Canadian Skaters

[lutzskate]

This thread is to discuss the Canadian skaters that competed here at Skate Canada and perhaps to compare with those who competed at Skate America.

In the ladies' short program, I thought Cynthia should have placed ahead of Lesley. They both fell on their triple jump, and I know that Cynthia had a hand down on her lutz combo, but if you slow Lesley's combo down (like I did) you will see that her double was actually a single in the air because she completed the entire first rotation on the ice. I like Lesley as a person, but I just thought Cynthia's skating and her spins were more refined.

Mira at Skate America short p:
46.04 25.52 20.52 5.25 4.90 5.15 5.05 5.30 (no deductions)

Lesley at Skate Canada:
46.96 26.64 21.32 5.50 4.75 5.60 5.40 5.40 (deduction for fall)

Cynthia at Skate Canada:
46.02 26.70 20.32 5.35 4.80 5.05 5.10 5.10 (deduction for fall)

 

[lutzskate]

I also didn't like the way Joannie seemed to make excuses after the long program. She said in the interview that it was very hard with such a big crowd. Well she did it last year and she's done it at Canadians, so why so different now?

That's one thing I always respected Jennifer Robinson for. She always spoke straight from the heart - you know what, I screwed up and I'm mad at myself for it! That kind of honesty is refreshing.

 

[Mathman]

In the long program, I greatly enjoyed both Cynthia's and Leslie's performances.

I though Cynthia was elegant, and she got stronger and stronger as the program went on (after two falls and a couple of pops in the first half. )

Leslie was a complete surprise to me. This was the first time I saw her skate. She was totally captivating, with only a mistake on her last Salchow to mar an excellent program.

I do wish that Leslie would get better speed on her spins. But even so, she had a level 2, two level 3's and a level 4, and no negative GOEs on spins.

 

[lutzskate]

Cynthia long:
83.15 42.67 42.48 5.55 5.00 5.20 5.30 5.50 (2 deductions)

Lesley long:
89.59 46.67 43.92 5.70 5.20 5.40 5.55 5.60 (1 deduction)

Mira long (Skate America)
93.10 48.38 44.72 5.75 5.40 5.55 5.75 5.50 ( no deductions)

 

[rain]

I also didn't like the way Joannie seemed to make excuses after the long program. She said in the interview that it was very hard with such a big crowd. Well she did it last year and she's done it at Canadians, so why so different now?

That's one thing I always respected Jennifer Robinson for. She always spoke straight from the heart - you know what, I screwed up and I'm mad at myself for it! That kind of honesty is refreshing.

I always feel for the skaters in the face of these kinds of criticisms. They are specifically asked after their skates what went wrong etc. yet when they offer explanations they are accused of making excuses. When they don't offer an explanation they are dubbed arrogant. I think Rochette is just as honest (and her response was just as honest) as Robinson was.

On another subject, I was very impressed with Phaneuf in the SP. She landed the lutz — not perfectly, but landed. For the first time she gave me hope that she might actually be able to regain some of her former competitive form.

Loved Buttle's SP. Problems on the jumps, obviously, but the program itself is a keeper. And he landed the axel, which is a good step in the right direction.

This is a really good start to the season for Dube and Davison. Guaranteed a trip to the GPF now with the silver. I'm sure they're looking at what they still need to work on to be in the elite group fighting for gold. I'm sure 2010 is their goal.

Things also looked good for Langlois and Hay. Might this be a big season for them. And Duhamel and Buntin looked a lot better than I expected. This team has a real future. Unlike so many pairs teams in the past, she is not weak on the jumps.

Virtue and Moir are right on track. Winning this event (which seems likely) will be big for them, and I think they're headed to the GPF, which will be interesting to see where the judges see them on the world stage.

 

[museksk8r]

Give Joannie credit where credit is due. She basically admitted to feeling pressure from the huge Canadian crowd. I saw nothing wrong with her response. She's not a robot. She was up against Mao Asada after all . . . at least she didn't blame the imaginary drill team. Rochette should be proud of her performance!

 

[mizu_iro]

Give Joannie credit where credit is due. She basically admitted to feeling pressure from the huge Canadian crowd. I saw nothing wrong with her response. She's not a robot. She was up against Mao Asada after all . . . at least she didn't blame the imaginary drill team. Rochette should be proud of her performance!

Agreed. I think this was a good start to the season for her.

 

[slutskayafan21]

My thoughts:

Moir/Virtue- will challenge Delobel/Schoenfeldner, Domnina/ Shabalin, and Belbin/Agosto for that World title this year. It will be a great fight and they will be right in it.

Buttle- done as a serious medal contender at the World level unfortunately. Lambiel, Joubert, Takahashi, probably Lysacek, have all passed him by for good. Still a pleasure to watch, but would be nicer if he skated better then he did here in the short.

Dube/Davison- backed up their big win last week pretty well here. Could be a dark horse for a medal at Worlds this year. Definitely a bright future, they are improving nice and steady.

Mabee- I dont see much improvement since last year to be honest, even if he had skated cleanly. I am not sure he can hold off Chan to keep his spot on the World team.

Rochette- I see some positive signs in her skating. Didnt deliver her best here, although still should have been enough for the silver if judged properly IMO. I could see her having a good year, but a World medal I dont see as much hope at this point still based on anything I saw.

Duhamel/Buntin-Not bad for a debut. I could see them getting better and definitely fighting for a spot on the World team.

Langlois/Hay- I dont understand why their marks were so low. This is a team that is having a hard time impressing judges. Still they look pretty good for early in the season.

Hawker- she has improved her style even further since last year. Her jumps look very solid for the most part. She really needs to work on her speed, and she needs to skate clean or close to it to beat out Leung for that 2nd spot on our World team.

Phaneuf- I dont know if she will ever make it back to Worlds. The growth spurt makes it so much harder to jump now and it is really noticeable. Also while she is still nice to watch, her skating doesnt have the quality it used to either. I think she knows she might never make it to where she is, and she is back because she loves to skate, nothing wrong with that.

 

[netnuts]

I actually think Joannie skated very well, perhaps her best lp over the past year. Sure there were some mistakes, but when was the last time she did not make any mistake? Based on her own track record, at least she did not fall, did not pop harder jumps, and the jump mistakes did not mar her performance. She was also quite confident and attacked. So I'm ready to cut her some slack..

Cynthia is done. I'm puzzled by her high score...

Like L/H...

 

[slutskayafan21]

I actually think Joannie skated very well, perhaps her best lp over the past year. Sure there were some mistakes, but when was the last time she did not make any mistake? Based on her own track record, at least she did not fall, did not pop harder jumps, and the jump mistakes did not mar her performance. She was also quite confident and attacked. So I'm ready to cut her some slack..

I thought she was great and her PCS were too low.

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

I also didn't like the way Joannie seemed to make excuses after the long program. She said in the interview that it was very hard with such a big crowd. Well she did it last year and she's done it at Canadians, so why so different now?

A litle reminder : she skated in front of her "home town" crowd... She skated in Quebec and the media pressure was higher and most of the people in the stand
were truely hometown crowd...

 

[skatingfan04]

My thoughts:

Buttle- nice SP, surprised that he pulled off the axel and the 3/3 given the way that the jumps looked in the air and the difficult landings, so good for him. Shame about the trip on the crossover, but these things happen. Hope he can medal here.

Mabee- I saw a lot of improvement in his artistry. His upper body movement was so much better than last season. Still needs more jumpinc consistancy.

Chipeur- Wow, what an axel. He still needs the 3/3 combo, though. It's a shame he's so far down. I really like his style.

Rochette- Overall, a good comp. for her. I thought the short was really good, even if she did miss the 3/3. She's thankfully skating with more confidence this season than she had last season. I loved the FS. It's a shame about the end, though. I thnk that mabee having two jump sequences back to back at the very end of a program is not the best idea. Perhaps her coach should make one of the sequences earlier.

Hawker- She impressed me this week. She's much stronger and more consistant than last season, and her artistry has improved. You can tell she's serious about gettig that world spot and going to the Olys in 2010. Too bad she ended up down in 9th.

Phaneuf- Not the best competition for her, but cidos for trying the harder triples this time.

Dube/Davison- Great job for them. They looked even better that they did at SA. I think this season will be a breakout one for them. They could contend for medals at the final and possibly at worlds.

Langllois/Hay- Nice LP, but i still love their "The Notebook" program from last season.

Duhamel/Buntin- Great throws, lifts need work. She's a great jumper, even if she does wrap her leg a lot. Too bad about his mistakes in the long, but they show potential.

Virtue/Moir-They're awsomne. I think they may challenge for gold in Sweden. I havn't seen their OD (thank you very much CBC), but i caught the compulsory on livestream, and they were flying. Incredible percision in the footwork. They're soo much faster than last year. Should take title easily tomorrow.

Weave/Poje- I havn't seen either program, but I was hoping that they would move up after the OD. Oh well, theres still the free tomorrow.

Hann-McCurdy/Coreno- Havn't seen their programs eitherb, but good for them to move up. They must have improvend in the off season.

 

[feraina]

Duhamel/Buntin- Great throws, lifts need work. She's a great jumper, even if she does wrap her leg a lot. Too bad about his mistakes in the long, but they show potential.

I haven't seen their LP yet, but I thought their SP was much improved from just a month ago. The lifts are stronger and faster, though still can be much improved. Their stroking and unison in general are better. She's a strong, determined girl. I feel like if they keep working at it, and are not unlucky with injuries, then they can get a lot better. She switched to pairs late, but she's only 21, not too bad for pairs. And it's amazing how far they've gotten with just four months of training together.

Too bad they had to face such a strong field at Skate Canada. Oh, well, I trust they will get much better by the time National's rolls around.

 

[rain]

She switched to pairs late, but she's only 21, not too bad for pairs. And it's amazing how far they've gotten with just four months of training together.

Actually, she used to skate pairs with another partner, as well as doing singles.

 

[geoskate]

Mabee- I saw a lot of improvement in his artistry. His upper body movement was so much better than last season. Still needs more jumpinc consistancy

I really agree with this. Last year he seemed like such a stiff skater. He looks completely different this year (and much better), or at least he did in the short program. Lori Nichol has given him some really difficult choreography in that program, and he handled it pretty well.

I'm puzzled by Langlois/Hay's long program marks as well, which IMO were quite a bit too low in the PCS mark. Their speed and precision has increased markedly since last year, but their PCS marks haven't increased to reflect this. Still, this is only the second time they have broken 100 points as a team internationally.

Also, Cody now appears to have consistent jumps, which is encouraging.

 

[astimegoesby]

My $0.02 on the Canadians at Skate Canada...

Pairs: How many pairs can Canada send to 2008 Worlds? I hope we can send three because it would be a shame if any of these three teams had to stay home. I was really impressed with what Duhamel/Buntin have already been able to do in such a short period of time together. I'm already looking forward to the pairs competition at Canadians and I wouldn't want to be a judge if all three of these pairs skate cleanly.

Men:

Vaughn Chipeur: His LP costume (or non-costume) won my "best-dressed" award of the day. He's still a little rough around the edges, but he's got most of the jumps and a lot of charisma. He actually reminds me of a very young Kurt Browning during the years when Kurt was following in Brian Orser's footsteps. If Vaughn gets a quad and a consistent 3-3, he'll be right up there.

Christopher Mabee: I liked both his programs and thought the more dramatic choreography of his SP was a nice change from the more upbeat, lighthearted programs Chris usually skates. I thought Chris still didn't look quite comfortable with the choreography of his SP yet, but hopefully, that will change once the season progresses.

Jeff Buttle: I loved his SP, despite the falls towards the end, and can't wait to see him skate it cleanly. As for Jeff's LP, it might not have been one of his greatest performances, but I don't think it was a total disaster, either. I hope Jeff can put that performance behind him, improve throughout the season, and hopefully land that quad!

Now that I think of it, I wouldn't want to judge the men's event at Canadians, either...but I certainly can't wait to watch it!

Ladies:

Cynthia Phaneuf: Despite her jump problems, I was happy to see her trying all of her triples again...and even happier to see Cynthia enjoying herself on the ice again. That was the happiest I've seen Cynthia skate since 2004, and even if she doesn't get back to that level again (although I hope she will!), at least she's rediscovered her love for the sport.

Lesley Hawker: I agree she's only getting better with age and at the rate she's improving, she might make it to the 2010 Olympic team after all! I notice her spins and choreography have especially improved and she's definitely an inspiration!

Joannie Rochette: I really loved her SP, despite her jump problems, and thought the music is perfect for Joannie's powerful skating style. This is another program I can't wait to see skated cleanly someday! As for Joannie's LP, apart from the two doubled jumps towards the end, I thought she handled the pressure of competing "at home" very well and should be proud of herself. I'm happy she's keeping last year's LP since I don't think she skated it to its full potential last year, but I wish she'd kept last year's costume, too. I didn't really think the costume Joannie wore yesterday, as lovely as it was, really suited the choreography of her LP.

Dance: I admit I thought it would be very hard for V&M to top "Valse Triste," but they managed it! And a big :agree: to Tracy for remaining completely silent during V&M's FD! I just hope Tracy hasn't already jinxed them with all her T&D comparisons and "future world champions" predictions...but I'd rather hear those kinds of comments from her than Rod "the next one" Black.

 

[ks777]

To be honest, I am not really a big fan of many Canadian skaters but I am a big fan of Lesley hawker ever since I saw a documentary of her on CBC a couple years ago. She is just getting better and better every year and I really hope she will make the world team this year and also make the Olympics.

Go Lesley!!

 

[passion]

Leslie was a complete surprise to me. This was the first time I saw her skate. She was totally captivating, with only a mistake on her last Salchow to mar an excellent program.

ITA. Leslie was so delightful and refreshing. She really surprised me at how well she was able to skate and compete.

Cynthia, unfortunately, is missing the spark she used to have. It could just be that her miss on the jumps are too distracting for me. I don't think she will ever be a contender internationally.

 

[passion]

To be honest, I am not really a big fan of many Canadian skaters but I am a big fan of Lesley hawker ever since I saw a documentary of her on CBC a couple years ago. She is just getting better and better every year and I really hope she will make the world team this year and also make the Olympics.

Go Lesley!!

I wanna see it! Is it on youtube? What can you remember about the documentary about her?

 

[gr8rsk8r]

Obviously I am Canadian, so I am a huge fan of our skaters. I watched the documentry a few times, gave me a new insight to what these skaters go through getting ready for some of their biggest competitions of the year. Out of the 6 of them, they all seemed to have a different story, which I thought was kind of interesting. I hope they do something like that leading up to 2010.