2023 Canadian Nationals Sr. Men's Short Program

[BlissfulSynergy]

i don't disagree about Roman.. but as i am watching, it seema that Roman, Stephen and Wesley underperformed... a couple of the lower level guys too but there were good performances by many. I guess we have been spoiled over the years with Orser, Browning, Stojko, even Sandhu, Buttle and then Patrick... and this is the low point... Let's see what happens tomorrow.

I don't think anyone said the entire field under-performed. Just several guys who were expected, and predicted by many, to be in the top five. With their talent, of course, that's the way it should be, on paper. On the ice, it's usually a different story. Still, it's surprising that all three of these guys faltered. I was especially expecting more from Stephen, and keeping my fingers crossed for Roman.

It's nice to see these other young guys doing well. Not many have a quad arsenal under their belts, which sadly it's important to have at least one or two consistently, combined with a 3-axel and decent skating skills. Many have the skating skills and lovely aesthetics, including sensitivity to the music, which I enjoy seeing. But we all know the quads are a must for notable international success, unless you have Jason Brown level of skating artistry.

If anyone has been moaning about the three who didn't do well, maybe that's because their predictions are shot. LOL. I don't see cause for overmuch concern. It's going to be hard for guys in many countries to master sufficient quads. Japanese men will apparently be reigning at the top with Ilia perhaps for sometime. But the French guys are fun to watch. I love watching Junhwan Cha, and there are many wonderful male skaters coming up in Canada and in the U.S. Nathan Chen, Denis Ten, Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, and Yuma K., are rare talents who don't grace every generation.

I can appreciate all the guys who are still developing quads and 3-axels, but who already have amazing aesthetic skills, including Lucas Broussard of the U.S. Nikolaj Memola of Italy has the quads and the gorgeous aesthetics!

 

[mrrice]

I loved her "The Sweater" program.

Me Too!!!

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Keegan was very nice. I'm glad for him.

But the significant performance of the night was Conrad's. He handled himself very well under competition pressure.

That is a very big moment - it signals that he has a real future in the sport with the prospect of high international finishes in big events, something I wasn't sure about before.

True. Conrad Orzel made some personal assessments, and then he took the tough path of switching coaches and training rinks. That requires making adjustments on a number of levels. The change has truly been helpful for Conrad. He appears to have a different mindset, which is sowing the seeds of great progress for him competitively.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

What a disaster event, like 3 of the medal contenders are in the first group tomorrow.

Neither the entire event, nor the men's sp should be termed, 'disastrous.' Your comment must be one of the ones @4everchan is responding to.

 

[4everchan]

Neither the entire event, nor the men's sp should be termed, 'disastrous.' Your comment must be one of the ones @4everchan is responding to.

I wasn't responding to anyone in particular (when I do so, I use the quote function). I explained why I thought it may be a disastrous event, having read the protocols before watching. While I was watching the first groups, I truly enjoyed seeing most of the guys skate to their potential. The disappointment comes mostly from 3 guys in particular, and all 3, podium contenders. And trust me, I couldn't care less that it ruins my prediction game as you have insinuated... it will ruin everyone's the same way anyway as pretty much everyone chose the same top 5 skaters LOL.... what is disheartening is that there are 5 guys who have worlds minimums and 3 of them didn't skate like skaters who should go to worlds or who would make the LP at worlds. Things will change tomorrow. Lots of rankings will be shuffled. I am happy with the top 3 as it is and wouldn't care if it stayed that way

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I wasn't responding to anyone in particular (when I do so, I use the quote function). I explained why I thought it may be a disastrous event, having read the protocols before watching. While I was watching the first groups, I truly enjoyed seeing most of the guys skate to their potential. The disappointment comes mostly from 3 guys in particular, and all 3, podium contenders. And trust me, I couldn't care less that it ruins my prediction game as you have insinuated... it will ruin everyone's the same way anyway as pretty much everyone chose the same top 5 skaters LOL.... what is disheartening is that there are 5 guys who have worlds minimums and 3 of them didn't skate like skaters who should go to worlds or who would make the LP at worlds. Things will change tomorrow. Lots of rankings will be shuffled. I am happy with the top 3 as it is and wouldn't care if it stayed that way

I didn't realize you thought it was disastrous too, until you checked protocols? I thought you were arguing against anyone thinking the event is a disaster. But from your explanation, I can see where you're coming from.

I also get the concern by Canadian men's fans, with this being Keegan's last year, and the other guys with quads (Roman; Wesley; Stephen) imploding. It's true as you said, and as I also mentioned, the sport as a whole will not get in every generation, exceptional skaters with quads like Patrick Chan, et al. There's still a lot to appreciate, though. Many of the junior guys in Canada are wonderful 'works-in-progress.'

In the U.S., once quads became the rage, circa 2011, we had a lot of lovely, talented men's skaters. But the majority had to catch up with developing quads, which was challenging. Still, there was great depth and so many memorable U.S. male skaters. Yet, those who might have regularly graced podiums pre-quad-craze, had a hard time reaching most international podiums. That didn't mean our men weren't accomplished, and even influential, globally. Then, along came Nathan Chen, and the rest is history.

ETA:
I was joking about the predictions factor. I wasn't insinuating anything about you specifically, in any case. You're right that everyone who participated in the prediction contest will be adversely affected anyway, if these sp standings hold-up. The predictions are just fun to participate in. Winning in any category is usually random luck.

 

[Ruthypegs]

Newnham channels Kevin Reynolds' ginger follicular superiority and his skating is smooth, lithe, and graceful. I'm a fan!

Me, too, I'm a new fan - fantastic expression, really balletic, (plus he has the wondrous Morasov locks). And he used the orchestral version of Rachmaninov, not some ghastly cover version)

 

[Ruthypegs]

I can't believe after so many years of seeing Keegan, his cowboy hat, his yoyo, and--more recently--his son, I have so many emotions knowing this is the last Nationals SP for him. I have my Kleenex ready along with a large bottle of Bailey's.

yoyo? what's this about a yoyo??

 

[Ruthypegs]

Wow, I can really see improvement in Conrad’s posture since moving to Ravi.

It's very noticeable, isn't it - his body expression is so much better, too, IMHO

 

[Ruthypegs]

Keegan has a one point time deduction ....

 

[labgoat]

i don't disagree about Roman.. but as i am watching, it seema that Roman, Stephen and Wesley underperformed... a couple of the lower level guys too but there were good performances by many. I guess we have been spoiled over the years with Orser, Browning, Stojko, even Sandhu, Buttle and then Patrick... and this is the low point... Let's see what happens tomorrow.

we will see who can find in in themselves to shake this off and show us that was not me. Who can get up after a bad day and come back and keep on plugging away. It is always darkest before the dawn of enlightenment. We will learn who has the heart of a champion on the next day.

 

[labgoat]

And trust me, I couldn't care less that it ruins my prediction game as you have insinuated... it will ruin everyone's the same way anyway as pretty much everyone chose the same top 5 skaters LOL.... what is disheartening is that there are 5 guys who have worlds minimums and 3 of them didn't skate like skaters who should go to worlds or who would make the LP at worlds. Things will change tomorrow. Lots of rankings will be shuffled. I am happy with the top 3 as it is and wouldn't care if it stayed that way

I agree 100 with all of this. I look forward to seeing some redemption skates and being fully awake this time to watch them.

 

[labgoat]

Kevin Reynolds was always my sentimental favorite as a competitor and I am beyond thrilled to hear him nailing it as a commentator now. Loving both him and Kaitlyn Weaver this year.

 

[ladyjane]

Thankfully, hardly any buffering with the men. I love Ted and Kevin together. No nastiness, positive but explaining why it sometimes goes wrong. Some nice skates in the first group. I liked watching Marek, not the highest level of technical stuff maybe but a nice performer for all that (and exactly falling and crashing down when there is a clash in the music is rather fun actually), was intrigued by Bennet, a beautiful quad by Alec, and obviously the excellent skate by Beres was very promising!

 

[moonvine]

yoyo? what's this about a yoyo??

He had a yo-yo at US Nationals, I believe it was. You don’t have to suffer Johnny Weir, who really dislikes Keegan. He went on and on about the yo-yo. He went on and on about “How dare he bring that hot mess of a Chaplin program out on the ice after Hanyu just skated that beautiful (whatever program it was).” I mean….what was Keegan supposed to do, not skate? Honestly I think it got so bad NBC told him to back off. Johnny, Keegan has things you could never comprehend

 

[Ruthypegs]

He had a yo-yo at US Nationals, I believe it was. You don’t have to suffer Johnny Weir, who really dislikes Keegan. He went on and on about the yo-yo. He went on and on about “How dare he bring that hot mess of a Chaplin program out on the ice after Hanyu just skated that beautiful (whatever program it was).” I mean….what was Keegan supposed to do, not skate? Honestly I think it got so bad NBC told him to back off. Johnny, Keegan has things you could never comprehend

Keegan has our hearts.

 

[ladyjane]

Just watched the second group. Lots of joy again. Sure maybe not so strong technically, but I loved both the Matthews (one of which did quite a good job technically as well), Gabriel's distinctive style, the wonderful Bruce Waddell (silver at World Junior ice dance last year) who got a level 4 on the steps and rightly so. Some nice triple axels, some doubles but chosen that way. I like it when the performance level is so high! I can watch it for ages.

 

[ladyjane]

I understand the negative comments about this last group but there were good things too....
Poor Stephen, that was a nightmare
Conrad!!!!!! Yay, that was lovely!
Wesley and Roman had similar skates: bad jumps which also distracted from the quality of the rest.
Corey had a lovely programme. Maybe not technically at the highest level but good enough I should say.
What shall I say about Keegs? Absolutely fabulous, even with a two footed landing on the quad. Great audience too.
I was disappointed in some, but still a lot to be glad about.

 

[skylark]

I want to stay up and watch what I missed but this darned Covid is knocking me out.

Take care of yourself and get plenty of rest. Hot tea with milk or honey several times a day really helped me. Also, it was the fatigue that was difficult. I got extra sleep and got over it faster than my husband did.

All our adult kids were here after Christmas (all but the one in Houston) ... oldest daughter had unknowingly been exposed to covid, so we ALL had it afterwards, except the grandbaby, thank goodness.

 

[4everchan]

I didn't realize you thought it was disastrous too, until you checked protocols? I

I checked protocols at work.. and then was.. OMY! This will be hard to watch... and then, i started to watch the archives and thought, well it's wonderful except for those 3 guys.. just to clarify.