2022-23 Retirements, Splits and New Partnerships

[GoneWithTheWind]

Andy Deng has formed a new US pairs team with Adele Zheng, who is new to pairs skating. They train at Oakton Edge Skating Academy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cswxzx7RlCt/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

[Sackie]

New Pairs can be interesting - just look at Lea and Trennt last season. Who at this time last year would have ever thought that a new CAN pair would place 3rd at Nationals and get to go to 4CC and worlds all in under one year together. And then to place 4th at 4CC and 6th at worlds and have the 4th best Free Skate. Maybe from a new pair where one or both of the partners were in a world medal team before, but this was not the case here, and in fact Lea had very little Pairs experience.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

New Pairs can be interesting - just look at Lea and Trennt last season. Who at this time last year would have ever thought that a new CAN pair would place 3rd at Nationals and get to go to 4CC and worlds all in under one year together. And then to place 4th at 4CC and 6th at worlds and have the 4th best Free Skate. Maybe from a new pair where one or both of the partners were in a world medal team before, but this was not the case here, and in fact Lea had very little Pairs experience.

I don't think it was predictable, but it's also not that unbelievable to see Trennt excel with a new partner during a transitional season in which some former top teams were retired or missing in the case of the Russians and mysteriously, China's Peng/ Jin.

Everyone knows what a great pairs guy Trennt is. Fans have been suggesting for several seasons that he could do exponentially better with a partner who matched his talent level (and his physicality). That's not to say he wasn't good and competitive with Evelyn. They were a gritty, gung-ho team and fun to watch. But there was a ceiling to how much they could accomplish together.

Trennt & Evelyn managed to improve their twist, but they never had a lot of pop, power, and speed, which are necessary to compete at the highest level. Evelyn possibly could have improved more with a taller partner. But, things are what they are. You give it your best and move on when necessary. Certainly, Evelyn & Trennt performed decently well at 2022 Worlds behind Cdn World medalists, James/ Radford. So that gave Canada three spots, which is needed to further rebuild their pairs discipline.

Some observers tend to play down Lia's lower-level pairs experience. I think it definitely gave Lia an advantage to already know basic pairs elements, no matter the brief competition experience she had in pairs. As Lia was on the rise in singles, she began achieving notable results, and her personality shined during interviews. I was excited when I heard that Lia/ Trennt were pairing. She's a calm, gritty competitor, and an excellent match for Trennt. It won't be surprising to see them advance further. I do hope they're able to get better material musically and choreographically. They need to move beyond their coach doing all their choreography.

It will also be interesting to see how much Nic & Emma progress this off-season. Since they both are new to pairs, there's a steeper learning curve. They do already have a nice 'long lines' look on the ice.

 

[4everchan]

Lia and Trennt will need to get a better choreographer and I would even suggest a better coach. That's just my opinion and if that happens, I will happily post it in the coaching change thread unless someone beats me to it

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I just heard that Katie McBeath of the U.S. (not Wessenberg) has partnered in pairs with Danill Parkman (who formerly repped Georgia).

This, if true, means Nate B is indeed retiring, and he will likely coach at Irvine rink. For some reason, my mind went to Megan Wessenberg, since she's actively looking for a new partner. Gabby Izzo and Cayla Smith are also looking...

 

[surimi]

Is there a source or was that hearsay? Not sure if I should post it as rumor or official.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

^^ Yeah, I'm trying to find official confirmation. I read this on another forum, and no source is provided. Perhaps there was a tryout. I don't see anything on Katie's Instagram, nor on coaches Todd/ Jenni's Instagram. There hasn't even been an announcement that Nate is retiring. So I wonder whether the skater's name whom Danill may be partnering with has been confused? Sorry for jumping the gun on this. I don't ever recall seeing U.S. pairs partnering with former Russian skaters! Danill formerly skated for Georgia, but he was born in Russia.

Yeah, it's probably best to wait till more details have actually been confirmed.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

New German pairs team Minerva Hase/Nikita Volodin:

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

^^ Another unexpected, very interesting pairing. Altho' for sure it's less surprising to see a German + Russian pairing, than it is to see a (as yet unconfirmed) U.S. + Georgian/ Russian pairing.

Who was Volodin formerly paired with in Russia?

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Who was Volodin formerly paired with in Russia?

He had a bunch of partners, the latest ones afaik Viktoria Vasilieva (2020/21) and Taisiya Sobinina (2019/20).

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

He had a bunch of partners, the latest ones afaik Viktoria Vasilieva (2020/21) and Taisiya Sobinina (2019/20).

Hopefully, this one with Minerva will be more long-term productive. Was Volodin released by Rusiya?

 

[Caliban]

Was Volodin released by Rusiya?

Our (Russian) media report that yes - RusFed give him release.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

^^ Another unexpected, very interesting pairing.

Interesting yes, unexpected not really at this point for those that follow German skating closely. As far as I remember, he was part of the conversation from the very beginning when she started looking for a new partner, and in January they skated outside of competition (and not on the broadcast) at German Nationals, they were just waiting for his release to officially confirm it.

Hopefully, this one with Minerva will be more long-term productive. Was Volodin released by Rusiya?

Yes, both the IG post by the German fed and the Russian media reports confirm that he's been released. They've been waiting for his release in order to confirm their partnership, so I'm sure they're quite happy they'll be able to compete internationally next season.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Interesting yes, unexpected not really at this point for those that follow German skating closely.

Ah, cool. So Minerva immediately had her eyes on Volodin. Right, I don't closely follow German or Russian skating. I learn things as I can. So much is happening all the time in skating, all over the world. It's impossible to keep up with every country, let alone the U.S. and Canada (which are more accessible for me).

 

[Weathergal]

^^ Another unexpected, very interesting pairing. Altho' for sure it's less surprising to see a German + Russian pairing, than it is to see a (as yet unconfirmed) U.S. + Georgian/ Russian pairing.

Who was Volodin formerly paired with in Russia?

He had a bunch of partners, the latest ones afaik Viktoria Vasilieva (2020/21) and Taisiya Sobinina (2019/20).

Before that, at one point he was paired with Alina Ustimkina. They won bronze in the 2016 YOG.

 

[synesthesia]

Kinoshita Academy announced Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita as a new ice dance team:

Notification of the birth of a new couple.

After two pairs, we have a new #IceDance couple.

Comment from the skaters themselves ↓↓↓↓↓

#Utana Yoshida. #MasayaMorita.
We hope to convey our love for skating so much in our performance that the audience can't help smiling!
We aim to be a couple that can compete at the World Championships and Olympics, so we hope you enjoy it with us!
We will do our best!

＊＊＊＊＊＊

We look forward to seeing them grow together in the future.

The nickname is "Utamasa"? If you have a great name, please send it to us in the comments.

 

[Sai Bon]

Kinoshita Academy announced Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita as a new ice dance team:

Well, it's been a long wait for Utana. She looks all grown up now!

 

[skylark]

I'm really looking forward to seeing Minerva skate on the big international scene again. She manages skill and personality on the ice! She immediately engages me, what a pleasure to watch. Best of luck for this new partnership!

 

[gleungc6]

Kayleigh Maksymec / Félix Desmarais, new Swiss ice dance team at IAM. https://www.instagram.com/p/CtAEf8fR69v/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

 

[yesterday]

Kayleigh Maksymec / Félix Desmarais, new Swiss ice dance team at IAM. https://www.instagram.com/p/CtAEf8fR69v/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Wow, he's Canadian and competed in ID with Sara-Maude (Novice level)?

https://figureskatingcostumes.tumblr.com/tagged/Dupuis Desmarais

Didn't know that about her