2017-18 State of U.S. Men's Figure Skating

[musicfan80]

It makes you wonder now if the 3 man Olympic team has already been chosen...

It will be if Nathan, Adam, and Jason skate great at U.S. Nationals and end up being the top three.

I think Max will still have a lot to say about that.

True - I think if Max or Vincent shows up and skate two great programs at U.S. Nationals and finishes in 3rd, they will probably be going to the Olympics. I'm not 100% convinced that Adam and Jason will both skate up to par in San Jose.

I will also repeat that I HATE HATE HATE the "body of work" standard in selecting this teams. U.S. Nationals is what, only five weeks from the Olympics? Either you are ready to go in early January or you aren't going to be.

Well a bunch of us saw him grinance during his LP in S.A. I have been wondering the same thing for the last week.

Honestly, I've been antsy about Nathan's health for about a year now. I'm still that he had that horrific hip injury in January 2016 and in January 2017 he was able to do a 4Lz-3T, 4F, and 3A short program AND a 4Lz-3T, 4F, 4T-2T-2Lo, 4T, 4S, (among the other jumps and things he did) long program.

Either Nathan literally has the best conditioning ever created or (I really hope not) he has another horrible injury coming.

 

[gmyers]

American men are truly privileged! Quads are totally unnecessary for them!

 

[gottadance]

Well a bunch of us saw him grinance during his LP in S.A. I have been wondering the same thing for the last week.

but I read that he was awesome in the SA Ex so I think the grimace may have been just about the discomfort he was feeling cause of the new blade ? At least I pray thats the case !!. I find it rather weird that he has these ongoing equipment issues - shouldn't his coach be more on top of it? By now everybody knows Nathan is a workaholic and so is going to wear down skates more quickly than usual - deal with it!

 

[geige]

I know how you feel. It really sucks when someone puts down your favorite skater doesn't it??

Especially when Adam and Vincent are some of your favorite skaters...

 

[mrrice]

nah max has no chances, he is very inconsistent

jason all the way

nathan
jason/adam
adam/jason
max/vincent

I curse the fact that poor Max had 1 bad season. He has never been inconsistent and I think his rough SP was due to nerves which is new for him. Maybe he's just feeling the pressure as this will likely be his last chance to make the Olympic Team. He missed it by one spot last time and he's spoken about how much he'd like to go. I truly feel sorry for the skaters who miss the chance but, there is a deep field of US Men and there will be some very good skaters who won't make the team and that's kind of sad.

 

[ReasonOFF]

I curse the fact that poor Max had 1 bad season. He has never been inconsistent and I think his rough SP was due to nerves which is new for him. Maybe he's just feeling the pressure as this will likely be his last chance to make the Olympic Team. He missed it by one spot last time and he's spoken about how much he'd like to go. I truly feel sorry for the skaters who miss the chance but, there is a deep field of US Men and there will be some very good skaters who won't make the team and that's kind of sad.

i agree that's always sad when we have many talented skaters and only a few of them will compete at worlds or olympics. max deserves respect but as a skater he is really very bland. like voronov or even worse. his skating is really hard to watch. when jason skates his skating involve you all. but may be i'm rushing things, now i think that max can fight with adam and vincent for the third spot. or we have only two? i didn't follow closely. i find adam's skating also not so good as it can be. at jason's backround they're all very grey. but i personally was impressed by nathan's progression. his olympics programs are on fire. very very cool fresh and nice

 

[skylark]

I know how you feel. It really sucks when someone puts down your favorite skater doesn't it??

Touche. Maybe some don't realize when what they post is a bad put-down ... but when it's pointedly mean, that's hard to credit.

Especially when Adam and Vincent are some of your favorite skaters...

:agree: Exactly.

Go Adam! :hap93: :yay:

 

[TontoK]

i agree that's always sad when we have many talented skaters and only a few of them will compete at worlds or olympics. max deserves respect but as a skater he is really very bland. like voronov or even worse. his skating is really hard to watch. when jason skates his skating involve you all. but may be i'm rushing things, now i think that max can fight with adam and vincent for the third spot. or we have only two? i didn't follow closely. i find adam's skating also not so good as it can be. at jason's backround they're all very grey. but i personally was impressed by nathan's progression. his olympics programs are on fire. very very cool fresh and nice

I think this is what is making this season so emotional for fans of particular skaters.

I think this is the last chance for many skaters to make an Olympic Team. Out of the current batch of the very top US men, it's last call for all of them except Nathan and Vincent.

It's not just the age factor, all though that plays a part. It's the technical progression of the sport, too. With so many promising US junior men rising quickly, I believe it's now or never for Max, Adam, Ross, and Jason (although Jason isn't "never" because he's made one Team already.)

We simply have to face it - some excellent skaters who have served our federation very well over the years will never be Olympians.

Still predicting Nathan, Vincent, and Max - although not with nearly the confidence I did earlier in the season.

 

[skylark]

It Nathan Chen injured? Just by Raf Quotes, it seems like he might be injured. If he is, I hope he withdraws since the event is not that important for NAthan.
http://www.icenetwork.com/news/2017...falls-to-earth-still-wins-skate-america-crown

"There (are) a lot of issues, not only blades, that I don't want to talk about," he said. "I hope we will get him at the right time, at the right point, in good shape. He did good programs already (this season) with (quad) loops and (triple) axels.

Pressed for details, Arutunian added, "Technique, and confidence, and blades and injuries, so many things around. We cannot talk about everything because it is very private and we are working on it."

The way I read that last quote from Rafael, he was referring back to what he'd said just before the reporter pressed him for details:

"It's always something. I watch other skaters as well, and they don't talk about problems, but I can see problems."​

It may be just Raf saying that other skaters and coaches don't talk about their problems freely either. I think it could vary with the skater, but I can absolutely identify with Chris Knierim, who had a knee injury he didn't talk about going into the season. (and others). They don't want to be asked about problems every time they turn around, when they're battling their own feelings and trying to be positive and confident for themselves.

I don't necessarily think this means Nathan is dealing with an injury, but of course I don't know. I hope not. Also, in regard to his grimacing .... I've seen him grimace before. If he misses a jump or feels he hasn't met his own standards, he always grimaces at the end of that skate. Then he recovers, smiles, bows, etc.

 

[andromache]

Re: Nathan's health...I think it's pretty clear that all elite skaters, even when "healthy", are dealing with the effects of long-term injuries and problems that they have to work around. Bad hips, bad backs, bad shoulders, concussions, etc. It's really sad when you think about it - their version of healthy / normal is probably a lot more painful than ours.

 

[ReasonOFF]

oh no, hope nathan will be OK. i'm still sad after that awful moment in his ex program at nationals when he got injured and had to wd from junior worlds where he was a clear favorite. also his michael jackson program and costume were awesome. if he is really injured better to skip it to be fully-prepared for nationals and olympics where he is also one of the main contenders for the gold medal

 

[Mussique]

Re: Nathan's health...I think it's pretty clear that all elite skaters, even when "healthy", are dealing with the effects of long-term injuries and problems that they have to work around. Bad hips, bad backs, bad shoulders, concussions, etc. It's really sad when you think about it - their version of healthy / normal is probably a lot more painful than ours.

Very true. They also have a higher pain tolerance, so much that it seems insane *shudders thinking about Rippon's shoulder*. I guess when you have to accept hard falls in your daily routine it just... sticks. But still, so much respect.
Good luck US men!

 

[Jaana]

I remember from a Skate America (?) competition where Eldredge hurt his shoulder by a fall during a warmup. He just stood up and put it back again (or in reverse) and continued skating. Apparently that was something which had happened often to him.

 

[ReasonOFF]

I remember from a Skate America (?) competition where Eldredge hurt his shoulder by a fall during a warmup. He just stood up and put it back again (or in reverse) and continued skating. Apparently that was something which had happened often to him.

but what about that ex program. nathan looked like he hurted his back and then wd from junior worlds. i just hope it's not the same injury.

 

[andromache]

Can someone who follows the junior men more closely than me give us a lowdown on what's up with Torgashev? I've seen him praised quite a lot in these threads in the past, and my god, that LP today was frightening. Nerves, injury? (He has struggled with injuries in the past, right?)

Overall, pretty good results for the US men here, junior and senior, as the standings show. In terms of their execution....there's room to improve before Olympics/junior worlds.

 

[Mrs. P]

Congrats to Nathan for winning GPF!!

Also Alexei for winning JGPF (and Camden for getting silver).

I do think Alexei and Cameden made strong cases to be on the Jr. World team. It will probably down to Andrew or Tomoki for that last spot. I too am concerned for Andrew, that skate, based on the protocols was pretty sad.

I also think Alexei is a BIG dark horse for 4CC and a top six finish, which was his goal. With his scores at GPF he is in the top six in TES in both the SP and FS.

More later on the field later.

 

[Sherlock Marple]

Can someone who follows the junior men more closely than me give us a lowdown on what's up with Torgashev? I've seen him praised quite a lot in these threads in the past, and my god, that LP today was frightening. Nerves, injury? (He has struggled with injuries in the past, right?)

He's battling with back pain, according to this tweet from ISU.

 

[Mrs. P]

I figured it had a to be an injury. That FS is easily probably the worst performance for him. Hoping he'll recover and take the necessary time to heal.

 

[shmay]

I hope USFS figures out a timeshare situation for Camden in which Tom Z. coaches him on jumps, another coach/choreographer works with him regularly on presentation, and a third coach helps with spins.

 

[princessalica]

Did anyone else see??? Shona beat Nathan in the long, but just with a small margin. Small enough Nathan maintained his spot! Nathan wins gold!