I went to Skate Canada live for the Free Skate events, so I will share my opinions and experiences here. Although I saw all events, I will mainly only talk about the Ladies and Men...
Ladies: Medvedeva - She was solid as expected but not the best from her for sure. She jumped the 3S-3T literally where I was sitting, and it was clear as day that the 3T was UR. Too bad it didn't get called... As for the actual program, I was bored.... The beginning and the ending were somewhat captivating (although too overdone for my taste), but the core of the program... All she did was beautifully flail her arms and then go from jump to jump. My mom came along with me to watch this event, and even she (not too knowledgeable about skating) said that Medvedeva's program didn't do anything for her. Despite going clean, many people did not give Medvedeva a standing O, which is indicative that her program was probably not that great to many people's eyes.
Osmond - Clearly the most expressive and the fastest of all the competitors. She was somewhat unpolished/ wild in some parts of her program, but overall, she presented pretty well. Her jumps are huge! Too bad about the fall on the 3Lo. I actually thought she was going to finish the program without making a huge mistake, but I guess I jinxed it... Yikes. As for her score, that was just too, too high. With inflation already in my mind, I was expecting a 128, maybe a 129 if lucky. I was shocked to see 132...
Satoko - I usually like Satoko's presentation when watching from home, but at the arena, I was surprised that I wasn't as drawn to her skating... I don't know why, maybe it's because of her small jumps or her height or something.... But she just didn't leave an impact. She did land all her jumps (albeit horrible technique and prerotation/UR) and spin very, very well (people were amazed with her layback), but overall, I just felt the program was not as memorable as I had imagined it to be. She seemed slower live too... The two women who were sitting next to me were playing Candy Crush when she was performing, so...... Surprised about the score though! I expected near 140...
Elizaveta - Her jumping technique is very solid as opposed to Satoko/ Evgenia. It's clear that she gets all 3 revolutions in the air, and when she lands the jumps, there is no cheat. However, her program was very, very flat, and her speed was so slow. To the point I wanted to push her to go faster. Her arm movements are quite unique. I gotta give her that.
Alaine - This girl is fast, and her 3Lz-3T combo was huge. However, her flip was very obviously done on the outside edge, and some parts of the program seemed rough and unpolished. It's good to see her improvement though. Brian Orser really is the real deal.
Rika - I was expecting more from Rika to be honest. She is not nearly as fast as I had imagined her to be, and her program was dull and unmemorable. Most of her jumps did look a little iffy. However, I was not expecting the tech panel to rip her apart like that... I was still expecting a score around 115. 105 was harsh. But yes, presentation-wise, she has a long way to go... Her posture needs A LOT of work too.
Da Bin - Da Bin was solid overall. Her jumps (when clean) are pretty good. Not necessarily too high in height but not that low either. Her presentation has clearly improved, and her speed is not too slow (she was much faster than Joshi who I really, really, really wanted to push). Her second 3Lz, however, was clearly UR. She needs to give more face (although she has improved a lot compared to her performances in the past). She needs to skate bigger if she wants to compete with the big dogs.
Na Hyun - She is such an elegant skater. The ladies behind me were praising her for her beautiful lines. Too bad about the single flip and the wrong edge lutz, but otherwise, her performance was interesting. She does need more power to leave an impact on the judges, but her speed wasn't actually that bad (she was faster than LIZA IMO!). It's amazing that she's keeping the 3Lo-3Lo combo alive. Her last choreographic sequence was absolutely amazing. It's a shame that the judges did not give too much GOE because that deserves at least a +2 in my book.
Mirai - Oh what can I say. Her speed is above average but definitely not the fastest. She was stone-faced throughout the whole performance. Probably she was trying to focus too hard. All her jumps looked UR or DG. To be honest, I don't see much of a future for her if these problems continue. I hope she proves me wrong.
Men: Patrick - His skating is absolutely amazing live. I thought the people constantly praising him for his SS were over-exaggerating, but no, his SS is clearly the best in the whole field (by far). When he skates, he literally floats, and you can hear the sound of the ice because his edges are just that deep and strong. His jumps weren't on obviously. I think the fall on the quad sal made him lose his momentum. Still not sure whether he should have won, but he definitely should have the edge in PCS over Hanyu.
Yuzuru- I did not like the program. Period. It was basically like Evgenia's program: some arm flailing and then jumps here and there. He does have impressive jumps when successful (his 3A is a beauty). His speed was not too fast yesterday (probably not in his best condition), and his face was pretty stone-faced. Maybe my views on the program will change when he improves throughout the season, but what I saw yesterday live was not too great to be honest. It was absolutely hilarious to see the Japanese fans crying in joy watching him. LOL.
Kevin - He was not too fast but not extremely slow either. His jumps were pretty good yesterday, and he looked like he was on a mission. He definitely deserves the bronze. I do think he has great artistry despite lacking in SS. I'm glad he was able to come back from his injury strong.
Michal - I absolutely LOVED his skating. His SS was absolutely phenomenal, and it appeared that he had a decent number of transitions. Personally, I would give him higher PCS than Hanyu, but of course, that's not gonna happen in the real world.... His jumps were on yesterday. Too bad about the few URs, but I was so glad to see him do a relatively clean performance. Loved the music of his program too.
Daniel - This kid is so determined and fierce. Throughout the whole program, it appeared as if he was talking to himself (telling himself to focus and never give up). The first quad toe was unfortunate. It was a really bad fall. The whole audience gasped so loudly. But after that, he was pretty solid. His speed was pretty fast in the beginning, but it noticeably got slower gradually towards the end. He needs to work A LOT on his spins and steps, but the energy he projects is infectious. He skates like most of the Russian skaters (in a circular pattern), which was interesting.
Misha - OMG. The best performance of the night. In a fair world, the performance component of PCS should be higher than those of Chan and Hanyu.... He was completely on through the whole performance. Before going into the quad toe, I saw him very briefly looking at his father/ coach and nodding! I guess that was the signal to go for the quad, and he did it! (despite it being UR). His perfomance was so excellent that I can't put it in words. The crowd gave him a full standing O (The only one in the whole Men's event). I thought he deserved more (in the 160s).
Han - Ahhhhhh. What is going on with him? He seems to be the male So Youn Park...... His jumps were off, and he seemed pretty slow yesterday, which was surprising because I know well that he is usually a skater with good SS and speed. But yesterday was just not his day. He seemed extremely nervous in the warmup too. I don't know what is going on, but I pray that he finds the right track soon.
Pairs: Not too interested in pairs, but I wanted to point out that FRAZIER/DENNEY were robbed!!!!!! Their performance was so elegant. I was absolutely mesmerized (despite the side-by-side jump errors). They should have been placed ahead of a team that fell twice..... Even the Canadians who were sitting next to me were telling me that they were shocked.
Anyway, not sure if I covered everything (I'm extremely tired right now. My flight got delayed. Gahhh), but if there is anything you guys want to know about any skater in a live perspective, let me know!
it is amazing how his falls can be so graceful. i am still worried about injuries and flawed performances and losing choreography because of the push for quads.
