Outstanding 2007/08 Skaters that didn't medal

[Joesitz (RIP)]

I don't think this is a Spoiler. Surely that Reminder is no longer needed.

Just a note to the fans who enjoy all skaters in all competitions that they've seen. Is there any skater or team you want to see again in the next season?

for me, it would be: Jeremy Abbott who I must confess I did not like him when I saw him last year but he did an excellent job with those diverse waltzes as well as landing a quad. I think I've had it with Johnny and Evan.

Also I would like to see more of: Chan, Schulthuis, Voronov , and Kozuka. Not shown on TV, but Macypura and Chrolenko have potential

Honestly, I do not see anything emerging from the Ladies, and we all know there are few top tier ladies. That Division is in trouble, imo. Just waiting for Mirai and Caroline.

for Pairs- Just waiting for McLaughlin/Brubaker. This Division is not an american treat, and nothing special from other areas of the world, imo.

for Dance - Weaver/Poje are good but for whatever reason the judges do not acknowledge that. Underscored! The Reeds are looking good. Copley/Stagniunas have very good potential as do Hajkova/Vincour.

Anyone wishing to see some skaters and teams and have another look.

Joe

 

[decker]

I know he bombed the long program ... but I just love Tomas Verner. I hope he does whatever he needs to do to become consistently awesome. His short program this season was one of my favorites ever.

Susan

 

[JonnyCoop]

Good topic! My list, category by category:

MEN
Definitely want to see more of Chan. Paul Wylie referred to him as an "old school skater" and indeed he is -- fantastic edging and footwork and "in betweens"; he's one of those who's so good on the ground I could care less if he jumps or not. Also more of Carriere -- BUT IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF PROGRAM. His long program this season was one of those that was great with the sound off. IMHO, there just wasn't a lot of connection between the music and what he was actually doing out there, but what he was doing out there was terrific. Also hoping to see Verner roar back from his Worlds disaster, and the return of Nobunari Oda.

LADIES
Yeah, now that I think of it, no one's really jumping out at me (so to speak) in this one. However, I really became quite a fan of Ashley Wagner this season, and would like to see her continue her success (Worlds finish notwithstanding). Also would like to see more out of Rachael Flatt (and if you'd told me a year ago I'd've said THAT, I'd've said you were crazy ). Also Jenni Vahamaa -- from what little I've seen of her, I prefer her by quite a margin to either Korpi or Lepisto.

PAIRS
The front runners here for me are Castile & Okolski. They certainly had their share of problems this season, but I really like the efforts they are making in the artistry department; I think in both the short and long programs they had, artistically, some of the most interesting programs seen among US pairs in YEARS. (This is admittedly something that would not be overly difficult.) Also am looking forward to following the evolution of Dube & Davison; I think these two are gonna be simply fantastic in a couple of years.

DANCE
This was actually one of the best seasons in Dance, IMO, in quite a long time; so much terrific stuff from so many couples. Therefore, I'm gonna say I'm looking forward to seeing more of EVERYBODY this season. And that even includes Domnina & Shabalin, who I don't especially like, BUT I'm hoping that they'll come up with a vehicle that uses their talent and skills wisely and does not degenerate into what is essentially cheesy, Russian-dance-couple-cliche, SHLOCK.

BTW, Joe, I agree that basically Pairs is not an American treat, but it certainly looks a lot better than it has for about the past, oh, I don't know, 15 years. It was nice to see 5 pairs at Nationals, and none of them mortified me. I can't remember the last time there were more than 2 at Nationals who DIDN'T.

 

[Spun Silver]

DANCE: Don't know if it counts since they were not at Worlds, but I loooved Wester and Barantsev at US Nationals and really look forward to seeing them next year. Could she be any more beautiful or musical?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FezNPTUbdn0

MEN: Takahashi. He had an uncharacteristically bad skate at Worlds. I hope he is able to shake it off and come roaring back next season with another innovative program - though his Cyber-Swan will be hard to beat.

LADIES: Miki. What a rough time she is having. Miki - "Tomorrow is another day!" Take care of yourself, let your skin get a little thicker, and let us see you shine again!

PAIRS: Yup - also looking forward to McLaughlin/Brubaker.

 

[Nan]

Jeremy Abbott was one of my favorite skaters and enjoyed his programs more than alot of the higher scoring ones. I hope he keeps developing and look forward to seeing more of him in the future.

 

[Jaana]

Jeremy Abbott was one of my favorite skaters and enjoyed his programs more than alot of the higher scoring ones. I hope he keeps developing and look forward to seeing more of him in the future.

I saw his skating in 2006 Finlandia Trophy (he won) and I became a fan immediately...

These are the male skaters without major international medals so far, that I hope to see competing next season:

Abbott / USA
Kozuka / Japan
Uspenski / Russia
Brezina / CZE

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

^^
Will Brezina skate seniors next year? He was the most enjoyable skater in juniors. I will put him on my list.

Joe

 

[Medusa]

^^
Will Brezina skate seniors next year? He was the most enjoyable skater in juniors. I will put him on my list.

Joe

He turns eighteen in a few days, does that mean he can do another junior season?

He probably won't be able to go to worlds - Czech Republic is down to one spot. I know he is good, but I don't know if he is good enough to knock Verner out off the top spot.

 

[Bennett]

Daisuke. He was the very favorite who had just broken the world record of the score at 4cc.

Daisuke himself just said that he didn't do well in the last practices and that he was too nervous. He didn't make any excuses.

Speculations according to reports:

-He might have gone to Sweden too early. This was meant to adjust to the time. But it might have been difficult for him to bring the mental/physical condition to the peak at the competition after a week of preparation period. It is often said that Daisuke peaks too early. So sometimes he tries to go to the competition relatively late. But then it turned out to be that jet lag became an issue at GPF, which undermined his stamina. On the other hand, it's possible that he becomes so nervous that his condition goes down as the date of the competition approaches regardless of the timing he arrives.

-The quality of the ice differed in the practice rink and in the main rink. The main rink had soft ice whereas the practice rink was hard on surface. I think that this was pointed out by Lambiel.

-He changed his skates before the comp, which might have been an issue.

Again, let me repeat that these are just speculations made in the news reports. Daisuke himself didn't make any excuses.

To me, it was not necessarily unexpected because he seems to be so delicate and so sensitive. I could feel his nerves as I heard his interview before the SP. Compared to some of his competitors whose attitudes are like "I am the champ!", I feel that he might be a bit too little proud, which is not a bad thing at all though. I think that this time the two quads might have been a bit too challenging. I wish he had followed Morosov's advice that he should do just one given the bad practices. His 3A's falling apart was also an issue. His LP not being the masterpiece didn't help him, either, after not leading the SP. Although the zayak rule violation was also regrettable, I don't think it mattered after missing the gold.

Now I have a better appreciation of what he accomplished at the last Worlds at home. He was ovbiously very nervous but still managed to complete everything. I heartily hope that he could become a world champ next season!

 

[nippponophile]

Definitely Daisuke

I agree with Bennett, would love to see Daisuke come back stronger next season and get that Worlds gold. Encouraging that Daisuke seems to have nailed exactly what it was that undid his 2008 Worlds campaign and is determined to fix it. I love his positive attitude! While I agree his current SP (and exhibition program, for that matter), will be hard to beat, his willingness to try new styles, obviously inate artistic sense and technical ability fills me with confidence that he'll once again come up with something delightful and memorable.

Was also really impressed by Takahiko Kozuka at Worlds, and have a real sense of anticipation about his budding career.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Takahiko definitely to watch next time. Daisuke we know. the thread was for unfamiliar skaters.

Joe

 

[Bennett]

Tomas

He looked really promising and looked good up until the 6-minute practice. So it was very surprising. Perhaps he was in panic after missing the first quad and trying it again in vain? Sometimes the time passes too quickly to recover when we are in haste. Yes, he's done this at GP series as well. But unlike Daisuke (pardon me, Daisuke!), I don't really think that Tomas is fragile by nature. I don't think it's going to be a chronic problem for him to overcome. Just hope to see the next season:agree: He could perhaps laugh at this incident after having a podium finish at the next worlds!


Lambiel

I have no idea what's going on with him given the limited reports. But I don't think it is the nerve issue that prevented him from having clean programs. I hope he comes back strong and medal again if he wants to stay in the competitive world.


Joannie

I think that she has almost everything at least to medal. To me, she looked more reliable than Caro although Caro is more outstanding in her quality. But she made mistakes that cost her a medal whereas Caro made "safer" mistakes. I think that compared to Yukari, Joannie has a better chance because of the better techniques. It would be really nice to see her on the podium next year. A bit more smiles may be also nice.

 

[Tinymavy15]

Joannie. so disappointing that she did not medal this year. she has improved so much.

Patrick Chan. I love watching him. He seems to love the sport and skates with such maturity and attention to each note of music. His 3 axel is a think of beauty.

Disukie. He is not my favorite male skater, but deserves respect and I admit that I was cheering after he got the highest score ever.

Belbin and Agosto. need I say more?

Davis and White. so much talent here. they are gonna be great.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Anyone have an unfamiliar name to watch next season. So many are listing names we already know and appear quite vividly in the Worlds section of the Forum.

Joe

 

[Spun Silver]

Well, I mentioned Wester and Barantsev. There doesn't seem to be much talk about them, but I thought they were marvelous. Based on their Free program this season, I already like them better than Tanith & Ben and maybe Meryl and Charlie as well. I don't understand the intricacies of ice dance so maybe some specialists could be so kind as to tell me why I like them so much. Their skating seems to have a purity about it as well as the chemistry and joy that elude some top couples. I feel as though I'm watching Fred and Ginger.

 

[dorispulaski]

Dance:

They probably won't make it out of US Nationals, but I really like Summerset and Gilles in dance.

There's a junior dance couple I liked a lot from Czech Republic, Mysliveckova & Novak. Here's a clip of their OD to Finnish dance & Ieva's polka. They have to learn not to fall down, though. (the polka part starts at about 1:30, but has a fall in a lift:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwagmE0qnZQ

And I have rather a soft spot for Rubleva/Shefer, whom we will probably never see again.

Men:

I'm glad to hear Igor Macypura did well. We met his coach at Liberty one year, I believe he was Igor's stepfather as well. A nice guy.

I still hope Rohene Ward will have that one great competition.

And I like Ryan Bradley's stuff.

Ladies

Rachael Flatt

Pairs-I haven't fallen in love with any new pairs for a while.

 

[Bennett]

Ladies

Rachael Flatt

She got the gold at Junior worlds.

 

[MissCleo]

Evora and Ladwig. They had my favorite pairs long program this year. Its such a shame that the only quality video of it was at US Nationals where it just didnt fly.

Langlois/Hay. They did decently at Worlds, but I got the feeling that she was a bit disappointed. I just want to see her happy at the end of a skate.They might have wanted to stay ahead of Duhamel/Buntin.

Sameulson/Bates They're new to me since Nationals were the first time that I saw them. Suffice to say that I am obsessed with their freedance music.

Laura Lepisto: What a break out year she had! I just wonder that if she just forgets about the lutz or flip and concentrates on all the jumps that she does have, will she do well points wise?

Nana Takeda: She's going on my list of sentimental favorites. She's just too cute!

Takahiko Kozuka: I remember him getting bronze at NHK last year I believe. I was thinking that this guy will have a good career, especially when all of these old guys leave. I hope he's thinking long term. He's young, if he stays uninjured then he has time (same goes for Chan and Carriere)

 

[Bennett]

Miki---

She was on fire and absolutely brilliant at her LP at Nationals. This was most impressive performance that I've ever seen from her next to her SP at SA in 2006. Hope she takes as much time as needed to recover and then comes back when she can.

 

[oxade21]

Men:
Voronov
Chan

Ladies:
Flatt
Nagasu

Pairs:
Kawaguchi/Smirnov
Ilushechkina/Maisuradze

Dance:
DOMNINA