Men OGM Contenders 2018 | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Men OGM Contenders 2018

Suze

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
I am so torn over who to root for in Men's. Maybe I'm leaning more towards Patrick because it would break my heart (or re-break my heart) to see him retire without an OGM but the season has yet to start so who knows how the men will progress and peak over the fall and winter months. Also, I'm easily swayed by a good program...
 

Ice Dance

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
Isn't the World Champion always the favourite?

No, not always. I would have said Yuzuru rather than Patrick was the favorite heading into the last Olympics. I wouldn't have said that Javier was the favorite last year or this year. Shen & Zhao were the favorites heading into 2010. I couldn't tell you who was the favorite for the dance event heading into 1994, as all the teams had been at Europeans and the dance results were split all over the place there.

At the moment, the World Champion is the favorite. But by the end of next year's regular season, that could change. The GPF will make a difference. Europeans will make a difference. Japanese Nationals will make a difference. If somebody breaks a world record, it will make a difference.

But, really, being the favorite heading into an Olympic season. It's not all it's cracked up to be. Some people thrive on the expectations. But not too many. Even some of the greats--Yamaguchi, Hamilton, Shen & Zhao, who walked away with the anticipated win---probably would have liked a chance to skate that last free program again.

You can make your moment. Whether you are the overwhelming favorite like Plushenko/Witt or the complete underdog Hughes/Urmanov.
 

mrfarmer

Rinkside
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
Hanyu, Uno, Jin, Chen, Fernandez, Chan. All of them can win, with a small advantage for Hanyu. Zhou and Cha can also make a good result.

How crazy would it be if Zhou becomes OGM? He's got the technical goods.
 

mrfarmer

Rinkside
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
I have a slight tendency thinking Nathan Chen for OGM, he is secure and his tech is insane, one more senior season means better PCS, too - I just hope that he won't retire immediately if he wins, as that's always a bit disappointing to see.

I don't disagree with this one. Nathan's as good and consistent as they come. He's crazy competitive too. If he goes clean on both his programs, with positive GOE's and increased PCS (and we all know they're going to give PCS like crazy), he can pull out a Hughes.
 

bevybean

On the Ice
Joined
May 26, 2017
And you can bet I will get up in the middle of the night for it.

Pretty sure I saw a news article stating that they are scheduling the skating events so that NBC can air them live during prime time in the US. So, no need to get up in the middle of the night. I'll try to find the article again and post a link.
 

MaiKatze

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 4, 2012
Pretty sure I saw a news article stating that they are scheduling the skating events so that NBC can air them live during prime time in the US. So, no need to get up in the middle of the night. I'll try to find the article again and post a link.

This one here is from Europe, living the high life in Deutschland, unfortunately that translates into Central European Time, which is, you guessed it already, in the middle of the night. *cueBillyJoelsingin'theriverofdreams*
 

icybear

Medalist
Joined
Mar 18, 2017
The Others: Boyang Jin, Jason Brown, Mikhail Kolyada, Maxim Kovtun, Denis Ten

Sorry but have you just started following figure skating or something? Boyang Jin - 2 times bronze medallist at the last 2 Worlds/ fifth highest personal record score in the world - an outsider contender along with Denis Ten and Maxim Kovtun? LOL! :rofl2: :confused:
 

Crabe 93

Spectator
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
My personal wishes are Yuzu first, Javi and Shoma for the second and third place. (Javi HAS to win a medal)
But anything could happen. It is so unpredictable that I can only make wishes, wait and… enjoy the competition … (if only they can skate clean :( )… And never underestimate again Boyang Jin ! :)
 

mrfarmer

Rinkside
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
It is not my intention to underestimate Boyang. That's why I see him as always in the mix.

No need for condescension, really. It shows immaturity and an elementary way of dealing with argumentation.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
Sorry but have you just started following figure skating or something? Boyang Jin - 2 times bronze medallist at the last 2 Worlds/ fifth highest personal record score in the world - an outsider contender along with Denis Ten and Maxim Kovtun? LOL! :rofl2: :confused:

yes, I don´t understand why Boyang is with The Others
 

NoNameFace

GS given name - Beatrice
Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
as I once wrote in pre-Worlds 2017 thread, I want them all to win, always - as I have no clear favourite among Men's field, it's just easy (silly for some) to appreciate different styles, different approaches and effect put on ice. And I would really have no objections towards any of those top contenders winning if there will be fair fights, with everyone giving their best and being healthy. I'm really bad with controlled calculations and analysis, so I will leave them to more knowledgeable people.

Yuzuru - for me, he's more than his titles and way beyond them, his complexity and ability to blend technical prowess with presentation, musicality and feel put into programs really impress me. And I personally adore his rockstar side, successful or not.

Patrick - the older he gets, the more rich his skating becomes, the more layers and sides I discover of it as a casual viewer; his penchant for lyricism, delicacy entwined with impact of expression presented is really magical for me. His edge work and unspoken movement quality are telling me more than actual words sometimes.

Shoma - I love how he integrates with music, his interpretation skills, focus and progress he made last year. For me, there is always something carried by his performances, something I take and can think about, mainly due to his great maturity and composure shown beyond his age.

Jin - a personality on ice, his development in expression/presentation really impressed me this past season and his 4Lz is a work of art in motion when cleanly done. I really appreciate his efforts expressed to grow and develop in PCS area with maintaining technical strength (o maybe I'm just seeing things)

Javier - an engaging entertainer, very much into almost every performance and with ability to create a 'full picture' with right material. Despite some criticizing, I actually very much respect and admire him playing on his fortes, expanding those characters and conventions of entertaining, engaging into programs - for me, it's a virtue of full-rounded and mature performer.

Nathan - I am his rapt admirer for being persistent and ambitious about his skating passion after such injury he had. His technicalities are truly thrilling and exciting to witness and I trust him and his team to match upcoming season's program to that abilities. and there's something very adventurous and daring in his stare, which I just love.

And there's Jason, Mikhail, Deniss, Adam, Maxim and many others - I do wish the best effort put from them and having that chance for them too for a medal.
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Too soon for this category......Hanyu, Javi, Patrick, Nathan, and Mikhail are IMO, the best skaters in the World right now. However, there are so many wild cards like Adam, Joshua Farris, Denis Ten, Jin, and Shoma......I need to see how they all look at their first GP event and I'll base off of the potential of their programs.
 

Jaana

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Country
Finland
I think that Hanyu, Uno and Chen could be seen as the gold medal contenders. Fernandez, Chan and Jin I would see more as medal contenders this moment. On the other hand maybe Ten will have an Olympic rise again and will be in good condition physically and mentally, perhaps?
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
Too soon for this category......Hanyu, Javi, Patrick, Nathan, and Mikhail are IMO, the best skaters in the World right now. However, there are so many wild cards like Adam, Joshua Farris, Denis Ten, Jin, and Shoma......I need to see how they all look at their first GP event and I'll base off of the potential of their programs.

How do you consider someone like Uno who medaled at every event last season including a silver at Worlds a wildcard while Mikhail who had a rather average year last season one of the top five skaters in the world? :scratch2:
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
How do you consider someone like Uno who medaled at every event last season including a silver at Worlds a wildcard while Mikhail who had a rather average year last season one of the top five skaters in the world? :scratch2:

I'll confess....I think he's cute..;) and he reminds me of Ilia who I REALLY love. It wasn't really about skating. :slink:
 

NanaPat

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
Like many other posters, my list of contenders had six names: the 5 in the original post plus Jin. Just for fun, I wrote it down off the top of my head before I opened the thread.
 

Eclair

Medalist
Joined
Dec 10, 2012
It is not my intention to underestimate Boyang. That's why I see him as always in the mix.

No need for condescension, really. It shows immaturity and an elementary way of dealing with argumentation.

Boyang and Nathan are both similar in skill and skating and therefore quite comparable. But for some reason Nathan gets a lot of hyping, while Boyang not. Just because Nathan has the more powerful fed and gets more media coverage, doesn't mean that Boyang is not as good of a skater as Nathan. They deserve to be treated equally.
 

mrfarmer

Rinkside
Joined
Jun 6, 2017
as I once wrote in pre-Worlds 2017 thread, I want them all to win, always - as I have no clear favourite among Men's field, it's just easy (silly for some) to appreciate different styles, different approaches and effect put on ice. And I would really have no objections towards any of those top contenders winning if there will be fair fights, with everyone giving their best and being healthy. I'm really bad with controlled calculations and analysis, so I will leave them to more knowledgeable people.

Yuzuru - for me, he's more than his titles and way beyond them, his complexity and ability to blend technical prowess with presentation, musicality and feel put into programs really impress me. And I personally adore his rockstar side, successful or not.

Patrick - the older he gets, the more rich his skating becomes, the more layers and sides I discover of it as a casual viewer; his penchant for lyricism, delicacy entwined with impact of expression presented is really magical for me. His edge work and unspoken movement quality are telling me more than actual words sometimes.

Shoma - I love how he integrates with music, his interpretation skills, focus and progress he made last year. For me, there is always something carried by his performances, something I take and can think about, mainly due to his great maturity and composure shown beyond his age.

Jin - a personality on ice, his development in expression/presentation really impressed me this past season and his 4Lz is a work of art in motion when cleanly done. I really appreciate his efforts expressed to grow and develop in PCS area with maintaining technical strength (o maybe I'm just seeing things)

Javier - an engaging entertainer, very much into almost every performance and with ability to create a 'full picture' with right material. Despite some criticizing, I actually very much respect and admire him playing on his fortes, expanding those characters and conventions of entertaining, engaging into programs - for me, it's a virtue of full-rounded and mature performer.

Nathan - I am his rapt admirer for being persistent and ambitious about his skating passion after such injury he had. His technicalities are truly thrilling and exciting to witness and I trust him and his team to match upcoming season's program to that abilities. and there's something very adventurous and daring in his stare, which I just love.

And there's Jason, Mikhail, Deniss, Adam, Maxim and many others - I do wish the best effort put from them and having that chance for them too for a medal.

I love every single word in this. Every description you made was spot on.
 

SarahSynchro

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Country
Canada
I am so torn over who to root for in Men's. Maybe I'm leaning more towards Patrick because it would break my heart (or re-break my heart) to see him retire without an OGM but the season has yet to start so who knows how the men will progress and peak over the fall and winter months. Also, I'm easily swayed by a good program...

Well, I think there's an extremely good chance Chiddy will get an OGM from the team event. ;)

I know that's not the event he wants to win it in, thou. I'm rooting for him in the individual event as well, of course.
 

andromache

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
I'm rooting for Patrick and Javi. Team old men! Seriously though - if Javi doesn't at least win a medal, I'm going to cry. Make history, Javi!

Yuzu has his OGM. Shoma, Nathan, and Boyang can battle it out in 2022, so I'd rather the gold go to one of guys who is likely retiring. That said, I totally foresee Shoma winning. He has the performance quality, and even though he isn't uber consistent, he doesn't really turn into a hot mess the way Patrick, Javi, and Yuzu can do with their mind games. I'd be thrilled for Boyang if he won, coming from a smaller federation. As an American, I'd be thrilled for Nathan if he won, too. But the salt on this forum if Nathan won would be seriously unbearable.
 
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