2015-16 State of U.S. Men's Figure Skating

[el henry]

I've never heard it being called Uranus spin. Anyone know why this is because it sounds like a kind of... unfortunate name for this position. (Sorry!)

The unfortunate sound, in English, is the point. A clever way to hide the word "butt". (The derivation is the ancient Greek word for sky, ouranos, and not pronounced the same way. But then we wouldn't have a cute name for A Spin)

 

[Jammers]

I think you can tell Vincent is intent not to let Nathan take *all* the "up and coming young American man" glory this season [emoji14]

Lest we forget...the last time Nathan and Vincent faced off head to head in competition (2013 nationals, junior level), Vincent came out on top!!

Yes but Nathan was injured and dealing with a lot of stuff back then. He seems to have overcome those injuries and growth spurts and has taken his skating to a new level. US Men are in good hands for the future with Nathan, Vincent and when he's healthy Andrew Torgashev.

 

[Layback11]

Yes but Nathan was injured and dealing with a lot of stuff back then. He seems to have overcome those injuries and growth spurts and has taken his skating to a new level. US Men are in good hands for the future with Nathan, Vincent and when he's healthy Andrew Torgashev.

Definitely-but don't forget Alexei K! He won a JGP bronze and is, I think, on about the same level as (healthy) Andrew.

 

[Jammers]

Definitely-but don't forget Alexei K! He won a JGP bronze and is, I think, on about the same level as (healthy) Andrew.

I think Andrew is a more musical and a better performer then Alexei at the moment and has better skating skills. Alexei is a bit of a better jumper at the moment though since Andrew still didn't have a 3axel or a quad last year.

 

[Tavi...]

Ha - I can scarcely believe it, but it appears that once upon a time, Jammers actually appreciated a male skater not named Nathan Chen.

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...wn-was-AMAZING!-What-was-NBC-thinking-!/page2

See post #26, 2/2/2011:

Just saw Jason's LP at Nationals on YouTube. Wow he was incredible. Great speed and flow and he never telegraphed his jumps it's like they just came out of nowhere. I see great things for this kid. He won't even peak until 2018 so 2014 might be more of a learning experience for him just like Turin was great experience for Lysacek.

 

[aromaticchicken]

I think Andrew is a more musical and a better performer then Alexei at the moment and has better skating skills. Alexei is a bit of a better jumper at the moment though since Andrew still didn't have a 3axel or a quad last year.

Keep in mind Alexei is a full year older than Andrew, and the last time we saw him skate he was only 13.

There is a reason why he was the youngest skater at junior world's last year and placed in top 8, even without crazy jumps (most difficult pass in his FS was 2A-1Lo-3S) - - he has great skating skills.

Also, before his injury I was told by my coach who knows his coaches that he was doing 3As and working on the quad already. He just hadn't worked it into his programs yet.

 

[Mathman]

So, is Grant Hochstein actually for real?

 

[Layback11]

So, is Grant Hochstein actually for real?

So for real.

 

[Mrs. P]

Congrats to Grant! He was really inspired in the FS. He is now the 5th man to enter the 160+ FS club!

Two more weeks, two more competitions before Nationals!

Golden Spin of Zagrab (Senior B): Alexander Johnson, Sean Rabbit and Adam Rippon
Junior Grand Prix Final: Nathan Chen and Vincent Zhou.

So I've updated my spreadsheet, do you guys want a stats update on where the guys stand now or can you guys wait two more weeks so we will have a more full picture?

 

[ice coverage]

Congrats to Grant! He was really inspired in the FS. He is now the 5th man to enter the 160+ FS club!

Two more weeks, two more competitions before Nationals!

Golden Spin of Zagrab (Senior B): Alexander Johnson, Sean Rabbit and Adam Rippon
Junior Grand Prix Final: Nathan Chen and Vincent Zhou. ...

Did we know that Dornbush was injured? I can't remember. From his Instagram today after NHK:

rickdorn

Even though I had to struggle through injury I had an amazing time in Nagano this week! I'm excited to get back home and take some time to heal my shin and back so that I can come back strong for nationals. Thank you for your support Japan!
https://www.instagram.com/p/-q7nhoKGtU/ (Nov 29)​

Wishing Dornbush well. Congratulations to Grant.

Good luck to Sean Rabbitt in Zagreb at his first-ever Challenger comp :yay:.

Also to Alex, Adam, Nathan, Vincent.

 

[mrrice]

Hey People. Does Grant have a fan page? I know nothing about him. I just watched him on a Russian feed and I can't tell exactly what they're saying about him but, I could tell it was very positive. How long has Grant been a senior level skater? He seems to have appeared out of nowhere.

 

[musicfan80]

Did we know that Dornbush was injured? I can't remember. From his Instagram today after NHK:

rickdorn

Even though I had to struggle through injury I had an amazing time in Nagano this week! I'm excited to get back home and take some time to heal my shin and back so that I can come back strong for nationals. Thank you for your support Japan!
https://www.instagram.com/p/-q7nhoKGtU/ (Nov 29)​

Wishing Dornbush well. Congratulations to Grant.

I hope this isn't another quad related injury.

Hey People. Does Grant have a fan page? I know nothing about him. I just watched him on a Russian feed and I can't tell exactly what they're saying about him but, I could tell it was very positive. How long has Grant been a senior level skater? He seems to have appeared out of nowhere.

Here a link to his fan site with FSO.

 

[apgold]

TSL did an interview with Grant and his girlfriend Caroline Zhang earlier in the year, but it's not on their Youtube channel. We should bug TSLDave to upload it soon!

ETA: Found it on their website.

 

[mrrice]

Is that Man sitting next to him in the KnC Karen Kwan's Husband? I don't think I've ever seen him without her and it completely slipped my mind who he was. That's him right?

 

[Sjs5572]

Is that Man sitting next to him in the KnC Karen Kwan's Husband? I don't think I've ever seen him without her and it completely slipped my mind who he was. That's him right?

Yep, the handsome Peter Oppegard, winner of '88 Olympics bronze medal in pairs with partner Jill Watson.

 

[mrrice]

Yep, the handsome Peter Oppegard, winner of '88 Olympics bronze medal in pairs with partner Jill Watson.

I tell you what.....Those Kwan Girl's know how to choose their Husbands.

 

[Tallorder]

Congratulations to Grant for such a successful NHK Grand Prix. I believe he has been on the senior level in the US since 2011.
He is a rare "clockwise" jumper. Always enjoy his attention to speed and position with his spins in particular.

 

[Sjs5572]

I tell you what.....Those Kwan Girl's know how to choose their Husbands.

Peter seems to be a very nice man as well. I complimented him on his "Firebird" program during a practice session at Nationals in the mid 90s. He was gracious, charming and apparently flattered to be remembered!

 

[Sai Bon]

Sad about Jason's NHK withdrawl. I hope he's in competitive shape by Nationals!

dO
Well, maybe it was just as well given Yuzu's performance there. Realistically, how good are his chances of competing on an equal footing with Hanyu, Chan, Uno and Boyang Jin unless he lands a decent quad? (Don't get me wrong, I find Jason charming and a great performer, but some of those guys have the technical goods + skating skills + performance skills at a very high level.

 

[el henry]

dO
Well, maybe it was just as well given Yuzu's performance there. Realistically, how good are his chances of competing on an equal footing with Hanyu, Chan, Uno and Boyang Jin unless he lands a decent quad? (Don't get me wrong, I find Jason charming and a great performer, but some of those guys have the technical goods + skating skills + performance skills at a very high level.

Well, in my opinion, some of the skaters mentioned, have performance skills, and some do not. And some land quads *consistently*, and some do not.

I hope Jason recovers and comes back to the competitive season not because I think he does or does not have a chance of "competing", but because I love to watch him skate. I measure skaters with the "greenbacks" approach: who would make me part with my hard-earned dollars to put my butt in the seat? (assuming they were all skating across the street, since no one so far has seen me put my butt in a plane:rofl2

For me, Jason is a five (out of five) greenbacks skater. Not everyone is, and certainly not everyone who lands a quad is. So, I hope he recovers and skates strong. The extra revolution, meh.