2016-2017 State of U.S. Men Figure Skating

[Tavi...]

I would think it more likely he'd keep Pines of Rome, since that was already completely choreographed and finished, he just never got to compete it.

Oh I knew he had the music just didn't realize the program was finished. I agree with you!

 

[skylark]

It looks like Adam has been working on his stroking and edges, and that his jumps are coming along. Good for him! Sixteen weeks in a boot is a long time.



It's actually nice to see Nathan do a piece where the jumps are a part of the program rather than the focus. It will be interesting to see if that carries over to his choreo for next season's programs.

Ugh, the off season!

Totally agree!

 

[ice coverage]

Physical therapist Heather Linden, who is leaving the USOC, posted an affectionate message to Team USA skaters, along with a chummy photo of herself with Max, Adam, Jason, Mirai, Alexa, and Chris.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT5RYR2Az9E/?taken-by=heatherlinden (May 9)​

From the comments, it is apparent that Heather has been a beloved member of the team. Sounds as if she hopes to continue to travel with them, although she will no longer be based at the OTC. Best of luck to her.

---

Congratulations to Richard Dornbush are in order.

Per the May issue of Skating magazine, he will graduate in June from UC San Diego with high honors in physics and math .

He wrapped up his final exams the day before volunteering his time to headline the Smithfield FSC's benefit show in Rhode Island on Mar 26.

He skated a new program to Toulouse's "I Will Follow You." "He amazed the crowd with his effortless triple jumps, fast spins, and three backflips."

http://content.yudu.com/web/y5b2/0A1uvwc/May2017SKATING/html/index.html?page=51 (page 49 of the magazine)

---

Skating magazine also has a page about the World Synchro Championships, including enthusiastic quotes from Max, Jason, Josh, Alexa, and Tarah Kayne.

Plus as previously seen: the handsome photo of the three men, as well as Adam's tweet with the photo of himself interviewing the Crystallettes and Haydenettes at the comp.

http://content.yudu.com/web/y5b2/0A1uvwc/May2017SKATING/html/index.html?page=20 (page 18 of the magazine)

 

[ice coverage]

Complete with two thumbs up :thumbsup: :thumbsup: from Nathan and a clap from Vincent :clapper:, the U.S. SOI cast gave a brief but adorable Happy Mother's Day video message , led by Charlie White. Beautiful smiles all around, and Nathan and Vincent's faces really lit up in the spirit of the occasion :hap85:.

https://twitter.com/starsonice/status/863753485027856384 (May 14)​

Adam was quintessential Adam . Jeremy unfortunately was MIA.

(Patrick Chan led the also-charming Canadian SOI cast's greeting.

https://twitter.com/starsonice/status/863753485027856384)​

 

[Skater Boy]

I am thinking the state of American skating is looking pretty positive with Nathan essentially being guaranteed one of the spots. I think Brown has the inside lead but if Abbott and Adam come back strong and healthy they are both well rounded artistic skaters and they could bump him off especially if Brown is still quadless in competition. Also, Brown was Katarina Witt lucky (remember 1994 when all those who were better made errors and while under the 6.0 system they could have still had Witt lower than say Harding or Chouinard they judges didn't do that - we have all seen competitions in the past where a skater did a mch easier triple combo in the short ala Witt and get sewered. She still was marked up fairly well. However, if other skaters skate well with quads and their artistry it would be fair for the judges to drop Brown off the team. I still see Nathan as the fave. Then Brown over Rippon and Zhou. I fear unless Max shows some great signs early in the season he will be left in the dust or ice chips so to speak. He no longer is so technically exemplary and his artistry really has not been developing or engaging as one would hope. Its Nathan's to lose.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I am thinking the state of American skating is looking pretty positive with Nathan essentially being guaranteed one of the spots. I think Brown has the inside lead but if Abbott and Adam come back strong and healthy they are both well rounded artistic skaters and they could bump him off especially if Brown is still quadless in competition. Also, Brown was Katarina Witt lucky (remember 1994 when all those who were better made errors and while under the 6.0 system they could have still had Witt lower than say Harding or Chouinard they judges didn't do that - we have all seen competitions in the past where a skater did a mch easier triple combo in the short ala Witt and get sewered. She still was marked up fairly well. However, if other skaters skate well with quads and their artistry it would be fair for the judges to drop Brown off the team. I still see Nathan as the fave. Then Brown over Rippon and Zhou. I fear unless Max shows some great signs early in the season he will be left in the dust or ice chips so to speak. He no longer is so technically exemplary and his artistry really has not been developing or engaging as one would hope. Its Nathan's to lose.

Yeah sorry, they aren't picking a quad-less Brown over Rippon or they need serious re-training lol!

 

[el henry]

Yeah sorry, they aren't picking a quad-less Brown over Rippon or they need serious re-training lol!

And Adam has a quad? And I say this as someone who *likes* Adam. To coin a phase, LOL.

"They" will pick whoever they think the International Judges will reward more, who will get more points, and who scores higher, no? And in 2016-17, at least, that was Jason. In fact, Jason has won every head-to-head comp with Adam since when, 2013?

Sorry, they don't need serious re-training.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

And Adam has a quad? And I say this as someone who *likes* Adam. To coin a phase, LOL.

"They" will pick whoever they think the International Judges will reward more, who will get more points, and who scores higher, no? And in 2016-17, at least, that was Jason. In fact, Jason has won every head-to-head comp with Adam since when, 2013?

Sorry, they don't need serious re-training.

Favoritism doesn't always equal subjectiveness in judging, nor does politiking, but some will see what they want anyway.

That's all I'm going to say on this other than yes he does.

 

[Ice Dance]

And Adam has a quad?

Not a clean one. But Vincent has a lutz, two sals, did the flip in exhibition. An international SB in the FS less than 3 points off of Jason's SB already and under a junior format without as many elements. It's going to be a very interesting year in the U.S. men's field. May they all stay healthy and give us the chance to see the strengths each of these individuals brings to the table.

 

[karne]

Yeah sorry, they aren't picking a quad-less Brown over Rippon or they need serious re-training lol!

lol, maybe they're going to pick a skater whose short program is more than shoulder-shaking.

Favoritism doesn't always equal subjectiveness in judging, nor does politiking, but some will see what they want anyway.

You're right. After all, that's how, for reasons unknown to anyone with a technical brain, the name Adam Rippon is written next to the 2016 title instead of Max Aaron.

Not a clean one. But Vincent has a lutz, two sals, did the flip in exhibition.

Bolded for emphasis. In EXHIBITION. How many quads has Vincent had called clean INTERNATIONALLY? Very few.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

lol, maybe they're going to pick a skater whose short program is more than shoulder-shaking.



You're right. After all, that's how, for reasons unknown to anyone with a technical brain, the name Adam Rippon is written next to the 2016 title instead of Max Aaron.



Bolded for emphasis. In EXHIBITION. How many quads has Vincent had called clean INTERNATIONALLY? Very few.

the fangirls around here make me giggle. Get over it...move on with your lives...

BTW: I'd rather watch what some want to dismiss as "shoulder shaking" than the same program but set to different boring music.

 

[Ice Dance]

How many quads has Vincent had called clean INTERNATIONALLY?

Five.

Which is five more than he had had called clean internationally this January at U.S. Nationals. He's a wildcard, all right, because there is no senior record there. But definitely not one to be overlooked.

 

[mrrice]

It really seems like Max's bad showing at Nationals has removed him from most of the prediction lists. I just don't agree with this. It's so difficult at this point because it's way too early and we are as deep in talented Men as we have ever been. Right now, as hard as it would be without seeing Joshua or knowing how Adam Rippon is feeling. I'd still place Max above all the skaters returning from a season away. That includes Joshua, Jeremy, and Ricky.

I'm hoping Adam plans on keeping his Bird LP and receives a new, less stand and pose, SP. I love Jason and if he can land a solid quad combo in both programs, I'd put him on the team. Vincent, is still too young for me and as much as I love him, he still looks like a Junior. As Summer gets closer we'll start seeing the new programs and things will become more clear.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

It really seems like Max's bad showing at Nationals has removed him from most of the prediction lists. I just don't agree with this. It's so difficult at this point because it's way too early and we are as deep in talented Men as we have ever been. Right now, as hard as it would be without seeing Joshua or knowing how Adam Rippon is feeling. I'd still place Max above all the skaters returning from a season away. That includes Joshua, Jeremy, and Ricky.

I'm hoping Adam plans on keeping his Bird LP and receives a new, less stand and pose, SP. I love Jason and if he can land a solid quad combo in both programs, I'd put him on the team. Vincent, is still too young for me and as much as I love him, he still looks like a Junior. As Summer gets closer we'll start seeing the new programs and things will become more clear.

Adam's keeping his "Birds" LP for the Olympic season and is skating spectacular for just having his foot broken and a long rehab with it.
And never count out Jeremy if he does decide to announce his comeback as he's skating better now than ever.

 

[mrrice]

Adam's keeping his "Birds" LP for the Olympic season and is skating spectacular for just having his foot broken and a long rehab with it.
And never count out Jeremy if he does decide to announce his comeback as he's skating better now than ever.

I don't know what to make of Jeremy. Seriously, he has broken my heart so many times. When he's on, he is spectacular. Wasn't he the US Champion going into 2010 Olympics? Just checked, and yes he was. He was the National Champion going in to both of his Olympic appearances and finished behind the skaters he'd beaten at Nationals just weeks earlier. He's much older now and I can only imagine that his competitive nerves are basically gone as he's been doing show after show for years. If he holds it together, everyone knows he'd difficult to beat. In fact, when he skates well in the US, he always wins.....

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I don't know what to make of Jeremy. Seriously, he has broken my heart so many times. When he's on, he is spectacular. Wasn't he the US Champion going into 2010 Olympics? Just checked, and yes he was. He was the National Champion going in to both of his Olympic appearances and finished behind the skaters he'd beaten at Nationals just weeks earlier. He's much older now and can only imagine that his competitive nerves are basically gone as been doing show after show for years. If he holds it together, everyone knows he'd difficult to beat. In fact, when he skates well in the US, he always wins.....

Can I just say that in 2010 he was sick at the Olympics and 2014 was a fluke that ended up being positive in the end for him. Worlds 2014 he put it out there and he was MWO champ in 2016. He's faster, more refined, and a lot less tense than he used to skate. He is just comfortable all around. I know these things.

 

[mrrice]

Can I just say that in 2010 he was sick at the Olympics and 2014 was a fluke that ended up being positive in the end for him. Worlds 2014 he put it out there and he was MWO champ in 2016. He's faster, more refined, and a lot less tense than he used to skate. He is just comfortable all around. I know these things.

I hope you're right. I can't remember what year it was but, Jeremy won the GPF and I bet my freakin' house that he'd win an Olympic Medal in 2010. To say that it was shocking to see Evan win over Plushy, Johnny regain his form and skate well, as that was great. However, to see Jeremy finish out of the top 10 as the reigning US Champion, was very sad.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I hope you're right. I can't remember what year it was but, Jeremy won the GPF and I bet my freakin' house that he'd win an Olympic Medal in 2010. To say that it was shocking to see Evan win, Johnny regain his form and skate well, as that were great. However, to see Jeremy finish out of the top 10 as the reigning US Champion, was very sad.

It was but again, he was ill at the time of those Olympics, he doesn't even remember most of his skates there. He won the GPF 2008-09 season.

 

[skylark]

Favoritism doesn't always equal subjectiveness in judging,

To me, this is an eloquent distinction.

I love Adam and Jason pretty close to equally, for different reasons. They're two of my favorites. They're both artists, both performers at heart, both in touch with emotional power and audience power. They're different artistically: Adam is more poetic in my opinion, while Jason is more charismatic. These are subjective opinions and can affect me differently from performance to performance. Such thoughts from judges don't automatically mean they're thinking politically or showing personal favoritism.

And both men have beautiful technique, but not identical technique. Judges don't have identical views of what constitutes good technique, either.

 

[Mrs. P]

Well, I went ahead an started a new thread for 2018, if you guys want to continue Olympic speculation over there...
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...-S-Men-s-Figure-Skating&p=1732934#post1732934

I'm going to wrap things up by listing the top 12 overall/sp/fs scores (both best and average using ISU Season's Best figures only)

Overall
Nathan Chen 307.46
Jason Brown 273.67
Adam Rippon 267.53
Vincent Zhou 258.11
Max Aaron 252.74
Grant Hochstein 235.72
--
Timothy Dolensky 226.53
Ross Miner 214.48
Sean Rabbit 209.66
Alexander Johnson 208.64
Andrew Torgashev 258.11
(Jordan Moeller 199.20 - This is based on a spring international that did not count on ISU season's best but putting it here as it was technically the 12th highest score internationally)
Tomoki Hiwatashi 182.12

Overall average
Chen 279.39
Brown 255.21
Rippon 252.58
Zhou 232.81
Aaron 230.80
Dolensky 217.81
---
Hochstein 209.57
Johnson 208.64
Miner 208.12
Torgashev 199.39
Hiwatashi 181.53


Overall SP
Chen 103.12
Brown 94.32
Rippon 87.86
Hochstein 81.94
Aaron 81.67
Zhou 80.53
--
Dolensky 77.59
Miner 76.73
Torgashev 73.48
Rabbit 72.45
Johnson 71.41
(Moeller 67.78)
Hiwatashi 63.54

Average SP
Chen 92.67
Rippon 86.09
Brown 84.72
Zhou 75.33
Aaron 74.75
Dolensky 73.57
--
Rabbit 72.45
Johnson 71.41
Miner 70.67
Hochstein 70.08
Torgashev 65.62
Emmanuel Savary 65.62

Overall FS
Chen 204.34
Brown 182.63
Rippon 182.28
Zhou 179.24
Aaron 161.94
Hochstein 153.78
--
Dolensky 148.94
Miner 143.11
Torgashev 139.44
Johnson 137.23
Rabbit 137.21
(Moeller 131.42)
Hiwatashi 123.09

Average FS
Chen 186.00
Brown 170.49
Rippon 164.04
Aaron 156.05
Zhou 153.54
Dolensky 144.24
--
Hochstein 143.59
Miner 137.44
Johnson 137.23
Rabbit 137.21
Torgashev 130.36
Hiwatashi 121.57