- Joined
- Mar 21, 2018
Well, someone has to create the cotton-picking thread. And since I did it last year and the first international competition went underway this weekend, now’s the time!
SENIOR MEN
Nathan Chen
SP:
FS:
GP Assignments: Skate America, Skate Canada
WR 2
Jason Brown
SP: Sinnerman by Nina Simone
FS: Schindler’s List
GP Assignments: Skate Canada, IDF
WR 4
Camden Pulkinen
SP:
FS:
GP Assignments: NHK, Rostelecom
WR 19; SB
Tomoki Hiwatashi
SP: Standards by Leslie Odom (choreo: Mark Pillay)
FS: The Artist (choreo: Mark Pillay)
GP Assignments: Skate Canada, NHK
WR 23
Vincent Zhou
SP: Vincent by Josh Groban (choreo: Lori Nichol)
FS: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (choreo: Lori Nichol
GP Assignments: Skate America, NHK
WR 25
Maxim Naumov
SP:
FS: Unstoppable/Stabat Mater
GP Assignments: Rostelecom
WR 89
Thoughts:
Chen : He’s coming into the Olympic season practically unchallenged. He’ll be sloppy in the beginning, but elements will be cleaned up by the Grand Prix Final. I don’t expect to see six quads in a free skate unless the 4Lo is absolutely competition-ready. Otherwise, he would benefit more from just adding a 3A combination instead.
Zhou : Zhou redeemed himself this weekend with two very solid skates. I’m not going to lie: I rolled my eyes hard when I first heard his SP music – the title and the always over-the-top Josh Groban is a terrible mix – but it’s actually his best SP yet. Or rather, his performance of it is. I still find his skating nondescript, but he’s made impressive improvements and I think the SP will finally break him out of the shell he seems to have contained himself in.
He’s going to Nebelhorn, but I don’t think that was ever in question if one were to take his Worlds SP as an isolated incident. He lost the spot so he should earn it back.
Brown : Probably has the best set of programs out of all the American skaters. His goal is to make the Olympic team and, well, the only skater that will stop him from doing so is himself.
Ice is slippery, but it ain’t that slippery. The above will be the Olympic Team as there’s only one skater that could realistically play spoiler:
Yaroslav Paniot : The years away from international competition will hurt him. Placing fourth in a B-level competition hurts further. Unless there’s another head-to-head competition before October, the extra slot for Skate America will deservedly not go to him. And he very much needed it. He has competitive tech, but he’s just not confident enough to make a statement. He still has a chance – a very slim and improbable one – but Paniot will only make the Olympic team if he makes a strong case in other competitions leading up to January and gets the silver medal at Nationals. If he gets the bronze then it needs to be by an indisputable margin or he’ll lose out to “body of work.”
Naumov : After Torgashev, Naumov is my favorite of the up-and-coming American skaters. He knows how to sell a performance and both of his programs have interesting choreography. I do believe he landed his first quad in international competition this weekend, winning the bronze. He placed in the top 5 last year at Nationals with an excellent free skate and I can see him repeating the feat this year.
Jimmy Ma : Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. Winning silver at Cranberry is a great follow-up to his 6th place finish at Nationals. Ma is on the older end of the age spectrum for a figure skater, but he seems to be seriously motivated and is willing to step outside of his comfort zone and try something new. I’ll accept the manbun if he continues on this path.
Hiwatashi : He’s going for two quad SPs and he added a 4S to his free. I still don’t know what to make of him, but as of now, the tech is too much for him.
Krasnozhon announced his retirement a few months ago. Around this time last year, I said he’s in danger of not getting a GP or any other international assignment as he’s not improving but his peers are. His disastrous short last year at Nationals was the final nail in the coffin. I’ll miss him dearly, but I’m actually glad he decided not to stick around.
Pulkinen : An absolute hot mess that will be in Krasnozhon’s position by next year.
Ilia Malinin . For some reason, I forgot about him and his multiple quads. He made a splash last year at Skate America with good jumps (and terrible spins) and he'll be on the JGP this year. He's apparently doing 4 quad layouts already which I somehow completely missed. He doesn't need to be so extra at the junior level, but I welcome the ambition.
SENIOR MEN
Nathan Chen
SP:
FS:
GP Assignments: Skate America, Skate Canada
WR 2
Jason Brown
SP: Sinnerman by Nina Simone
FS: Schindler’s List
GP Assignments: Skate Canada, IDF
WR 4
Camden Pulkinen
SP:
FS:
GP Assignments: NHK, Rostelecom
WR 19; SB
Tomoki Hiwatashi
SP: Standards by Leslie Odom (choreo: Mark Pillay)
FS: The Artist (choreo: Mark Pillay)
GP Assignments: Skate Canada, NHK
WR 23
Vincent Zhou
SP: Vincent by Josh Groban (choreo: Lori Nichol)
FS: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (choreo: Lori Nichol
GP Assignments: Skate America, NHK
WR 25
Maxim Naumov
SP:
FS: Unstoppable/Stabat Mater
GP Assignments: Rostelecom
WR 89
Thoughts:
Chen : He’s coming into the Olympic season practically unchallenged. He’ll be sloppy in the beginning, but elements will be cleaned up by the Grand Prix Final. I don’t expect to see six quads in a free skate unless the 4Lo is absolutely competition-ready. Otherwise, he would benefit more from just adding a 3A combination instead.
Zhou : Zhou redeemed himself this weekend with two very solid skates. I’m not going to lie: I rolled my eyes hard when I first heard his SP music – the title and the always over-the-top Josh Groban is a terrible mix – but it’s actually his best SP yet. Or rather, his performance of it is. I still find his skating nondescript, but he’s made impressive improvements and I think the SP will finally break him out of the shell he seems to have contained himself in.
He’s going to Nebelhorn, but I don’t think that was ever in question if one were to take his Worlds SP as an isolated incident. He lost the spot so he should earn it back.
Brown : Probably has the best set of programs out of all the American skaters. His goal is to make the Olympic team and, well, the only skater that will stop him from doing so is himself.
Ice is slippery, but it ain’t that slippery. The above will be the Olympic Team as there’s only one skater that could realistically play spoiler:
Yaroslav Paniot : The years away from international competition will hurt him. Placing fourth in a B-level competition hurts further. Unless there’s another head-to-head competition before October, the extra slot for Skate America will deservedly not go to him. And he very much needed it. He has competitive tech, but he’s just not confident enough to make a statement. He still has a chance – a very slim and improbable one – but Paniot will only make the Olympic team if he makes a strong case in other competitions leading up to January and gets the silver medal at Nationals. If he gets the bronze then it needs to be by an indisputable margin or he’ll lose out to “body of work.”
Naumov : After Torgashev, Naumov is my favorite of the up-and-coming American skaters. He knows how to sell a performance and both of his programs have interesting choreography. I do believe he landed his first quad in international competition this weekend, winning the bronze. He placed in the top 5 last year at Nationals with an excellent free skate and I can see him repeating the feat this year.
Jimmy Ma : Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. Winning silver at Cranberry is a great follow-up to his 6th place finish at Nationals. Ma is on the older end of the age spectrum for a figure skater, but he seems to be seriously motivated and is willing to step outside of his comfort zone and try something new. I’ll accept the manbun if he continues on this path.
Hiwatashi : He’s going for two quad SPs and he added a 4S to his free. I still don’t know what to make of him, but as of now, the tech is too much for him.
Krasnozhon announced his retirement a few months ago. Around this time last year, I said he’s in danger of not getting a GP or any other international assignment as he’s not improving but his peers are. His disastrous short last year at Nationals was the final nail in the coffin. I’ll miss him dearly, but I’m actually glad he decided not to stick around.
Pulkinen : An absolute hot mess that will be in Krasnozhon’s position by next year.
Ilia Malinin . For some reason, I forgot about him and his multiple quads. He made a splash last year at Skate America with good jumps (and terrible spins) and he'll be on the JGP this year. He's apparently doing 4 quad layouts already which I somehow completely missed. He doesn't need to be so extra at the junior level, but I welcome the ambition.
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Haha, I really like this kid. One has to applaud his energetic confidence and I can only hope that he remains this positive whether he goes through ups or downs in his skating future.
