmen, maybe an Italian or two. That's about it. Maybe a Canadian.

Sure, we saw some disappointments at US Nationals. But let's not pretend there's been some global outbreak of outstanding men this season.

Of course, competitions aren't decided on paper, and on any given day...

 

[el henry]

Jason. Andrew. My two favs

Finally seeing Andrew deliver two good senior programs, I am overcome. That LP, every step was note perfect. And to see Misha Ge in the KnC with him, the dynamic duo

Jason. I'm not crying, you're crying. Beautiful, honest, heartfelt skating on his own terms. When after the Olys, I did not think I would see him on competitive ice again.

Yes many other good skates (how have I been sleeping on Sam Mindra?) but since Jason and Andrew T. have been my fav American men for some years now, I'm just savoring the moment.

 

[Jeanie19]

Ordinarily, I wouldn't disagree. But who is going to beat them?

Let's examine the possibilities, and I think it's very unlikely that ALL of these guys would beat them. There are three Japanese skaters, one or two Frenchmen, maybe an Italian or two. That's about it. Maybe a Canadian.

Sure, we saw some disappointments at US Nationals. But let's not pretend there's been some global outbreak of outstanding men this season.

Of course, competitions aren't decided on paper, and on any given day...

And Cha. He is certainly in the mix too.

 

[karne]

The answer is no. I said a few months ago that if the US don’t have three men that can comfortably make top 10 at Worlds, then they don’t need three spots. Losing a spot wouldn’t be a disaster in that case.

Well, this comes with a caveat, I suppose. In 2016 all three US men finished in the top 10 at Worlds and lost a spot, so it doesn't always work properly.

 

[Greengemmonster]

Well, this comes with a caveat, I suppose. In 2016 all three US men finished in the top 10 at Worlds and lost a spot, so it doesn't always work properly.

Whhhhhhhaaaat????

What happened? Were the rules different?