Mikhail Kolyada

[Tutto]

The quad sal is hardly his only problem. And if his spot is in danger - which I don't think it is - with the way the Fed likes quads, he has a better chance of keeping it if he jump as many quads as he can.

But I see him going to the Russian Cup Final, still not confirmed, as a way of wanting to guarantee his spot. The field in Tallinn would be abismally empty, and winning that competition wouldn't be important at all to him, so a podium finish over his peers at the Cup Final has much more value. And if he can't do that, then maybe Misha should just declare the season over and rest.

Skating 2 clean programs in Tallinn would be more important than winning (and of course the win in that field is guaranteed anyway) for his confidence
Unless he is pressed by RUsFed to do the Cup Final I think it is a mistake to compete there (btw Stanislava is going too I gather)

 

[Shedi0806]

To be fair, the Russian guys (and ladies) done everything they could this season to make life (choice) difficult for RusFed
Why not keep it simple and send the same team to Worlds hoping for the best? Would be most obvious thing to do in my book?

Yes, they did. The depth is incredible so they wanna make sure they select the best possible World Championships team, I get it. However, that does not make it less nerve-wracking for skaters and fans.

 

[coldblueeyes]

Skating 2 clean programs in Tallinn would be more important than winning (and of course the win in that field is guaranteed anyway) for his confidence

Is it feasible, though? For how long have we been waiting for two clean programs? Since Boston 2016. It's been three years and that hasn't happened. Why would it now after the season he's having? Skating at the Russian Cup Final is the only way to kill two birds with one stone: skate well in front of the Fed to guarantee his spot, and doing that, regain some confidence. If he can't do that under-pressure, which we know he can, then Misha should step back and rest. Would it help his confidence to go to Saitama and bomb again? No. If he can't handle the pressure, he's not ready and that's it.

 

[Tutto]

Yes, they did. The depth is incredible so they wanna make sure they select the best possible World Championships team, I get it. However, that does not make it less nerve-wracking for skaters and fans.

While it is true for the ladies, there is no depth in men. In fact apart from Aliev (not in top form), Voronov (injured) and Lazukin (not really loved by judges and as inconsistent as others and more) there is no one apart from Euro team. So who the RusFed is torn between making that difficult choice I can not imagine!

 

[Tutto]

Is it feasible, though? For how long have we been waiting for two clean programs? Since Boston 2016. It's been three years and that hasn't happened. Why would it now after the season he's having? Skating at the Russian Cup Final is the only way to kill two birds with one stone: skate well in front of the Fed to guarantee his spot, and doing that, regain some confidence. If he can't do that under-pressure, which we know he can, then Misha should step back and rest. Would it help his confidence to go to Saitama and bomb again? No. If he can't handle the pressure, he's not ready and that's it.

okay I should perhaps have said 'cleanish' not clean. I believe it is possible in a no pressure comp. He looked very focused in SP in Minsk, that axel was not perfect but he fought for it, in fact 4T -3T wasn't of the best quality but he was determined. With LP it was a combination of factors - for the first time in his career he was leading after the short in major comp + home pressure + the last to skate + a freak fall & injury. Take even one of those away and the result I believe could have been different, I still think he was likely to lose to Javi but would have taken silver with a few mistakes in LP

 

[Shedi0806]

While it is true for the ladies, there is no depth in men. In fact apart from Aliev (not in top form), Voronov (injured) and Lazukin (not really loved by judges and as inconsistent as others and more) there is no one apart from Euro team. So who the RusFed is torn between making that difficult choice I can not imagine!

You're right 100%

 

[rachno2]

Is it feasible, though? For how long have we been waiting for two clean programs? Since Boston 2016. It's been three years and that hasn't happened. Why would it now after the season he's having? Skating at the Russian Cup Final is the only way to kill two birds with one stone: skate well in front of the Fed to guarantee his spot, and doing that, regain some confidence. If he can't do that under-pressure, which we know he can, then Misha should step back and rest. Would it help his confidence to go to Saitama and bomb again? No. If he can't handle the pressure, he's not ready and that's it.

I really want to see him in Japan (perhaps he can do WTT regardless of what happens?), but I agree that if he can't deliver at Russia Cup Final, then I would rather he sit out Worlds. Logically, I think he's earned his spot and no result should change that, but if the Fed passes him over, then I'll accept it as a greater good. This season has been so unlucky that I'm ready for it to be over if it needs to be.

That said, nothing seems to motivate Misha more than competing against his national rivals. If he indeed does Russia Cup Final, he should be fine.

 

[coldblueeyes]

okay I should perhaps have said 'cleanish' not clean. I believe it is possible in a no pressure comp. He looked very focused in SP in Minsk, that axel was not perfect but he fought for it, in fact 4T -3T wasn't of the best quality but he was determined. With LP it was a combination of factors - for the first time in his career he was leading after the short in major comp + home pressure + the last to skate + a freak fall & injury. Take even one of those away and the result I believe could have been different, I still think he was likely to lose to Javi but would have taken silver with a few mistakes in LP

The difference between Javi and Sasha was so little it would either have been gold or bronze for Misha, but that's in the past already. I still don't see what good can come from a competition he's literally nothing to gain from. I don't know if it would be good for his confidence to produce another semi-disaster in Tallinn, I'd rather he crash or rise in Russia and then put to rest any doubt about his state.

 

[Tutto]

I really want to see him in Japan (perhaps he can do WTT regardless of what happens?), but I agree that if he can't deliver at Russia Cup Final, then I would rather he sit out Worlds. Logically, I think he's earned his spot and no result should change that, but if the Fed passes him over, then I'll accept it as a greater good. This season has been so unlucky that I'm ready for it to be over if it needs to be.

That said, nothing seems to motivate Misha more than competing against his national rivals. If he indeed does Russia Cup Final, he should be fine.

I hope you are right!
The difference is that in Tallinn he would compete by his own will, whereas Russian Cup Final implies that he is forced to compete to prove himself (as he hasn't done that already dozen times)

 

[Tatjana]

Okay, now the latest is Misha is going to Tallinn and *not* to the Russian Cup Final. There was talk that he has been listed for the Final. I don't know if the Fed wanted him to do the Final. As others said, the original plan was to look at the potential substitutes at the Final. Only Viktor Kudriavtsev said in an interview he thought all possible world team members should prove their readiness.

Basically, I don't think it is a big difference where Misha competes. The idea is to do a training competition before Worlds. Tallinn with no serious competitors will be maybe a more relaxed event, good to get some confidence after that free skate in Minsk. I don't think Misha would have skated the way he did in Minsk if there wasn't that freak fall and injury. But we'll never know.

 

[vorravorra]

The difference between Javi and Sasha was so little it would either have been gold or bronze for Misha, but that's in the past already. I still don't see what good can come from a competition he's literally nothing to gain from. I don't know if it would be good for his confidence to produce another semi-disaster in Tallinn, I'd rather he crash or rise in Russia and then put to rest any doubt about his state.

Obviously the idea is not to produce another semi-disaster anywhere. The Fed can look at him in Tallinn and at Liza in Slovenia, the rest of the substitutes can go to the Russia Cup Final, Maxim will be at the Universiade. Everyone is spread out nicely.

People keep talking about great depth in ladies and then suddenly there is nobody to send to Worlds who can guarantee spots, again. I am sure the Fed is missing Zhenya of her first two senior seasons really badly at this point.

 

[vorravorra]

I will say that all of this negative press is getting me nervous about Misha's Worlds spot. People do not seem to differentiate him from Kovtun in terms of results, work ethic and psychological state. This latest anecdote is only the most recent and extreme example.

Yes, what's is this newfound lumping of Misha and Kovtun? Up to the point of "why do Maxim and Misha do so few competitions, they need to compete more!" Because Misha's problem is that he doesn't compete enough And "I am sure that in Japan they do not care who comes for WTT, Misha or Maxim". Yes, because these two have exactly the same number of fans worldwide. Especially after Maxim missed a season and GP this season :noshake:

 

[vorravorra]

The quad sal is hardly his only problem. And if his spot is in danger - which I don't think it is - with the way the Fed likes quads, he has a better chance of keeping it if he jump as many quads as he can.

But I see him going to the Russian Cup Final, still not confirmed, as a way of wanting to guarantee his spot. The field in Tallinn would be abismally empty, and winning that competition wouldn't be important at all to him, so a podium finish over his peers at the Cup Final has much more value. And if he can't do that, then maybe Misha should just declare the season over and rest.

I am more concerned about his form. Which will be proven not by the quad sal but by a lack of doubling at the end of the free skate.

 

[coldblueeyes]

Yeah, I'm not really that concerned about which competition he goes to, but more about his form, and if he's recovered well from Nats and now Euros. As for the bad press, Kovtun barely managed to enjoy some minutes of calm before the storm, at RN his comeback story was all over the place, and now where are we? Any men in Russia that manages to reach the top will either get bad press or disappear shortly after, look at Aliev this season. It's getting impossible for one to maintain himself up there with pressure coming from all sides. I hope Samarin manages to skate well at Worlds, because the spotlight is on him at the moment. But we do know how well that worked out before for others.

 

[vorravorra]

Yeah, I'm not really that concerned about which competition he goes to, but more about his form, and if he's recovered well from Nats and now Euros. As for the bad press, Kovtun barely managed to enjoy some minutes of calm before the storm, at RN his comeback story was all over the place, and now where are we? Any men in Russia that manages to reach the top will either get bad press or disappear shortly after, look at Aliev this season. It's getting impossible for one to maintain himself up there with pressure coming from all sides. I hope Samarin manages to skate well at Worlds, because the spotlight is on him at the moment. But we do know how well that worked out before for others.

We know how well that worked out before for Samarin, for that matter. People keep forgetting he'd been to two Euros before this season. I hope the pattern does not get repeated for his sake. We need two out of three guys not to bomb, preferably one of them Misha because nobody has that high of a scoring ceiling.

 

[vorravorra]

So leaving the men hanging until Universiade sounds like a swell idea, because all of them have nerves of steel and perfect resistance to pressure, and it will in no shape or form affect their Worlds performance. But I am not sure the Fed cares any more, Samsonov is now the new hope of men's skating (it's been announced officially by Lakernik), the rest are placeholders till he is old enough.

 

[coldblueeyes]

So leaving the men hanging until Universiade sounds like a swell idea, because all of them have nerves of steel and perfect resistance to pressure, and it will in no shape or form affect their Worlds performance. But I am not sure the Fed cares any more, Samsonov is now the new hope of men's skating (it's been announced officially by Lakernik), the rest are placeholders till he is old enough.

They didn't even let him age into juniors yet, which bodes well enough for his chances of a future.

Other than that, it's not surprising to me. Kovtun was shafted for Plushenko and the TE back in Sochi, and I feel like he never fully recovered from that. Then we have all the other guys that disappeared in the last cycle, and Misha's uprising, when all the bets were placed on him, only he didn't stand the pressure, but really, he's one of the only guys still hanging. Aliev got his chance prior to the Olympics, but he also lost steam by Worlds and this season, no comment. Samarin has been getting close to the top, but I don't doubt his scores would be a lot lower if Euros hadn't been in Minsk. And back to Kovtun, he really lost a chance to make a stand, but it's not like we expected any different.

Until the moment the Fed starts to treat their skaters better, support them, I don't see things changing. And with the way it's going, nothing's going to change.

 

[Tutto]

They didn't even let him age into juniors yet, which bodes well enough for his chances of a future.

Other than that, it's not surprising to me. Kovtun was shafted for Plushenko and the TE back in Sochi, and I feel like he never fully recovered from that. Then we have all the other guys that disappeared in the last cycle, and Misha's uprising, when all the bets were placed on him, only he didn't stand the pressure, but really, he's one of the only guys still hanging. Aliev got his chance prior to the Olympics, but he also lost steam by Worlds and this season, no comment. Samarin has been getting close to the top, but I don't doubt his scores would be a lot lower if Euros hadn't been in Minsk. And back to Kovtun, he really lost a chance to make a stand, but it's not like we expected any different.

Until the moment the Fed starts to treat their skaters better, support them, I don't see things changing. And with the way it's going, nothing's going to change.

I blame Plush for most of this. I was re-watching Mika's SP in Boston yesterday (for like 150th million time ) and what struck me was a reaction of BESP guys, he hardly finished the skate as they said that Russia has been looking for a strong male contender since Plushenko and maybe Mikhail is the one who will pick up the mantel....
so can we really blame RusFed and Russian fans for some sort of mania to see a successor to the throne in any male skater who shows any promise?
It's just something Russian men have to be prepared to deal with or to change the country.
In a way it is similar to American ladies, with their history of producing one legendary skater after another, when it finally stopped on Sasha, everyone who showed any potential is being crushed under the press of expectations e.g Gracie
But I agree that RusFed should know better

 

[Tutto]

So leaving the men hanging until Universiade sounds like a swell idea, because all of them have nerves of steel and perfect resistance to pressure, and it will in no shape or form affect their Worlds performance. But I am not sure the Fed cares any more, Samsonov is now the new hope of men's skating (it's been announced officially by Lakernik), the rest are placeholders till he is old enough.

:thumbsup:

 

[Tutto]

Okay, now the latest is Misha is going to Tallinn and *not* to the Russian Cup Final. There was talk that he has been listed for the Final. I don't know if the Fed wanted him to do the Final. As others said, the original plan was to look at the potential substitutes at the Final. Only Viktor Kudriavtsev said in an interview he thought all possible world team members should prove their readiness.

Basically, I don't think it is a big difference where Misha competes. The idea is to do a training competition before Worlds. Tallinn with no serious competitors will be maybe a more relaxed event, good to get some confidence after that free skate in Minsk. I don't think Misha would have skated the way he did in Minsk if there wasn't that freak fall and injury. But we'll never know.

Many thanks for keeping us posted! The Russian drama goes on
My feeling is that Tallinn is better than the Cup Final, he needs a boost of confidence before Worlds. I can imagine that SP is not an issue but to skate Carmen in a no pressure situation might be just what he needs. If he doesn't skate it well there at least there will be a chance to re-work the layout (again!) for Worlds
I wish Mika will just put his ambitions aside this season and let us enjoy a clean-ish skate of Carmen with two 4Ts in Saitama, but ..a sigh ... one can hope