2016-17 State of Russian Men's skating

[silverfoxes]

Today's competition at St.Petersburg is worth attention

Andrei Lazukin performed clean 2-quads SP - 4Lo, 4T3T, 3A.
First clean 4Lo by Russian man :thumbsup:. I wish he'd get an opportunity to skate at GP event next season.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdHk7d_wCZY

He should be able to get the host pick for CoR...I'm sure Gordei Gorshkov is done & I really don't see Artur Dmitriev Jr. getting a spot again, let alone two. Only question mark is whether Adian Pitkeev will be back (I hope so).

Good for Artur for trying to come back, but he couldn't have picked a worse piece of music. :disapp: I hope his LP is better.

 

[Camillo]

Only question mark is whether Adian Pitkeev will be back (I hope so).

Yes, I also wonder how he's doing

Good for Artur for trying to come back, but he couldn't have picked a worse piece of music. :disapp: I hope his LP is better.

Maybe LP is some of his old ones. I'm sure next season he'll have new choreography (if he's indeed returning).

 

[atsumiri]

Today's competition at St.Petersburg is worth attention

Andrei Lazukin performed clean 2-quads SP - 4Lo, 4T3T, 3A.
First clean 4Lo by Russian man :thumbsup:. I wish he'd get an opportunity to skate at GP event next season.

2-quads SP! from Russian men. I wasn't expecting it from Lazukin.
4Lo.gif

 

[plushyfan]

2-quads SP! from Russian men. I wasn't expecting it from Lazukin.
4Lo.gif

beautiful!

 

[karne]

Arthur Gachinsky also skated there, not so well but it's understandable.
Looks like he plans to resume his skater career.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SwdfUnVvwQ

*weeping with joy*

 

[gmyers]

Lazukin very impressive. It's April so it's kind of no mans land but maybe it can continue to main parts of seasons

 

[Tolstoj]

I'm pretty sure Lazukin is Mishin's secret weapon for the Olympics and i would like to see him grabbing that 2nd spot: he's not just a good jumper but also very elegant.
Unfortunately consistency and good stamina are his weaknesses.

On the other side Kovtun being Kovtun at the WTT...

 

[plushyfan]

I'm pretty sure Lazukin is Mishin's secret weapon for the Olympics and i would like to see him grabbing that 2nd spot: he's not just a good jumper but also very elegant.
Unfortunately consistency and good stamina are his weaknesses.

On the other side Kovtun being Kovtun at the WTT...

Yes, it shows what would have happened in Sochi if he competes there... And he was 3 years younger.

 

[Sweet Dream]

Yes, it shows what would have happened in Sochi if he competes there... And he was 3 years younger.

Who? Lazukin? IIRC, he was born in 1997.

With Artur's return, Mishin's group will get crowded again, and St. Petersburg is turning into the Russian men's training base overnight. Very good!

 

[plushyfan]

Who? Lazukin? IIRC, he was born in 1997.

Kovtun.

 

[silverfoxes]

I'm pretty sure Lazukin is Mishin's secret weapon for the Olympics and i would like to see him grabbing that 2nd spot: he's not just a good jumper but also very elegant.
Unfortunately consistency and good stamina are his weaknesses.

I like his skating too, but one good SP at a tiny local competition does not mean he is suddenly a good candidate for the Olympics, lol. His track record is even worse than Kovtun's. He didn't skate a good LP today. He still won the competition because Petrov wasn't good either & Artur is far from being in top shape, but that doesn't mean much.

The only man who I would consider a lock for the Olympics right now is Kolyada, the second spot is wide open...but I pray that it won't go to Kovtun as he's shown over & over again that he can't handle it. WTT isn't exactly a high pressure event and he still bombed. I don't think he takes competition seriously enough & there are enough other Russian men who do. I really hope Sergei or Dima will get the second spot.

 

[coldblueeyes]

I like his skating too, but one good SP at a tiny local competition does not mean he is suddenly a good candidate for the Olympics, lol. His track record is even worse than Kovtun's. He didn't skate a good LP today. He still won the competition because Petrov wasn't good either & Artur is far from being in top shape, but that doesn't mean much.

The only man who I would consider a lock for the Olympics right now is Kolyada, the second spot is wide open...but I pray that it won't go to Kovtun as he's shown over & over again that he can't handle it. WTT isn't exactly a high pressure event and he still bombed. I don't think he takes competition seriously enough & there are enough other Russian men who do. I really hope Sergei or Dima will get the second spot.

I'm pretty sure before Sergei they'll send Samarin. Dima is a maybe, but it's not like he's king consistency either. No one in Russia is.

 

[Fish in the sea]

I'd like to see Kolyada and Samarin at the Olympics.
Even though Samarin is weak in the PCS department, he is a strong skater who rarely pops his jumps. Unlike Kovtun, who is like a walking time bomb. It's hard to trust in him now. Petrov can barely do a quad. He might progress next season, but I don't see a big change in his technical abilities. Aliev needs more quads and consistency, let's see if he can pull it off.
Everyone else is out of the question, except maybe Voronov, who might rise like a phoenix :dev2:

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I'd like to see Kolyada and Samarin at the Olympics.
Even though Samarin is weak in the PCS department, he is a strong skater who rarely pops his jumps. Unlike Kovtun, who is like a walking time bomb. It's hard to trust in him now. Petrov can barely do a quad. He might progress next season, but I don't see a big change in his technical abilities. Aliev needs more quads and consistency, let's see if he can pull it off.
Everyone else is out of the question, except maybe Voronov, who might rise like a phoenix :dev2:

A walking time bomb who's won 3 Euros medals each of the past 3 seasons, including a silver this year beating Kolyada by 16 points (he beat him by 10 points at Finlandia, too). He also has the only GP golds (and 2 of them at that) for Russia this quadrennial.

I'd personally like to see Kolyada and Kovtun at the Olympics. Partly because, Kovtun was unfairly screwed over by the Russian fed/Plu's team Gold aspirations, partly because Kovtun's actually had medal success for Russia, he has two quads unlike most of the other Russians so he can be competitive if he gets it together, and partly because it's absolutely hilarious how much his success infuriates the haters (and, yes, I acknowledge he's still a brat). Samarin/Aliev/whoever can get it going in 2022. Although, of course, I think first and foremost whoever performs the best on the GP/Russian Nats/Euros should comprise the Russian Olympic team.

 

[puremagic]

Strange situation.

Kolyada - have no stable quad at all. He do only one 4T (why not two in the free program?), but at GP events he often fell. Now he's traying to jump 4Lz. Anyway, his axels and lutz are amazing.
Kovtun - can easy jump 4T or 4S but then he will pop everything. It will be look like 4T-2T, 4S-2T, 4S and then 3Lz-stepout, 2Lo, 2S, etc. And all this on the slow speed with ridiculous PCS in the end.
Petrov - one of the most stable men on the field, but he has only one unstable 4T. He also has enjoyable 3A and good skating skills.
Lord Samarin - has very good 4T, 3A and good speed. But overall his programs are empty.
Aliev - I think he's Russian Olympic hope. His skating skills are the best among all Russian men. It's always joy to watch his skating. The only thing that he lacks - it's consistency.
Lazukin - didn't watch him, next season will show.

 

[vorravorra]

Strange situation.

Kolyada - have no stable quad at all. He do only one 4T (why not two in the free program?), but at GP events he often fell. Now he's traying to jump 4Lz. Anyway, his axels and lutz are amazing.

Kolyada's 4T is stable enough. The only time he's had a problem with it was when he had to jump it straight after a fall on the 4Lz, but now he seems to have got over that. He only fell on 4T once during GP and that was after his first ever 4Lz attempt at NHK. After that it was a stepout at Nationals and Euros, and at Worlds and WTT his 4T was fine in the FS. And it was always fine in the SP. He's had more trouble with 3A actually. As to why he doesn't do a second 4T in the FS - he wants to train the 4Lz, and three quads with one in a combo is a lot harder physically and he'd rather repeat 3A and 3Lz which are his best jumps (when he doesn't pop the former, anyway).

 

[vorravorra]

I like his skating too, but one good SP at a tiny local competition does not mean he is suddenly a good candidate for the Olympics, lol. His track record is even worse than Kovtun's. He didn't skate a good LP today. He still won the competition because Petrov wasn't good either & Artur is far from being in top shape, but that doesn't mean much.

Yes, Lazukin has potential but he has a lot of work to do before he is a contender for anything. Currently he seems to barely make it through the FS even on a good day. My hope is that he at least gets the host spot at Rostelecom Cup, but I guess it will depend on where he is at early next season.

 

[vorravorra]

A walking time bomb who's won 3 Euros medals each of the past 3 seasons, including a silver this year beating Kolyada by 16 points (he beat him by 10 points at Finlandia, too). He also has the only GP golds (and 2 of them at that) for Russia this quadrennial.

I'd personally like to see Kolyada and Kovtun at the Olympics. Partly because, Kovtun was unfairly screwed over by the Russian fed/Plu's team Gold aspirations, partly because Kovtun's actually had medal success for Russia, he has two quads unlike most of the other Russians so he can be competitive if he gets it together, and partly because it's absolutely hilarious how much his success infuriates the haters (and, yes, I acknowledge he's still a brat). Samarin/Aliev/whoever can get it going in 2022. Although, of course, I think first and foremost whoever performs the best on the GP/Russian Nats/Euros should comprise the Russian Olympic team.

I think Kovtun is out as far as the team event is concerned barring a miraculous transformation, unless the Fed feels suicidal. As for the individual spots, all of them will have to show that they are up to it next season, including Kolyada. Nobody should go just because he did well at some point in the past.

 

[silverfoxes]

Yes, the spots should absolutely be given on merit based on next season and not 'reserved' for anyone in particular, but most of all not for the guy who has blown almost every single chance he's gotten over the past few seasons. I won't respond to CSG because he always has to play devil's advocate and I'm not going to waste my time. But if we want to play the "unfairly screwed over" game then Kovtun is hardly the only one in that boat (and he was responsible for others being screwed over too...but let's not open that can of worms again).

 

[mrrice]

My favorite Russian Man right now is definitely Mikhail Kolyada. IMO, he has the best blend of technical and artistic qualities and his resemblance to Illia, one of favorite skaters, can not be overlooked. He is a judges dream and when he's clean, he is a contender no matter what event it is. Kovtun, for some reason, has been difficult for me to connect with. I know it sounds weird but, I just don't feeeel anything when I watch him. When I used to watch Plushy, I could hardly sit still when he was on the ice and I almost fell out of my seat watching him live in 2001.

I haven't seen any of the Russian Team in such a long time and I really hope they'll be sending some skaters to Skate America next year. It will be my first live event since 2011 and I am beyond excited to see another competitive event.