men's contenders & informational discussion

Sylvia · Feb 15, 2007

As of 2/14/07 there are 46 junior men's entries listed on 2 pages:
http://www.isufs.org/events/cat00005649.htm
and
http://www.isufs.org/events/cat000056491.htm

Which guys do you see as the contendors? (this is not meant to be a predictions thread)

Which guys (not necessarily contendors) would you like to know more about and/or can tell us more about?

AliasJohnDoe · Feb 15, 2007

My top 10 contenders in no particular order would be:

1.Chan
2.Carreire
3.Mroz
4.Voronov
5.Mura
6.Guan
7.Halverson
8.Reynolds
9.Machida
10.Borodulin

Others: Tischendorf, Schulthesis, Torii, Yang and Pfeifhofer.
Personal thought: Jeremy Ten got ripped off.

Spun Silver · Feb 15, 2007

What about the Azerbaijani (sp?) young man whom Mila has mentioned?

Also, what about the French guys? They seem to have done pretty well in the JGPF.

I remember hearing good stuff about a young Asian-European skater but I don't remember his nationality. Poland, perhaps?

Thanks, Sylvia!

Sylvia · Feb 15, 2007

AliasJohnDoe said:
Personal thought: Jeremy Ten got ripped off.

Joey Russell was the 2006 Canadian junior men's champ who wasn't sent to Jr. Worlds last year but made it this year. Hopefully Ten will get his shot in the future as well.

Spun Silver said:
What about the Azerbaijani (sp?) young man whom Mila has mentioned?

Danil Privalov? Maybe Mila can tell us more about his skating.

Also, what about the French guys? They seem to have done pretty well in the JGPF.

No French guys made the JGP Final this year. Florent Amodio (4th in Courchevel JGP, 12th in CZE) and Kiim Lucine (5th in both Courchevel and Taipei) are the 2 French guys entered for Jr. Worlds. Five of the 8 JGPF men will be at Jr. Worlds: Carriere (1st), Mroz (2nd), Reynolds (3rd), Mura (4th) and Borodulin (7th).

I remember hearing good stuff about a young Asian-European skater but I don't remember his nationality. Poland, perhaps?

Poland's Sebastian Iwasaki perhaps? (not entered in Jr. Worlds)

Here are the top 10 returning guys from 2006 Jr. Worlds in order of last year's finish (from the top 18): Voronov (2nd), Carriere (4th), Mura (5th), Chan (6th), Reynolds (7th), Yang (10th), Pfeifhofer (14th), Schultheiss (16th), Lucine (17th), Guan (18th).

Spun Silver · Feb 15, 2007

Oops. I am vague this afternoon. (Grabs coffee mug.)

I guess it's Iwasaki... I'll keep an eye out for him in the future.

Joesitz (RIP) · Feb 19, 2007

Some skaters listed will be close calls. I'll go with Kevin Reynolds, Artem Borodulin and Stephen Cariere to be among the top 10.I

I would alsogo for Austin Kanalakan and Tommy Steenberg if they were eligible.

Joe

redhotcoach · Feb 19, 2007

I'm a big fan of Patrick Chan from Canada. He has beautiful lines, strong smooth stroking and field moves, and the best jump technique around. The programs are difficult but pleasing to watch and highlight Patrick's all-round skating abilities. If Patrick can keep his focus and put down a complete performance I think he will stand on the podium.

Joey Russell is not quite as smooth a skater but has a lot of spirit and strength. He gave a great performance at Canadians - and if he can pull off the triple axel in combination - and apparently has a quad - then he'll give the others a run for their money.

As for Kevin Reynolds - he has the quad and the jumps, but his basic skating skills have been neglected. He lacks the polish and 'oozing' across the ice that the other men have - effortless graceful movements that link the jumps and spins together. Kevin was a more complete skater when he was younger - somehow the choreography and skating has been shoved aside in favour of his quad salchow and other jumps. I hope Kevin returns to the basics and starts to put together a complete package, because he could be a contender in 2014.

Sylvia · Feb 19, 2007

redhotcoach said:
I'm a big fan of Patrick Chan from Canada. He has beautiful lines, strong smooth stroking and field moves, and the best jump technique around. The programs are difficult but pleasing to watch and highlight Patrick's all-round skating abilities.

I've enjoyed Chan's skating ever since I first saw him compete as an eleven-year-old novice at Skate Detroit in July 2002. I really like the choreography (by Lori Nichol) of his Vivaldi/Four Seasons free skate this season, and will be interested to see how it's edited down for Jr. Worlds (his first junior competition of the season).

Here's the link to an interesting and informative Jan. 14th Toronto Star article on Chan before 2007 Canadians: http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/170916
It includes a cool video of Chan at practice (linked in the text box titled "Bernard Weil's Patrick Chan video"), and Chan also explains the challenges of the triple axel jump in this document at: http://www3.thestar.com/static/PDF/070119_skate_triple.pdf

rinkmaster · Feb 21, 2007

AliasJohnDoe said:
Personal thought: Jeremy Ten got ripped off.

I completely disagree with this. Joey Russell deserves to be there more than Kevin Reynolds and Jeremy Ten. Russell Laid it down very nicely @ Nationals(even better than Patrick Chan in my opinion). I have seen the thread about Joey's quad and axle-loop combo... personally I will believe it whne I see it. As far as this competition goes I think we are sending our best jr. men. These 3 boys are the future of Canadian skating, no one else (below them)even stands out to me. Either way, I wish them all the best of luck.

Joesitz (RIP) · Feb 21, 2007

I've never seen Joey Russel or Kevin Reynolds. I hope someone puts them up on Youtube because I'm sure we will not see Juniors on TV unless Nancy's husband uses some clout.

Joe

Sylvia · Feb 21, 2007

Joesitz said:
I hope someone puts them up on Youtube because I'm sure we will not see Juniors on TV unless Nancy's husband uses some clout.

CN8's "Nancy Kerrigan's World of Skating" is currently scheduled to air two (2-hour?) broadcasts re. Junior Worlds on Sunday, March 11 and Sunday, May 6 (7-9? pm Eastern). Hopefully there will be additional broadcasts (with more skaters and teams shown) by other countries, like there have been in previous years.

Here's a local Vancouver article on Canada's Kevin Reynolds and his ambitious jump content:
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=0bb73784-a951-4c33-9075-92c74df5fc24

AliasJohnDoe · Feb 21, 2007

rinkmaster said:
I completely disagree with this. Joey Russell deserves to be there more than Kevin Reynolds and Jeremy Ten. Russell Laid it down very nicely @ Nationals(even better than Patrick Chan in my opinion). I have seen the thread about Joey's quad and axle-loop combo... personally I will believe it whne I see it. As far as this competition goes I think we are sending our best jr. men. These 3 boys are the future of Canadian skating, no one else (below them)even stands out to me. Either way, I wish them all the best of luck.

Nothing against Chan, Reynolds or Russell. I love all 3 skaters and they should do well at JW's. I just "personally" feel when a discipline has (3)spots available, the Champion should get one. Call it a motivational factor for those who compete Junior. If they only had (1-2)spots, that would be a different story(a la Doronina). I do realise Russell was also passed over for a JW spot last year when he was Jr. Champion, he got ripped then also. But picking "all" senior competitors for the 3 junior spots leaves little motivation for the Juniors. Ten also made alternate for the JGPF. I guess it was a hard call.

PS-This only applies when there are (3) spots for a discipline available that the Champion should get one. And it's just a "personal" opinion.

nadster · Feb 21, 2007

AliasJohnDoe said:
Nothing against Chan, Reynolds or Russell. I love all 3 skaters and they should do well at JW's. I just "personally" feel when a discipline has (3)spots available, the Champion should get one. Call it a motivational factor for those who compete Junior. If they only had (1-2)spots, that would be a different story(a la Doronina). I do realise Russell was also passed over for a JW spot last year when he was Jr. Champion, he got ripped then also. But picking "all" senior competitors for the 3 junior spots leaves little motivation for the Juniors. Ten also made alternate for the JGPF. I guess it was a hard call.

PS-This only applies when there are (3) spots for a discipline available that the Champion should get one. And it's just a "personal" opinion.

In most cases I agree with you but not in this one.

Jeremy had the advantage of the superior JGP season to Russell but in favour of Russell.

1. Russell clearly skated better at Canadians , landing a triple-triple ( with a loop as the second jump).

2. Russell beat Reynolds ( JGPF bronze medalist ) quite easily at Canadians.

3. Russell ( turns 19 in June), unlike Jeremy , is in his last year of junior eligibility. I am sure Skate Canada has eyes on putting him on the senior GP next year. So Joey would need this competition to build up his ISU ranking to get invites to the GP next year. Jeremy can continue to get points on the JGP next year. Actually this is the most important point.

The first 2 reasons are the skating reasons for choosing Joey. The 3rd is about being strategic for future competitions. It is very important to take skaters straight from the JGP to the GP right away. Otherwise skaters may have a tough time making the GP ever.

men's contenders & informational discussion

Sylvia

AliasJohnDoe

Spun Silver

Sylvia

Spun Silver

Joesitz (RIP)

redhotcoach

Sylvia

rinkmaster

Joesitz (RIP)

Sylvia

AliasJohnDoe

nadster

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