Well, in my opinion, it's a little too early to be calling him the "Yuna Kim" of men's figure skating so to speak... but definitely the three you mentioned.
I know you are referring to Patrick's competitive clout, and I agree, it's a bit premature for anyone to declare him the hands-down favourite, but to be honest, I do note some similarities between the two. Over at the YuNa forum, opinions of him are all over the place. He is well-liked by some and not-so-liked by others (usually because of the exchange in words he had with other male skaters the others are fans of.) Anyway, since there isn't a dedicated Patrick fan thread here yet, I thought this would be a nice place to share why I do like and support him
and relate it to my fav lady
1) YuNa's Tango de Roxanne was my first exposure to her and I loved her since that SP. Now, I heard Patrick's name before around Canadian skating circles, but it was only upon seeing his 4CC Tango de los Exilados performance which I really liked that I actively wanted to watch how he would develop and how his other programs would turn out. YuNa's Roxanne remains my fav program by hers, just as Patrick's TdlE is still my fav by him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZcrGmAkqEI
The commentary is in Korean (and not the best), but that's not the reason why I like this particular performance and clip the most. First, I really like the music and choreography. Second, the triple Axel at 1:05 is beaaaaaaautiful. A clean, flying and technically pristine 3Axel is my favourite figure skating jump, and that angle just showcases Patrick's perfectly. I do hope he improves/maintains his consistency on it. I'm sure he can do it. Lastly, his reaction at the end of his performance is endearing to me.
2) They are in the same generation of skaters and he's always had kind words for YuNa. I figure he is peaking a little later than YuNa did because that's just how it is for male skaters; male skating technical potential requires a longer time to reach.
3) They are both sometimes called "overscored" and criticized for not being the most expressive or emotional. I don't want to go into the scoring (and anyway I'm not a rules expert anyhow so I'll just read what others have to say), but I have some ideas about the latter. I think YuNa right now has developed a more expressive style, and has more experience in acting or being in-character for a program...but I think both are a little reserved when it comes to all-out emoting either due to personality and/or perfectionism (i.e. concentrating on the intricacies of their respective choreographies.) Also, it may be related to 2) where I mentioned that it takes longer for guys to reach their technical peak, so Patrick has probably been focusing on technical aspects mostly so far and may develop his artistry deeper sometime later.
4) They speak their minds which sometimes gets them into "trouble" but my instinct tells me they are genuinely nice and honest people.
5) Watching Patrick's POTO last week was a little like watching YuNa's Gershwin in Vancouver. Completely different context, but both were the skates of their careers, and the performances were both easy, clean, and brilliant like clockwork. No emotional letting go, until afterwards. I didn't have the nerves for Canadian Nationals like I did for the Olympics (almost afraid to watch in case of disaster, feeling intense joy and relief for YuNa for attaining her grandest goal), but yeah...I was strangely reminded of the similarities.
Yup, so that's why I kinda like him.
I'm not a Chanbot (yet) but I feel generally supportive of him.
Takahashi, Kozuka, or Abbott have the potential to challenge Chan yet (even Plushenko if he is serious about trying for Sochi) but I think Chan is in a very good position right now.
