(I have already posted this at the RLT. This is my thoughts about Trusova. She really needs to get smart to get that Olympic ticket next year because I think it's slipping away from her if she goes all-in with the quads. I would be devestated if Trusova misses OIympics next year!)
Trusova's technical content
Ranking of the last two season's free skate Tech score + GOE (including deductions for falls):
1. Skate Canada 99.20 - landed 3 quads, 1 fall on a quad
2. Nepela Mem 98.34 - landed 3 quads, doubled her Loop combo with -GOE
3. RusNats (this year) 97.75 - landed 2 quads, CLEAN
4. Japan Open 97.51 - landed 4 quads (one with - GOE), UR 3Lo combo
5. GP Final 95.80 - landed 3 quads, 1 fall on a quad and popped 1 quad
6. Russian Cup Four 94.89 - landed 3 quads, 1 fall on a quad and 1 fall on 2Lo combo
7. Rostelecom (last year) 93.34 - landed 3 quads, 1 fall on a quad and 1 fall on 3Lo combo
8. Russian Cup Two 89.46 - landed 2 quads, 1 bad quad (not deemed a fall but judged as one) and 1 fall on 3Lo combo
9. Europeans 83.14 - landed 1 quad, 2 falls on quads
10. RusNats (last year) 80.74 - landed 1 quad, 2 falls on quads and popped 1 quad
11. Rostelecom (this year) 61.80 - landed 1 quad (with - GOE), 3 falls on quads and 1 fall on 3Lz
It is obvious to me that it's essential to be clean. Her skate here at Nationals is her 3rd best ever! And it's only -1.45 points behind her best technical score from Skate Canada. It's interesting that the score from Japan Open, where she was clean-ish and landed four quads(!) had a lower score!! But that skate at JO was overall not well executed so allthough she was "clean", her GOE was not that great.
That 97.75 tech score had some minor issues. A ! call on the Flip and lost levels in Steps and one Spin lost her 2.25 points. These points was left on the table by Sasha. With them she would have scored exactly 100 points in Tech and it would have been her best score ever.
This layout she had here is such a smart layout. Anna showed that last season as she had exactly the same. It's a moneybringer with max jump content in BV. If she could work on this layout and stabilize it, I am sure her GOEs and PCS will go up.
Then later she can add a 4T to the free skate. That will replace a 2A so it's about +8.00 points (with +3 GOE).
Adding a 4th quad is NOT good IMO. Then she will have to take out a 3F and the added BV is not that great, but the added risk is soo much higher.
She will need the 3A though as she is behind Anna in PCS. If she can stabilize her 3A in the short, maybe later she can also introduce it in the free program. Then she can take out the remaining 2A. It would be a much better strategy than adding a 4th quad IMO.
Still, a three quad program and two 3As will not be enough when Anna adds her 3rd quad. Not the way the scoring is going now. Sasha is too far behind in spins, GOEs and PCS. So she needs to work on her GOEs and her PCS, and she can only do that with clean skates.