It is pretty telling they skipped the open skates though
Katsalapov skipped open skates too. Pretty telling too I suppose. These pairs will have lots of attention when they appear on competitions, it was only wise not to show on open skates when you are not ready- for others, including judges and specialists to draw any conclusions that would be premature and have possible impact on their actual results, marks and placement. It is too risky.
I think both new pairs have good potential and only time will tell if they could realize it or not.