2018 Skate Canada Men's Free Skate

[Arriba627]

First of all, big congratulations to all of the medalists -- very deserving on all counts. Congratulations to Shoma for holding himself together after that horrible fall in the SP. There was no stamina issue in the SP. He has been skating that program in ice shows since June, starting out with triples and gradually changing some of the triples to quads. I would say that slamming his back and shoulder into the boards and getting the wind knocked out of him was more a factor than stamina. It took some of the "oomph" out of the fiery part of the program that comes towards the end. I'm sure we'll never know how much his back hurt him in the FS, but he was definitely grimacing towards the end. That's a lot of jump content to get in in 4 minutes (especially if you're hurting), so he'll have to work on that. He knows what to do and in the past has been known for his stamina.

Other choreographers? He has already used Stephane Lambiel, David Wilson, and Shae Lynne for his Exs. Stephane is also listed as co-choreographer on several of his competition programs. There is a huge advantage to having an in-house choreographer, so I'm not sure what direction they'll go with that. I think Benoit could do some good things with him. Comments about his repetitiveness make me laugh, especially when they come from people whose favorites are no stranger to repetition. Loco, Legends, and Ladies in Lavender -- all totally different in style.

I was in the arena -- his energy felt good to me...There's so much to look forward to during this GP season.

 

[elektra blue]

congratulations to the top 3 boys!

some thoughts:


Jason BROWN: he redeemed himself at least, still a few pop though, but his triples were stunning and he is brilliant as usual.

Kevin AYMOZ: the more I watch this choreography the more I’m in love with it and he Is so brilliant and original! I just wish his score could mactch his amazing skills and he could grab the medal he deserves.

Junhwan julieeeeeet CHA: wasn’t he great? Still I can’t get over the random club music and voiceovers though

Shoma UNO: he was his usual self, very difficul jumps out of nowhere beautifully landed and silly mistakes XD he also got some of his blings back, that’s probably why I nailed most of his program. Next time full sparkles!

Keegan MESSING: he’s on fire this year! In the first half every element was so effortless! Very well done for this late bloomer.

 

[TontoK]

I'm going to be honest.

I was disappointed. This was an amazing lineup, but overall, it was a ho-hum competition.

Congrats to Shoma, but the gold medalist has a fall in the short and two in the long? Just not inspiring.

I'm really glad Keegan did well in his home GP. The programs are what they are this year, but I want something new next season.

I had kind of given up on Nam, but his long was very nice, even though I'm over LLL.

Although the program was weird, I see such promise in Brendan. That early 4S was glorious. The elements are there, but when will he pull it all together?

 

[demarinis5]

First of all, big congratulations to all of the medalists -- very deserving on all counts. Congratulations to Shoma for holding himself together after that horrible fall in the SP. There was no stamina issue in the SP. He has been skating that program in ice shows since June, starting out with triples and gradually changing some of the triples to quads. I would say that slamming his back and shoulder into the boards and getting the wind knocked out of him was more a factor than stamina. It took some of the "oomph" out of the fiery part of the program that comes towards the end. I'm sure we'll never know how much his back hurt him in the FS, but he was definitely grimacing towards the end. That's a lot of jump content to get in in 4 minutes, so he'll have to work on that. He knows what to do and in the past has been known for his stamina.

Other choreographers? He has already used Stephane Lambiel, David Wilson, and Shae Lynne for his Exs. Stephane is also listed as co-choreographer on several of his competition programs. There is a huge advantage to having an in-house choreographer, so I'm not sure what direction they'll go with that. I think Benoit could do some good things with him. Comments about his repetitiveness make me laugh, especially when they come from people whose favorites are no stranger to repetition. Loco, Legends, and Ladies in Lavender -- all totally different in style.

I was in the arena -- his energy felt good to me...There's so much to look forward to during this GP season.

Thank you Arriba for your thoughts, nice to hear from someone who was actually at the competition. Are you staying for the Gala?

 

[Seren]

Shoma really just seemed to run out of gas at the end- the British Eurosport guys said it well, it was a superb first 3.5 minutes.

 

[Jaana]

Shoma really just seemed to run out of gas at the end- the British Eurosport guys said it well, it was a superb first 3.5 minutes.

I believe our commentators noticed it as well, the same as I did. Anyway, it was an enjoyable performance and the choreography was great to the music.

 

[siberia82]

I made a joke on the Canadian FS thread that I thought I'd share here.


I got to meet Keegan (on Thursday) and Nam (on Friday morning) at SCI! I believe I must have served as some sort of good luck charm for them because they both later received standing ovations for both of their programs. In contrast, I didn't cross paths with Roman, and look what happened to him during the competition! :sad4: