Predictions

[MikiAndoFan#1]

My dream podiums:

Ladies
1. Alissa
2. Fumie
3. Cynthia

Men
1. Nobunari
2. Adam
3. Javier

Pairs
1. Lubov & Nodari
2. Meagan & Eric
3. I have no idea

Ice Dance
1. Sinead & John
2. Vanessa & Paul
3. Pernelle & Lloyd



Good luck to everyone!

 

[blue_idealist]

my predictions are this, since the grand prix series is rigged.
cythnia phaneuf will win if not medal she is canadian, the dance candian team will win if not medal,
ladies1-cythina phaneuf no matter how she skates
2-laura lepisto
3-alissa csizny
both 2nd and 3rd places are interchangeable with maybe markova in a medal position.
crone /priorer will win and paul/islam will come in third
dube and davison rank canadian team will win if not medal
chan and reynolds will win if not medal

Don't think Crone and Poirier are going to beat Kerr and Kerr

 

[Layfan]

Ladies:
Alissa Czisny
Ksenia Makarova
Cynthia Phaneuf
Agnes Zawadski
Fume Suguri
Alexe Gilles
Sara Meier

I'm not sure what do so with Agnes. It's going to be quite a big test for her, no? She could surprise and medal, maybe even win the whole thing. But she's a bit slow and slightly sloppy so I think if skaters like Alissa and Cynthia skate their best their PCS will carry them over Agnes's likely higher difficulty content.

Pretty unpredictable ladies field, no? Bunch of die-hard, unreliable vets and newcomers nobody knows what to expect from. I guess it's in not a strong field but there are some skaters here I always like watching and some I'm curious about.

Men:
Patrick Chan
Nobunari Oda
Adam Rippon

... who knows on the rest. Maybe Keven Reynold or Javier Fernandez fourth ...

The Toronto Star is reporting that Canadians fans are all disappointed in the line up at Skate Canada. But I'm kinda looking forward to the singles especially to see Chan, Oda and Rippon. And Alissa of course.

 

[cjsk8fan]

Funny, I don't think Agnes is neither slow nor sloppy.

 

[Layfan]

Funny, I don't think Agnes is neither slow nor sloppy.

I didn't mean to sound as negative about Agnes as I came across... Sloppy's defintely too strong a word. She could use a little more finesse, that's all, and it's almost there. She's not Caroline Zhang slow by any means but I definitely think she could work on her speed, which I'm sure she is doing.

Anyway. Her jumps are big. Her layback is nice and her ice presence is very fun. Very watchable skater.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rkjdRcOpvI

As I say, she could suprise and she is one of those I'm looking forward to watch this weekend and I'm curious how she'll do at a Nats. Go Agnes!

 

[kiz_4Ever]

Men
Chan
Rippon
Oda
Gachinski
Fernandez
Preaubert

Ladies
I see Phaneuf for the gold, but then I find it quite unpredictable
On the podium could be Makarova, Marchei (scored about 164 at Coupe de Nice), Czisny, I don't really know

Pairs
No idea...

Dance
Kerrs
Crone/Poirier
...

 

[sillylionlove]

I am not going to make any predictions because this one is so unpredictable. I would like to see the Kerrs finally win a grand prix.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

my predictions are this, since the grand prix series is rigged.
cythnia phaneuf will win if not medal she is canadian, the dance candian team will win if not medal,
ladies1-cythina phaneuf no matter how she skates
2-laura lepisto
3-alissa csizny
both 2nd and 3rd places are interchangeable with maybe markova in a medal position.
crone /priorer will win and paul/islam will come in third
dube and davison rank canadian team will win if not medal
chan and reynolds will win if not medal

The level of disrespect thrown at the skaters in this post is really quite startling.

 

[chuckm]

Laura Lepisto has withdrawn from both Skate Canada and Skate America.

 

[janetfan]

The level of disrespect thrown at the skaters in this post is really quite startling.

I think fairly is dissing the sytem- the ISU and the powers that be - rather than the individual skaters or teams.
I could be wrong (not the first time )

 

[dorispulaski]

Skate Canada often seems to have a weak field. Why I cannot tell you. Perhaps a combination of the relative unenthusiasm of invited teams to go there if they had any other option (like Paris ) and the desire of Skate Canada to only invite skaters who won't outscore the Canadians scheduled to be there. The lack of a decent field, the huge support that Canadian crowds give their Canadian skaters, and the desire of those skaters to do well in front of the home crowd has resulted in some Canadians having made some stunning senior debuts at Skate Canada.

fairly's tongue may be in his cheek, but he is predicting from past experience.

 

[NorthernDancers]

I'm a little new, so please excuse the ignorance....but isn't it each federation that decides what skaters to send? And wouldn't the coaches have something to say about it? For example, it seems to me that the top ranked teams normally don't all compete together until the GPF. They all want to make the GPF so maybe federations/coaches choose assignments accordingly for their best skaters? And maybe part of the decision making is about where the 2 assignments are located? I wouldn't think a skater would want to live and train in Europe, go to Asia 1 week, and 2 weeks later go to Canada. That would be some pretty awful jet lag. And of course Canadian skaters would want to do well at home! With 3 teams in dance at Skate Canada vs 1 at NHK, for example, the odds are also much higher. And if you normally let your best skaters compete at home....well, the results aren't surprising when some of the best skaters in Canada, and skating at home, are Olympic champions.

And about the Canadian crowds......my experience is that many international skaters like competing in Canada because the Canadian skating fans are generally knowledgeable, welcome all warmly, and come out in good numbers. Of course they will cheer loudly for the home team, but they also cheer on everyone else as well.

 

[Scout]

I'm a little new, so please excuse the ignorance....but isn't it each federation that decides what skaters to send? And wouldn't the coaches have something to say about it? For example, it seems to me that the top ranked teams normally don't all compete together until the GPF. They all want to make the GPF so maybe federations/coaches choose assignments accordingly for their best skaters? And maybe part of the decision making is about where the 2 assignments are located? QUOTE]

I don't know the details, but I think the rule is that the top 3 teams can't meet until the final. So in the 6 GP events, there should be 1 team/skater that is ranked in the top 3 from worlds. The same applies, I think, for teams ranked 4-6. Of course, skaters retire or get injured. This weakens some fields.

And the federations can't just choose any athletes. There are rules about seasons best scores, and certain athletes are guaranteed one or two events. After the guaranteed spots are filled, then federations can invite skaters (possibly off the list of top 75 seasons best score? any clarification here would be appreciated) Federations automatically get 3 spots in a competition hosted in their country, and that's the time they can choose any skater they want -- ex. Sarah Arnold and Justin Trojek) at Skate Canada. I don't think a federation would want all their top skaters competiting against each other, because one could knock another out of contention for the GP final. But, obviously you're right about the numbers game. The more skaters from a country competing, the better the chance of winning a medal.

Does someone know about coaches, and if they get a say? I noticed that D/W and the Shibs compete together in both their GPs and was wondering if that was done partially so coaches don't have to travel to every event.

 

[ImaginaryPogue]

Skate Canada often seems to have a weak field. Why I cannot tell you. Perhaps a combination of the relative unenthusiasm of invited teams to go there if they had any other option (like Paris ) and the desire of Skate Canada to only invite skaters who won't outscore the Canadians scheduled to be there. The lack of a decent field, the huge support that Canadian crowds give their Canadian skaters, and the desire of those skaters to do well in front of the home crowd has resulted in some Canadians having made some stunning senior debuts at Skate Canada.

fairly's tongue may be in his cheek, but he is predicting from past experience.

Given fairly's past comments, I doubt it, to be honest.

But more than that. Is it Dube/Davison's fault their chief competition (Kawaguchi/Smirnov) withdrew with injury? The ladies field is weak across the board, but that's because two of the three world medalists aren't participating, nor is the Olympic bronze medalist, and the rest of the field isn't known for consistency - again, not Skate Canada's fault. The men's field has three 4CC champions (Oda, Rippon and Chan). Is it really weaker than NHK's field? Dance - this is weak, but again, is that SC's fault? They took one of the 4-6 teams (and keep in mind that with the retirement of the Zaretskis', there are only two) and have been hit hard with withdraws.

fairly's comment seems out of proportion and is very dismissive of the skaters, imo.

 

[museksk8r]

The level of disrespect thrown at the skaters in this post is really quite startling.

Any event that is not won by Caroline Zhang is rigged in fairly4's opinion, so in other words, every event is rigged. Absurdist comedy at its best.

 

[sorcerer]

...and the desire of Skate Canada to only invite skaters who won't outscore the Canadians scheduled to be there. ...

I've once lived in Canada but never felt such enthusiastic nationalism, anglophone or francophone ... to me, especially the anglophones seemed to position themselves as North Americans in a cosmopolitan way.
Are Quebecois the power in Skate Canada?

...fairly's tongue may be in his cheek, but he is predicting from past experience.

I always thought fairly4 was she ...?

 

[gmyers]

His free skate score at the japan open was extremely close to the olympic gold and sivler medalist. He can totally win this HUGE! Even with Chan and Oda. Maybe Rippon was only so great and good at the Japan open because there was no short program but what if he is just as good in the short at skate canada than he was at the japan open in the free skate?! It should be SOMETHING ELSE!!!

 

[NMURA]

His free skate score at the japan open was extremely close to the olympic gold and sivler medalist. He can totally win this HUGE! Even with Chan and Oda. Maybe Rippon was only so great and good at the Japan open because there was no short program but what if he is just as good in the short at skate canada than he was at the japan open in the free skate?! It should be SOMETHING ELSE!!!

Remember this is Skate CHANADA. Any rivals of their favorite won't get generous scores.

 

[berrycute]

I think this is a real chance for one of the second-tier ladies (Phaneuf, Makarova) to announce themselves as a real world contender.

But I also have a sneaking suspicion Alicia will take this one, igniting once again a brief glimmer of hope that this will be her year.

 

[gmyers]

Remember this is Skate CHANADA. Any rivals of their favorite won't get generous scores.

LOL it took two reads for me to see that you put an H in Canada! CHANada is hilarious and probably true. At the Japan open Rippon got 82 PCS at NHK trophy Takahashi got 83. I am sure against Chan and how GP competitions skew toward the home skaters it is possible that Rippon would go down like 10 points possibly.