2025 Canadian Nationals: SR Men's Free Program | Jan 18, 2025

[4everchan]

When Roman fell on his second 4S, and then executed his solo lutz, I yelled out to not forget the three jump combo and to go for an easier combo. He listened to me :

2A eu 3S (finally made a smart decision)

the planned layout is surely 4s eu 3s so it's an easy fix... but let's agree that skaters listen to us

Right after, he really got into the music. You can tell, he is beaming with more confidence after this title. He is more than likely going to get the Worlds spot. Wesley and Aleksa are so inconsistent this season and have less than a 50% chance of even making the free skate. I remember seeing Wesley pop all his jumps in the SP at two domestic events. His best performanceis only a 206 internationally this season. So, unless he scores 230+ at 4CC, I’d go with Roman.

i agree

With Roman, the odds are getting over 50%, in the SP, and that is what we need. None of our Canadian men are capable of top 12 anyways. We need to aim for top 24. Roman is the last athlete to give us a second spot too, from 2022 Worlds. This skate was his best since that performance. He is heading in the right direction.

they'd need top ten for earning an extra spot for worlds...

 

[4everchan]

i am still not sold on grayson even with his LP today. not seeing what so many are seeing. but you know... that's all good there are superstars of figure skating that i am not seeing what everybody else is seeing and that's fine too LOL

 

[TallyT]

English commentary with Ted Barton and Kevin Reynolds - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9clrbe

Thank you so much! Loved Anthony's and Roman's reaction to their scores/placing (Anthony may not get the big big jumps and therefor the big big scores but he's another skater who makes the whole sport much more interesting just for being himself) and I am always happy to see Kevin Reynolds, one of my own past favourites yes, though his hair is a lot less hobbity these days. Still there were several up and coming kids with various wild levels of mushroom cuts )

I see the fashion in the Canadians is a lot of blue and black but also a lot of sparkles, which I always like

 

[labgoat]

So proud of the medalists. Roman for turning down the noise in his head and trusting himself and his training and finally figuring out how to compete well. His smiles afterwards speak volumes. Anthony for his original and unique style, skating a smart layout and making a home crowd into an asset. David Li for shining a light on the bright young men coming up in Canada.

 

[ladyjane]

It was another of those lovely events to watch. I adore Edrian's style, lovely to see an unexpected medallist in David Li, and deserving it, Bruce showed his lovely skating skills even if the jumps aren't always there, I felt really sorry for Matthew and John (who had such a good start, and then it slipped away), what Anthony does, is absolutely wonderful and his emotional response to both the audience, his skate and the scores brought tears to my eyes (in the good way) and Roman really delivered. I was so happy for him. Sure, one quad didn't work out, but the first one did and his 3A, and he is very watchable in the skating too. Great morning for me (well I was watching the men's event of the University games yesterday evening - saw Corey there).

 

[TontoK]

they'd need top ten for earning an extra spot for worlds...

This Worlds is also the event that will determine Olympics spots, right? The pressure ramps.

Are there 10 men who can beat Roman at Worlds? If he skates two clean/cleanish programs - no, I don't think so.

If he skates an event with two falls, like this one, there are many who can beat him. Of course, they would have to skate clean/cleanish as well.

Right now, I think Roman is the only sensible option. And as a fan who remembers his earlier Worlds selection snub, I hope he gets the nod.

I'm going out on a limb prediction-wise and list the guys I think will be difficult to knock out of the Top 10 if they skate well, based on recent past performance/scoring.

Ilia. Yuma. Shun. Shaidorov. Grassl. Adam. Jun. That's 7, leaving only three other Top 10 placements.

For the sake of gameplay only, let's assume those guys will be Top 10. Who else besides Roman might be fighting for those three other placements? Two other Americans. The second Italian man. Kevin. Tsuboi. Lukas. Deniss. Nika. Selevko. I'm sure there are others, depending on how the field shakes out. This is just off the top of my head - does not take into account injuries that may occur or other factors.

Obviously, we can't expect that all the men will skate flawlessly (although wouldn't that be awesome!). This just illustrates how difficult it will be for Roman, or any other Canadian man, to land in the Top 10. Difficult, but not impossible.

 

[lariko]

Personally, I can't any more with Sadovsky's wild swings. I hope for a decent stable Canadian leading man to show up some time soon. What happened to Bondar?

 

[4everchan]

Personally, I can't any more with Sadovsky's wild swings. I hope for a decent stable Canadian leading man to show up some time soon. What happened to Bondar?

Bondar skated juniors and won. He did make mistakes in the SP but had a good LP. Honestly, he may be stable but I wasn't into him at all. I preferred many others and by many I mean many

 

[4everchan]

About Anthony : he's really one of a kind . My friend who doesn't know scoring was mesmerized. He draws you right in and keeps the emotion like nobody else throughout. He does this while not being the tallest of guy... He's fast across the ice and skates with immense passion and intensity. He should get all the PCs points he gets and more. I hope he can pick up a triple Axel and maybe a quad toe. He's really fabulous and though not really what I look for as a long time fan of more elegant, calm styles of skating like you know who my fave is, I will support Anthony no matter the naysaying from now on. He's truly deserving all the attention and praise he gets. He made figure skating, a sport stuck in tradition, his own.

 

[saine]

Personally, I can't any more with Sadovsky's wild swings. I hope for a decent stable Canadian leading man to show up some time soon. What happened to Bondar?

I think Bondar will be fine. Staying in Juniors domestically for another season was a good idea for him since he's still developing, especially in presentation. He's come really far in a year and came into Nationals and Challenge as one of the favourites to win. New situations for him, and he was able to win both events after disappointing short programs for him.

 

[Violet Sky]

but david li has no 3a. so i would give it to bondar for those three reasons 1) national junior champ 2) consistent 3) 3axel

what li has fot him : guts, much more exciting to watch, senior podium.

https://youtu.be/0MEHM3duoZ0?si=I-H5WT7RLAKdMXxV (David Li) FP - 3rd Place

 

[SubRosa]

Is it possible that Anthony could get the second men's spot for World Team Trophy (assuming Canada qualifies)?

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Is it possible that Anthony could get the second men's spot for World Team Trophy (assuming Canada qualifies)?

Canada will 10000% qualify for WTT, but he'll almost certainly not be their second skater. That will likely be either Aleksa or Wesley, depending on who's healthy. Not having a 3A or quad puts him at a huge BV disadvantage, and with Korea not having a pairs team, Canada has a shot at a medal (it'll likely be between them, Italy, France, and Georgia) so they'll want to send their highest-scoring skaters

 

[SubRosa]

Just thought it would be a low-stakes opportunity to introduce Anthony to international senior competition.

 

[RatedPG]

I completely forgot about WTT.

WTT - As Canadian Champion, one spot should go to Roman.
Second spot should be between Aleksa and Anthony. They both are capable of scoring in the 210-230 range. Aleksa winning over Anthony at Challenger puts things narrowly in his favour. Wesley, should be picked if he scores 220+ and beats Aleksa at 4CC.

 

[Skater Boy]

the planned layout is surely 4s eu 3s so it's an easy fix... but let's agree that skaters listen to us

i agree

they'd need top ten for earning an extra spot for worlds...

Well I think it sounds like Stephen is out. Weslley would have to do well at 4cc's to go to worlds; I am not sure he is even healthy enough to skate. Aleksa I am pretty sure ended his hopes by doing so poory at Nats. So really it is Roman's tto lose If Weslley can't skate how can they really go with anyone else.. I wonder if he would change his layout and put the two 1uad sals back to back - getting use to the rhythm. If he had ten or fifteen more points would he not be in contention for top ten?

 

[4everchan]

Well I think it sounds like Stephen is out. Weslley would have to do well at 4cc's to go to worlds; I am not sure he is even healthy enough to skate. Aleksa I am pretty sure ended his hopes by doing so poory at Nats. So really it is Roman's tto lose If Weslley can't skate how can they really go with anyone else.. I wonder if he would change his layout and put the two 1uad sals back to back - getting use to the rhythm. If he had ten or fifteen more points would he not be in contention for top ten?

He's had this layout for a long time... So perhaps putting both quads back to back means he really cannot succeed with the triple axel.
However, maybe he should try the combo right away on his first quad to make sure he doesn't get a REP if the landing is not optimal or if he falls.

Stephen's season is confirmed as "over"
Aleksa was sick... He tried but it didn't work out. I don't find him very interesting to watch so I have a hard time seeing him as Canada's leader.

Wesley : ankles are tricky... sometimes they feel good and then feel bad again.. they take forever to completely heal... I know what I am talking about LOL... (and many skaters know too) So it really depends. Wesley did better than Roman at worlds last year. Roman has a higher PCS window for sure.

I think Wesley would need to make a strong case for himself at 4CC and be ahead of Roman by a large margin to be selected. Will he be healthy in time ? Maybe. If he is and skates well, that was always the criterion to earn a spot... If he doesn't then Roman is a good choice anyway. I am calmer with the process now... whatever decision may be heartbreaking for one of the skaters but in the end, Skate Canada will select the skater they think is the best bet to qualify a man for the O games and I am fine with that.

 

[dorispulaski]

About Anthony : he's really one of a kind . My friend who doesn't know scoring was mesmerized. He draws you right in and keeps the emotion like nobody else throughout. He does this while not being the tallest of guy... He's fast across the ice and skates with immense passion and intensity. He should get all the PCs points he gets and more. I hope he can pick up a triple Axel and maybe a quad toe. He's really fabulous and though not really what I look for as a long time fan of more elegant, calm styles of skating like you know who my fave is, I will support Anthony no matter the naysaying from now on. He's truly deserving all the attention and praise he gets. He made figure skating, a sport stuck in tradition, his own.

Anthony reminds me of two other Canadian men who are still favs of mine: Toller Cranston and Gary Beacom.

Just thought it would be a low-stakes opportunity to introduce Anthony to international senior competition

Isn't Anthony going to Junior World's?