Dmitri Aliev on the rise

gsk8 · Aug 13, 2017

Aliev on the rise; looks forward to Grand Prix debut

Dmitri Aliev, who turned 18 on June 1, had a successful junior year with a gold medal at the 2016-17 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final and a silver medal at the 2017 ISU World Junior Championships under his belt. In previous years, he used to be mostly a strong jumper, but he has improved a lot in the components.

More

Mikhail Kolyada and Maxim Kovtun were the top Russian men last season and had some good results, notably silver (Kovtun) and bronze (Kolyada) medals at Europeans. However, heading into the Olympic season and with two spots for Pyeongchang on the line, Kolyada and Kovtun will need to watch out for the next generation of Russian men that is coming up from the junior ranks—especially for Aliev.

What are your thoughts?

chuckm · Aug 13, 2017

To whom did Aliev lose the gold medal at the WJC? It was Vincent Zhou of the US, who has added 4Z and 4F to his repertoire. Koylada and Kovtun have more to fear than just the younger Russian men. The formidable international lineup includes Hanyu and Uno (JPN), Boyang JIN (CHN), Chen and Zhou (USA) and Chan (CAN). Kolyada was 4th at 2016 Worlds, but only managed an 8th place finish at 2017 Worlds. Kovtun was 11th at 2017 Worlds.

Tatjana · Aug 13, 2017

chuckm said:
To whom did Aliev lose the gold medal at the WJC? It was Vincent Zhou of the US, who has added 4Z and 4F to his repertoire. Koylada and Kovtun have more to fear than just the younger Russian men. The formidable international lineup includes Hanyu and Uno (JPN), Boyang JIN (CHN), Chen and Zhou (USA) and Chan (CAN). Kolyada was 4th at 2016 Worlds, but only managed an 8th place finish at 2017 Worlds. Kovtun was 11th at 2017 Worlds.

The article refers to the national competition (meaning inside Russia) for Russia's two Olympic spots in the men's the current top Russian men Kolyada and Kovtun have to fear, not the men's competition in general. ;-) The article does not say that Kolyada and Kovtun are the top favorites for an Olympic podium and only have to fear Aliev.

silverfoxes · Aug 13, 2017

The article is about Dmitri. Can we talk about him for a change? The thread has to be derailed in the second post? :rolleye:

I can't wait for the day when people recognize there are other Russian male skaters not named Mikhail and Max. And some who may eclipse them.

Yatagarasu · Aug 13, 2017

Ah thank you so much for the interview! Dima, my favorite Russian!

There are several things here that I really loved, most of all

“I knew with one quad it would be difficult to compete with the American,” Aliev admitted. “When I did the quad toe, I thought for a split of a second, ‘you’re not first anymore.'”
Nevertheless, the skater was still pleased with having won the silver medal.

that he had that and held, mentally, for that second place. It is a very valuable experience to have, it will do him good in the coming years, as he tries to make his own way in Seniors.

Also yes, everything will come in its time, an excellent approach to have. You don't have to be ready at 16, if you're even ready, it's all right to take it at your own pace. Dima's moving along with a good balance between the technical and components, and I'm very, very happy to see it and that he himself, seems to be inclined towards this approach.

If I could get Dima and Mika in the Olympics team, I would be a very happy me :laugh:

Marin · Aug 13, 2017

I really like Dima , he is my favorite Russian man currently and I hope his problems with dealing competitive nerves are over . Hopefully JGPF and JWC were confidence boosters for him. I will be super happy if he makes Olympic team.. His skating is "non -russian" very soft and refined. That is the main reason I really root for him.

shmay · Aug 14, 2017

Landing 4Z-3T-3L in competition would generate quite a bit of buzz for him.

On the PCS side, I hope that he will be judged accurately next to the likes of Kovtun and Kolyada, who really don't have the same feel for music that he has.

4everchan · Aug 14, 2017

Aliev is by far my favourite Russian skater. Nice lines and musicality. I wish him well.

Jammers · Aug 14, 2017

Aliev has a certain flair to his skating that Russian men have lacked for over a decade. Russian men over the last few years tend to be good jumpers but have lackluster programs and their skating skills aren't the best but Aliev is different and he's someone who catches your eye when he skates even though he can be a bit of a headcase which makes it more exciting.

lyverbird1 · Aug 15, 2017

Looking forward to being inspired by a Russian male skater again. Here's hoping Aliev will bring that excitement back. Will be interesting to see how his style develops at a time when it's depressingly all about the quads...

samkrut@mail.ru · Aug 15, 2017

Aliev and Kolyada as an Olympic team will be very promising. The biggest challenge for them will be the quad content. Their second mark should be high enough to be competitive. I would put it above Boyang and Nathan who are just about quads. Kolyada scored 268 in Boston with just 2 quads in 2 programs. He was not even the Russian leading man then. With 5 quads in 2 programs they both can score around 300. And then who knows.

lauravvv · Aug 15, 2017

[email protected] - About Chen - sure, his last season FS was mostly about quads, but the SP was better (although it was not an example of artistry either). Judging by what I have seen from his SP for this season (practice skate, not competition), it's really much better than what he did last season. Definitely not merely "all about quads". If he skates it well, he will get high PCS with it - especially considering that he was already getting pretty high PCS for his last season "quad" programs. No idea about the new FS yet. I think it's very difficult to make a five or six quad program that is not all about quads. I suspect that four quads can be the limit for an FS/LP if a skater and his choreographer want it to also have decent choreography and show some artistry.

Tolstoj · Aug 15, 2017

I wish him all the best, he's one of my favourites.

Granted it is going to be very difficult for him: he's definitely more an artistic skater (by far the most artistic skater among the juniors), Looking back even two years ago he was already able to skate very mature programs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbm7hNLdRYg

I don't think adding many quads will help him: he has everything to get high components even without an high technical mark, just like Jason Brown but at the same time, i don't think a single russian men can have the privilege to compete without at least one quad for the short and one for the long: PCS simply don't rise so easily for them even if you do have great skating skills (just look at Alexander Petrov).

silverfoxes · Aug 15, 2017

I think Dima has far better skating skills than Petrov and he isn't as bland, his programs are stronger, so I think his PCS will be good if he is consistent. But I don't see him getting numbers like Jason Brown. Dima is a very well balanced skater, but he's never going to be the most flexible guy with amazing spins. He does need more quads but I'm glad that he and his coach are not in a rush to add as many as Vincent, Nathan, etc. I would rather see him develop into a complete skater with longevity.

shmay · Aug 15, 2017

I also don't agree that Petrov has the skating skills of Aliev...not to mention the charisma, star power, command of the ice, etc. In his current iteration, Petrov kind of reminds me of a 2nd-string 90s Russian guy. Solid, but completely unmemorable.

Anyway, I don't really see Aliev doing more than 2 quads in his LP for this season, and therefore he's unlikely to be a serious medal contender. But, hopefully after this season the ISU will come to its senses and do something about this quad mess (limiting them or increasing the value of PCS or something), which would be more favorable to him.

Yatagarasu · Aug 15, 2017

silverfoxes said:
I think Dima has far better skating skills than Petrov and he isn't as bland, his programs are stronger, so I think his PCS will be good if he is consistent. But I don't see him getting numbers like Jason Brown.

It's too early to be talking about that, at least this season. Skating world being what it is, reputation matters and it took a long while for Jason to get where he is now plus Dima has plenty of room to grow. I think if Dima can continue to develop and mature as a skater, while keeping the balance he, and his team seem to be aware of, then I think he has a very real chance to be hitting those numbers plus higher technical. He seems poised for a long lasting career with the approach they have for him and that makes me very happy, and pleased for skating.

gmyers · Aug 15, 2017

There's a plan to compete but no plan to medal. He needs at least five more quads to try to medal at international events. He needs 2 different quads in SP and 4 quads in LP. The plan is to grow and be in top 10 and be a skater of the future for 2022.

samkrut@mail.ru · Aug 15, 2017

lauravvv said:
[email protected] - About Chen - sure, his last season FS was mostly about quads, but the SP was better (although it was not an example of artistry either). Judging by what I have seen from his SP for this season (practice skate, not competition), it's really much better than what he did last season. Definitely not merely "all about quads". If he skates it well, he will get high PCS with it - especially considering that he was already getting pretty high PCS for his last season "quad" programs. No idea about the new FS yet. I think it's very difficult to make a five or six quad program that is not all about quads. I suspect that four quads can be the limit for an FS/LP if a skater and his choreographer want it to also have decent choreography and show some artistry.

I have not seen his new programs yet. But if he is working on his second mark while keeping his jumps, kudos to him! Boyang has improved as well. When I saw his junior programs it was just a joke even among juniors. Yes, he is still light years behind Yuzuru/Javi/Patrick/Jason but at least he is watchable. I would place Boyang next to Kovtun now. Kolyada and Aliev are somewhere in between Jin and the top second mark skaters.

Ender · Aug 16, 2017

Dimitri has the skating skills and the presentation. His jumps are a bit iffy due to his mentality I think. But I guess he will grow up. He is promising.

Dmitri Aliev on the rise

gsk8

chuckm

Tatjana

silverfoxes

Yatagarasu

Marin

"Efforts tell lies, but it will not be in vain."

shmay

4everchan

Jammers

lyverbird1

[email protected]

Medalist

lauravvv

Tolstoj

silverfoxes

shmay

Yatagarasu

gmyers

[email protected]

Medalist

Ender

Match Penalty

Similar threads

Connect with us