2018-2019 Ice Dance's Power Ranking | Page 4 | Golden Skate

2018-2019 Ice Dance's Power Ranking

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
S/K fell in the RD at Euros and H/D had a spin drastically downgraded; neither catastrophe is likely to repeat at Worlds. Given that, where those two teams finished at Euros/4CC has no bearing on how they will place at Worlds.

Exactly. I don't see G/P getting near the podium if all of the teams ahead of them skate clean without huge errors like S/K and H/D made. There's a reason that they haven't won anything important in their careers so far and that is compared to the top teams they simply are not as good. Good programs still can't hide their weaknesses.
 

theharleyquinn

Medalist
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
S/K fell in the RD at Euros and H/D had a spin drastically downgraded; neither catastrophe is likely to repeat at Worlds. Given that, where those two teams finished at Euros/4CC has no bearing on how they will place at Worlds.

It's not even necessarily just about catastrophes with H/D, it's about whether the judges will be more strict on their little bouts of sloppiness and lost levels now that they've missed the podium.
 

Baron Vladimir

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
Exactly. I don't see G/P getting near the podium if all of the teams ahead of them skate clean without huge errors like S/K and H/D made. There's a reason that they haven't won anything important in their careers so far and that is compared to the top teams they simply are not as good. Good programs still can't hide their weaknesses.

Well, G/P season best free dance score is the same as H/D one, and S/B overal season best is higher than season best of H/D when both skated 'clean'. While i see your points, i don't agree they are accurate if you consider how things are going on this season so far. Its the ranking based on 2018/19 international performances at this exact point of time, not on someone's potential or their performances from the past!
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Obviously the French PC are in a league of their own but I agree if fairly judged they not be as solid as they appear. i think one of the Americans will get second - Chock and BAtes or H/D come worlds. But it is such a toss up as the judges like the Italians and you cant forget the two Russian teams or Weapo and G/P. GP might have an issue with RD but really you have HD, CB, Weapo, GP, the Italians and SK and SB all in contention for silver and bronze. I feel sorry for the teams in like 6, 7 and 8 as they easily could be second.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
C/B got some maaaajor stock this week. Kudos to them for putting themselves in World medal contention again.

Even with the error, H/D are probably heavy faves, but I honestly prefer W/P and both Russian teams to them. G/P continue to be underrated but get small victories here and there -- that's twice they've beaten W/P in the FD (Nationals and 4CC).
 

Osmond4gold

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Obviously the French PC are in a league of their own but I agree if fairly judged they not be as solid as they appear. i think one of the Americans will get second - Chock and BAtes or H/D come worlds. But it is such a toss up as the judges like the Italians and you cant forget the two Russian teams or Weapo and G/P. GP might have an issue with RD but really you have HD, CB, Weapo, GP, the Italians and SK and SB all in contention for silver and bronze. I feel sorry for the teams in like 6, 7 and 8 as they easily could be second.

The Russians and Italians are not in the same league as the current NA crop IMO. Finishing 5th to 10th at Worlds in these times, should be considered a WIN, given the strength of current teams at this moment.
 

Baron Vladimir

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
The Russians and Italians are not in the same league as the current NA crop IMO.

Not according to this season performances and scores tho :roll5: Those two Russian teams were already on the similar level last season too, but one was not allowed to compete at the Olympics and second become injured later on, so they could not show their best last season. Italians are now getting the scores they always deserved, just its easier to prop them now when C/L are not competing anymore. Its maybe not the exact same level of the top NA teams, but its very very very close to them.
 

Ice Dance

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
The Junior Edition;):

1. Shevchenko & Eremenko--Their grip on this is tentative at best as their season has been more up & down than Ushakova & Nekrasov's; but I take head-to-head results seriously; and hence, here they sit. Muck up the twizzles and they could fall more than one spot though. RD is great.

2. Ushakova & Nekrasov--Have been the steadiest of the lot. I think 1 or 2. Final FD lift is awesome. Personality is strong in the FD. Posture is not so hot. Flow is a bit more interrupted than S&E. Won the FD at the JGPF. Lost the gold there by only 0.01. Bronze medalists at Junior Worlds last season. Showed they can get the job done.

3. Khudaberdieva & Nazarov--Dozens of votes for L&L in the prediction thread make me acknowledge that K&N's bronze medal win at the JGPF was a mighty tight one, and could have swung the other way easily. Also they have less experience at Junior Worlds than the other teams in the mix. But I do take head-to-heads seriously. I also take away-game head-to-head wins where your competition is competing at home very seriously. So #3 it is, with the additional comment that if a favorite is going to royally muck up, last year's season for this team implies that these two are likely contenders. These two are tall & have good speed when you see them live.

4. Lajoie & Lagha--Second after the SD at Junior Worlds last year. Will they climb onto the podium this season? I think they have a pretty good shot, which is more than I would have said last year when they actually did finish second in the SD. Programs are better. Footwork levels are still an issue. PCS has been strong. Will be interesting.

5. Nguyen & Kolesnik--Tricky, as they finished behind the Greens both last year and this year at Junior Nationals. Won the FD by 3 1/2 points there this season, though, and dug their own grave a bit in the short. Defeated Shevchenko & Eremenko--S&E mucked up the twizzles--in their second JGP event, but N&K couldn't get close at the JGPF. Still think the Greens are likely to take N&K in the RD; but love N&K's FD and personality on the ice. Speed is not yet comparable to the Russian teams and I'm not sure comparable to the Greens. Higher scores on the JGP than G&G have brought in thus far though. I'll say N&K. (Adore this team, btw. Twizzles are their Achilles' Heel).

6. Greens--Level 4 pattern sequences. (Actually had level 4 everything at Golden Spin but caller there was not your average). Competitive speed. Twizzles are looking stronger this season. Very strong basics. Less developed presentation and less time in front of the international judges than the rest of the contenders. Think they could surprise in the RD; but based on scores thus far, I'll say sixth.

7. Kazakova & Reviya. Very cool lift. He's a monster for a junior dance team. Programs are . . . warhorses I can't remember.

Ahh, things start to get interesting now.

8. Gropman & Somerville. Levels have been good. Defeated Demougeot & Le Mercier and Fabbri & Ayer head-to-head in Bratislava. Were leading Demougeot & Le Mercier in the RD at the Canada JGP before Ian mucked up his twizzles and they lost the spot by 1.5. Also were already leading Fabbri & Ayer in the short in Bratislava and had a range of scores that implied they would have been ahead in the free regardless of the fall by Paul there. Cleaner skate at Bratislava outscored Popova & Byelikov's best JGP score by @6 points. Going with G&S.

Getting even dicier . . .

9. Fabbri & Ayer. Bavarian Open scores are their only clean set of international skates this season. Couple points above Popova & Byelikov's from early this year. F&A are really hard to predict as have only been together this season. Much stronger second half than first half of the year. Will be an interesting result to watch, I'd say. Wild cards. Could be up. Could be down.

10. Popova & Byelikov. Hovering just outside the top ten the past two seasons. Getting out there on the senior circuit as well. Won their first JGP medal this year in Kaunas. Programs are more mature than in the past. Think they may crack the top ten this season.

11. Demougeot & Le Mercier. Defeated Gropman & Somerville after Ian's twizzle misfire at the Vancouver JGP. Lost to them & Fabbri & Ayer, though, at JGP Bratislava, despite a big error by Ayer. Have to put them on this list. Shows that movement can & has existed between these four teams. Score at Egna Dance Trophy was really high. Hit 150; but their head-to-head scores haven't matched it. (Love this team too, btw. Quirky).

12. Lopareva & Brissaud. Feel like they shouldn't be overlooked. New, but she's done well for Russia on the JGP in the past. Only did the Egna Dance Trophy, and again a high score. Higher than several teams above them on this list had on the JGP. But those were fall scores and expectations can be higher on the JGP. Basically L&B are here on this particular list, though, because they've gone down to D&LM twice.
 

1904sk8

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
The season has ended and I think the current power rankings are much different then anyone could have expected at the beginning of the season. Who thought we would have 2 top Russian team and S/K would be ranked #2
 

Baron Vladimir

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
The season has ended and I think the current power rankings are much different then anyone could have expected at the beginning of the season. Who thought we would have 2 top Russian team and S/K would be ranked #2

Well, since the moment i've opened this thread i was saying that 2nd to 8th ranked team are very similiar in quality and their placement will be decided on the day of the competition. Also, 2 Russian teams were constantly ranked in top 5 (or top 6) in different occasions during this season, so I wouldn't say their placement at Worlds is a suprise. SinKats were placed here at one point at 3rd by me and 4th by other users, so they were always considered as a medal contender, though bronze seemed more plausible than the silver... But they skated at Worlds the best they've skated the whole season, especially in RD...
 
Top