Another Ice Network article
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/05/08/228305478
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/05/08/228305478
Nathan Chen
- Thread starter matmuh
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2012
That's a great article. I'm not surprised that Phil chose Nathan as his person of the year. It seems like it's going to be all hands on deck to make sure his season goes smoothly - in terms of the USOC, Raf, USFS, Marina, his agents, family etc. I'm glad they are trying to plan everything out - because they are right that he's going to have a lot more on his plate in terms of promotional things and stuff. It'll be a much different thing to navigate. Not sure how likely it would be for him to get Skate Canada in addition to Skate America (I had already assumed he'd do SA) but I'm sure it'll help to at least have one of his grand prix events in the US. I'm also cracking up at Raf calling Nathan his Ferrari. 
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I think Nathan will likely go to nhk for his first gp because Javier will pick coc. I don't think jsf will invite Javier to nhk because Javier is a threat to Japanese skaters and it's hard to hold down Javier's scores in Japan when he is a two time world champ and it's much easier (they can get away) to hold down nathan's scores since he hasn't won any world titles. They held down Nathan's scores at wtt after all in order to help their skaters win/medal but they did not dare to hold down evgenia's scores since she is the two time world champ. Jsf never invited patrick to nhk for the same reason.
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Here the Grand Prix schedule and the "sure bet" skaters for each competition.
Cup of Russia October 20-22
Skate Canada October 27-29--Patrick
Cup of China November 3-5--Boyang
NHK Trophy (Japan) November 10-12--Yuzu (or maaaaayyybe Shoma)
France November 17-19--Javier
Skate America November 24-26--Nathan
Here's my reasoning: I think Patrick will not be forced to skate consecutive weeks on different continents, and since he cannot meet Javier or Nathan then he gets NHK. That leaves Nathan with China or Russia. For obvious reasons I think China will request him.
Cup of Russia October 20-22
Skate Canada October 27-29--Patrick
Cup of China November 3-5--Boyang
NHK Trophy (Japan) November 10-12--Yuzu (or maaaaayyybe Shoma)
France November 17-19--Javier
Skate America November 24-26--Nathan
Here's my reasoning: I think Patrick will not be forced to skate consecutive weeks on different continents, and since he cannot meet Javier or Nathan then he gets NHK. That leaves Nathan with China or Russia. For obvious reasons I think China will request him.
Javier is not a sure bet of tdf. He didn't do tdf for a few years (6 years to be precise and this season is the first time he did TDF since 2009-2010 season). France is not his home country. Neither patrick nor Javier needs to do back to back gps. Patrick can do sc and tdf. Javier can do cor and coc.
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ETA: I think it's quite likely that Shoma gets NHK next season.
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ETA: I think it's quite likely that Shoma gets NHK next season.
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Ya, somehow I don't like Nathan goes to NHK. The Japanese audience is great but the judging understandably (or predictably) won't be neutral or even unfavorable to Nathan as like at WTT.
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2014
Love the Ice Network article and the fact that they are all going to come together to form a plan. This can be an important factor in the mental aspect part of things. And I think minimizing travel is a very important part of it all. Even tho these guys are young, the travel can really take its toll. Glad to hear there's a possibility Nathan will be at the Salt lake City competition. If I remember right, it's Sept. 13-15.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2012
Ah, okay! Thank you all for all the GP selection information. I've followed skating for a long time but it's never anything I really looked into (I vaguely knew about the seeding but never paid much attention) It's definitely going to be less travel than last year which is a good thing 
I don't see either Patrick or Javier being invited to NHK. Did JSF ever invite any non-Japanese 2-time or 3-time (or even one-time) world champs of men or women to NHK? I don't think they ever did. They will try to invite the skaters with the least reputation and hold down their scores to guarantee their skaters win or medal, thus qualify for GPF.
Sure, I can understand the reasoning but is Nathan really the safest choice of the #4-6 seeds? Even with a broken boot he still landed 4 quads at worlds. And at WTT he finished 2nd overall despite an ankle injury and no lutz. In the Japanese media he seems to be considered a greater threat to Hanyu than either Javi or Patrick.
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They did manage to score Shoma much higher than Nathan at WTT even though Nathan made fewer mistakes and had higher BV. It's easier for JSF to make judges favor Japanese skaters at NHK when all the skaters they invite are skaters with very little reputation. Even when Patrick and Javier mess up, they still get high GOE and PCS. It's harder for them to hold down Patrick and Javier's GOE and PCS even when they mess up because they already have huge reputation and judges are afraid of giving scores outside of the corridor and thus getting caught. But they can low-ball Nathan even when Nathan made no mistakes or less mistakes than Japanese skaters, just like at WTT. JSF can't guarantee their skaters always skate perfectly, but they want to guarantee their skaters can win/medal at NHK to qualify for GPF even when their skaters mess up. So JSF is not willing to invite any non-Japanese singles skaters with world titles if they get to choose. (E.g. You can look at how Karen, Mirai and Ashley were judged at NHK in the past.)
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I think Nathan will go to NHK on account of his popularity and interest with Japanese skaters. Nathan is seen as a potential rival to both Shoma and Yuzuru. Since he only got 6th at worlds they can hold his score down. It's a win/win for them. I'm not worried. with the field as it is, Nathan will most likely get a silver there and a gold at SA. Guaranteed a spot at the GPF in.... Tokyo. Sigh...
JSF most likely won't invite other strong skaters to NHK either. So Nathan is likely to get a silver in NHK. I don't think the probability of him winning NHK is high. Overall, it's not too bad. The only disadvantage is that NHK is only two weeks before SA, so he would need to travel from Japan to USA in two weeks, and then from USA to Japan for GPF in two weeks again.
Unless USFS can negotiate a deal with Skate Canada, so Nathan can compete at SC, he would end up traveling a lot before National next season.
Going back to the IN article, I thought it was interesting that they are planning to meet with USOC sports medicine staff, and that Raf wants "the best maintenance" for Nathan. Sounds to me like they're making arrangements to have USOC trainers on hand to make sure Nathan stays healthy.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2012
Ha, I'm thinking back to that interview Raf did backstage at Nationals where he said he wanted trainers available to Nathan 24/7. I wonder if USFSA caved on that. My feelings are probably not (I wonder how expensive that would be...) - but you never know!
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2014
I think Nathan probably had the best of the best as far as rehabilitation and physical therapy are concerned. Hope they can continue to provide him the care he needs...Raf may be doing a lot of water bottle shaking next year!
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2012
The USOC has money, too. Maybe even more of it than the USFSA. They could arrange something until the Olympics.
As usual, Nam's comment is spicy.
Nathan's other instagram pic with him on the beach has become a meme with Japanese fans. Apparently they think he looks like an actor from a 70s drama.
https://togetter.com/li/1108510
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