Who has the most to prove?

[aaron]

Nobunari Oda. He's steady most of the time but seems to fell apart in most valuable aspect such as GPF and Worlds.

Joannie Rochette needs to recover her PCS. I think Short Program this season hindered her from getting score she deserves.

Of course obtaining big tricks (4Lz, 3-3) would be a fast path but they could be in higher position even without one, if they manage to control themselves when it counts.

 

[chuckm]

Joannie Rochette has had horrible music selections the past two years. 2005-2006 programs were set to wimpy music, and 2006-2007 programs just did not suit her or her style.

She has also been sabotaged to some extent by choreography that is just a tad beyond her capabilities. Nothing hurts PCS scores more than tentativeness and lack of attack. Joannie hasn't had the confidence to attack her programs, maybe because she isn't sure she can do them the way they are choregraphed. She has to learn to say no, this isn't working. If Jeff Buttle could get Wilson to cut back on the choreography, then so can Joannie. She has to believe in herself enough to know when a program is just too hard for her to skate well, and not be afraid to say so.

 

[R.D.]

I think Sasha Cohen and Johhny Weir have the most to prove right now.

Weir, yes. But Cohen isn't even skating any more. But maybe she has to prove that her "talent" in acting matches her ambitions :yes:

Ah, Rochette. I forgot about her. Yes, she's probably got the most to prove out of any North American. People have been pretty hard on her these past two years, especially after she failed to medal at worlds in Canada (where she could have medaled with a strong performance). I think especially many Canadian fans are already starting to write her off. Nerves do seem to get the best of her, though, especially when a medal or a title is within reach.

 

[satorare]

This thread is very American-like.
Too much expectations, too much disappointment.

I'm pretty sure same thing goes for Caroline Zhang.
She's potentially more talented than Kwan and Cohen,
but it's very unlikely to have the better achievement than two.

 

[R.D.]

This thread is very American-like.
Too much expectations, too much disappointment.

How did the Japanese treat Ando pre-2007 when she didn't live up to expectations?

Americans like to win. When we don't win, many folks start blaming teammates and pointing fingers

 

[Spun Silver]

Americans like to win. When we don't win, we blame people and point fingers

:scratch: "We"? :disapp:

 

[R.D.]

I'm pretty sure same thing goes for Caroline Zhang.
She's potentially more talented than Kwan and Cohen,
but it's very unlikely to have the better achievement than two.

As for Caroline don't even want to think about it. But she hasn't reached primetime TV yet here in the States. Just brief mentions on ESPN and ABC. Her Junior freeskate did get shown, though, as well as an exhibition from that Marshalls thingy.

Especially if Kimmie falters next year on the world stage, look for Caroline to be hyped for 2010. But maybe they (the press and TV) won't let Kim off the hook so easily.

 

[R.D.]

:scratch: "We"? :disapp:

generalities. of course not ALL Americans, duh

eta: edited my last post so it's clear

 

[twinsissv]

Johnny Weir...he's on a downward slide and has failed to medal at Worlds despite being a 3-time National Champ. I think he has a lot to prove this season and needs to earn back the respect of the judges that he once had.

:yes:

 

[satorare]

Oda did very well in the first two seasons as a senior skater(especially compared to Takahashi). Five GP medals and 4th/7th finishes at worlds are respectable enough.
Since it's very unlikely to see two Japanese men on worlds podium, at the point of Takahashi's recovery, general expectations for Oda have decreased.
He's still young and has serious motivations to master quads. It's nice to know being an efficient GOE machine is not good enough.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Skaters who get hype, deserve to get hype: The Asian men and ladies; Kimmie; Caroline; Plushenko, Buttle, Weir, Lysacek, even Emily. Sasha is a special case.

They get hype because they are newsworthy. Nothing wrong with that.

Joe

 

[euterpe]

I don't think Alissa Czisny CAN prove anything. Her really good skates seem to occur randomly.

Johnny Weir and Joannie Rochette need to develop a bit of spine and stop doubting themselves in performance.

Kimmie needs to project her personality more. Emily needs to project hers about 50% less, unless she can actually deliver what she claims she can.

Evan needs to gain some weight and stop wearing black. If he gets any skinnier, the judges won't be able to see him.

 

[R.D.]

I don't think Alissa Czisny CAN prove anything. Her really good skates seem to occur randomly.

same thing I was thinking!

Johnny Weir and Joannie Rochette need to develop a bit of spine and stop doubting themselves in performance.

easier said than done.

Kimmie needs to project her personality more. Emily needs to project hers about 50% less, unless she can actually deliver what she claims she can.

On Meissner: I think she needs to focus more now on getting those jumps back under control. I think in her effort to improve her presentation, she's been slipping a bit in the tech category. That said, she will need to improve both vastly if she's to become competitive with the Asians

On Hughes: I expect her to have an off-year this season as time at college takes away from her training time. And she's such a typical figure skater with the attitude and sense of "overachievement"...everything!

 

[Matryeshka]

Since no one specifically said "singles", I'm going to throw out ice dancers, namely Denis and Petukhov. They had (arguably) their best FD ever this past season and made the GP final...but were beaten by K/N, whom they had beaten in rankings just the year before. Now, with Davis/White having so much momentum and Navarro/Bommentre quickly becoming a crowd favorite, I think this year coming up is make-it-or-break-it for them.

 

[hockeyfan228]

I think the Russian skaters, especially Sokolova, Voronov, Griazev, Uspenski, Martinova, Obertas/Slavnov, Lutai, and Murkhortova/Trankov. Only the latter two seem to have escaped Piseev's public wrath, and M/T are still a bit of a question mark, although their coach, Vasiliev is hyping them for Worlds 2009 and Vancouver. I'm shocked that Piseev didn't jump all over Lutai, but I suspect even he knows that dissing Mishin is suicide.

 

[gio]

Enough of those ladies, especially American ones and Mao, Ando, Yu Na!! It's seems there aren't other aspects of FS. (I don't want to offend anyone, just a suggestion to start talking about skaters of other disciplines of FS too! )

So, I'll skip the ladies!

Men
-Johnny Weir = he has to show that he CAN compete and win a medal. He has enormous talent, but he is not COP friendly.

Pairs
-Savchenko/Szolkovy = time goes and they need a gold. They won a gold at Euros with a lot of expactations for Worlds.
-Zhang/Zhang = they have to show they are the chinese couple of the future (2010 olys) by winning a medal

Dance
-Domnina/Shabalin = they have to regain the Russian dominance in dance
-Dubreuil/Lauzon = they want that gold for ages, next year could be theirs
-Delobel/Shoenfelder = they have to show they aren't competitive just at Euros but also at Worlds.

 

[morninglight]

I think that everyone would have something to prove, which keeps one going. If I don't have anything to prove in my life, the life wouldn't be very interesting.

Among skaters, I believe that Plushy seems to be the guy who always has the very strong desire to prove that he is the best skater in the World

I would also love to see Nobunari's cry for joy again during the coming season! hehehe:

For Miki, a quad; for Yu-na, a clean long program; and for Mao, interpretation

 

[zephyrskates]

1. kimmie meissner. where's her triple axel??? i feel like i'm looking for waldo. and yeah, she didn't even land it that cleanly in the US Nationals/ i feel that if she wants to compete against kim and asada she has to find a way to stop cheating her 3-3 combo. take a look at this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tvK8XMvnuw technically she has to up the ante for she is still developing as an artistic skater.

2. yuna kim. i just hope that she skates a clean long program this season. ()

3. evan lysacek. i wish that he could perform two clean programs and that he can put it together at the right time, and by the right time i mean the world championships.

4. johnny weir. he is such a talented skater, i just wish he could pull it together this season and win a long overdue major championship.