Yes, of course. Jepsen is all-in. He waited nearly two years to find a match after the split with his last partner. Both Flores and Jepsen are putting in the hard work because they want their partnership to succeed, despite the huge challenges.
It took them several years to rise...
they actually cannot hold on to skaters indefinitely. No fed can.
is the release already in the bag for Baker ? Nobody knows that yet, right ?She had asked U.S. fed for help after the split with Nate B due to his uncertainty about continuing post-surgery. But they were lukewarm about offering assistance, so Deanna headed north and the stars aligned.U.S. fed made Deanna wait two years, and they gave Gabby Izzo a hard time, too. Of course, Gabby later ended up in Austria with Luc Maierhofer, having not been active competitively for over two years. Thus, finally receiving her release was expected.
The recent release of the amazing Jean-Luc Baker, is not because U.S. fed was eager to let him go. They had little choice of holding onto him under the circumstances of his starmaking pairing with Marjo, and the fact he has been inactive competitively for three years. Added to that, his stellar work as a commentator & choreographer, plus the heartbreak of Hawayek/ Baker having to prematurely retire a few years ago. Not granting a release for Baker immediately would have been sulky and silly on the part of USfed.
Deanna & Max used the two years U.S. fed held onto her to work hard domestically. When their opportunity in Canada for elite international competition came, they were prepared to shine. They definitely and unsurprisingly rose quickly in their 2022-23 GP debut.
Of course they can't any longer. U.S. fed and other feds, such as French fed under Didier Gailhaguet, notoriously have detrimentally held onto skaters in the past. In any case, U.S. fed did not release Deanna easily. I was referencing your comment that U.S. fed 'releases even bigger stars.' Each situation is obviously unique. In general, no fed desires to easily release skaters. That's why there's legislation and skater challenges surrounding releases.
As you added, the release of Baker already happened. Jackie Wong, on his latest Sunday podcast, confirmed that Baker had been released, prior to GP announcements.
