Chen and Kolyada had better SS than Malinin did even when they first appeared on the scene. Zhou might be a better example. But, Zhou improved a lot artistically. So, Malinin can to. There is a lot of improvements for Malinin to make. I do see why people are arguing for Malinin over Brown if we are talking about the future. He does need experience. However, I don't think the Olympics is a place to go for experience. He wouldn't place top 5. He wouldn't get the GOE or PCS needed. So, best case scenario he gets a slightly higher score than Jason. Worst case scenario he absolutely bombs. Both scenarios are equally possible. I'm sure he will get a ton of assignments next year.