All 3 Canadian men medallists this year are junior age skaters... So indeed, a strange reference. Agreed about Anthony. I really wished they had given Elvis a break this year and put Anthony on the ice 
I bet he would have received a standing ovation.
Junior level skater. Training with Joanne McLeod. That is absolutely not representative from Canadian men skating that has brought in good PCS skaters in the past. The reality is that Canadian Nationals for men this year was the worst in years. Retirements, injuries, skaters not delivering. The podium was what it was.... two of these men were sent to junior worlds as a matter of fact... and Wesley was also age eligible for Junior worlds.. Wesley is improving in that sense. His skating quality is better than what he is credited for. He is quite light and smooth on the ice. There are a lot of areas needing development of course, but yeah... I feel he can get there. Aleksa, is talented but will not improve his PCS under McLeod. The only skater really that ever had anything to offer in that department coming from Champs (her training base) is Emmanuel Sandhu and I believe she cannot be credited for any of it... His dance training had to do with it.
yes and no. Yes, he is unique. But here is what I would add : Anthony's coach is Yvan Desjardins. The last 3 men that reached higher level skating from his camp : Nic Nadeau, Jo Phan and Anthony. All 3 have great skating technique. All 3 are expressive skaters. They all have their own style. I value this very much in a coach : teach solid basics to allow your students to shine within their own personality. That's my philosophy with my kids tooObviously I brought him up in context of our discussion on PCS,and the reference to the PCS of Canadian skaters. Anthony is sui generis in that department
Without a solid foundation, Anthony wouldn't be able to express himself on the ice nearly as well as he does now.
yes and no. Yes, he is unique. But here is what I would add : Anthony's coach is Yvan Desjardins. The last 3 men that reached higher level skating from his camp : Nic Nadeau, Jo Phan and Anthony. All 3 have great skating technique. All 3 are expressive skaters. They all have their own style. I value this very much in a coach : teach solid basics to allow your students to shine within their own personality. That's my philosophy with my kids too
PS interesting to add that Anthony is the only one with a senior medal from this group... crazy stuff considering who the others are... but also showing the effects of retirements and injuries on the current field.
who has gotten this inane criticism over the years. I don't mind criticisms, but inane ones make me crazy. )
He had better jumps before his ankle fracture. He is working on his 3a. If he gets it..it will at least makes it easier for him in juniors.Anthony, Nic and Jo were indeed expressive skaters, Solid basics are absolutely key, too many people act as though "artistic" skaters jump out on the rink and freestyle, singing lalalala, instead of working hard to perfect their craft. (I can think of one skater, guess who
IMHO, and mine only, (and you know I was a big fan of Nic) Anthony has an extra spark, and I can't describe it. I hope that he does get the jumps that allow him to go to Worlds without patching ice.
Fair enough, but there is no way you can adjust his score enough to deny him gold, or put Jason Brown on the podium.
If you've read any of my posts about the subject, I never suggested ilia didn't deserve winning gold or that Jason should be on the podium.
After watching Ilia's FS like over 20 times , I noticed Anthony sitting in the front row (with possible two girls). He was watching so intently. I did wonder what he was thinking too. I also noticed him during Yuma's too. I also observed up he didn't applaud nor stand up, as pretty much the others in the audience was doing after both of their performances. He doesn't have to do either, but, I wondered lol
Not standing up is not an offense. I remember when I was a teenager that I never stood up at concerts. I wanted to live the moment in a more interior manner. I was also analyzing deeply what I needed to do in my own craft if I were to one day, aspire to be a pro as well. I was lost in my thoughts and though I truly enjoyed the performances, I probably looked very serious while others were going wild. I have no idea if that is the same for Anthony but I don't think it is a good idea to project thoughts on a young skater based on whether or not they stood up at a skating competition.After watching Ilia's FS like over 20 times , I noticed Anthony sitting in the front row (with possible two girls). He was watching so intently. I did wonder what he was thinking too. I also noticed him during Yuma's too. I also observed up he didn't applaud nor stand up, as pretty much the others in the audience was doing after both of their performances. He doesn't have to do either, but, I wondered lol
I didnt project any thoughts at all, nor did i say it was offensive that he didn't stand up (i said he doesnt have to do either) something just i observed. I did state he was watching intently, which made me wonder what he was thinking. From how you described, i can believe he was possibly doing as you stated
