2020-21 U.S. Men's Figure Skating | Golden Skate

2020-21 U.S. Men's Figure Skating

YuBluByMe

May Rika spin her hair into GOLD….in 2026.
Final Flight
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Nathan Chen
SP: Asturias/Cancion del Mariachi
FS: TBD
GP Assignment: Skate America
WR 4; SB 1
2019-2020 SB: TSS 335.30, FS 224.92 (WR), SP 110.38

Jason Brown
SP: Sinnerman by Nina Simone
FS: Slaughter on 10th Avenue
GP Assignment: Skate Canada
WR 6; SB 6
2019-2020 SB: TSS 274.82, FS 180.11, SP 94.71

Camden Pulkinen
SP: Caruso
FS:
GP Assignment: Skate America
WR 17; SB 32
2019-2020 SB: TSS 244.78, FS 155.73, SP 89.05

Tomoki Hiwatashi
SP: Standards by Leslie Odom Jr.
FS:
GP Assignment: Skate America
WR 21; SB 34
2019-2020 SB: TSS 240.78, FS 152.69, SP 88.09

Vincent Zhou
SP: Algorithm by Muse; choreo: Misha Ge
FS:
GP Assignment: Skate America
WR 23; SB 3
2019-2020 SB: TSS 231.95, FS 142.92, SP 89.03

Alexei Krasnozhon

SP: Heart Upon My Sleeve by Avicii and Imagine Dragons; choreo: Alex Johnson
FS:
GP Assignment: Skate America
WR 48, SB 41
2019-2020 SB: TSS 230.11, FS 153.19, SP 76.92

Maxim Naumov
SP:
FS:
GP Assignment: Skate America
WR 88, SB 48
2019-2020 SB: TSS 225.10 FS 149.90 SP 75.20

Andrew Torgashev
SP:
FS: Imagine Dragons Medley (Dream, Battlecry, and Radioactive)
GP Assignments:
WR 28, SB 60
2019-2020 SB: TSS 217.54, FS 144.63, SP 81.50


Thoughts:

Chen: He's very obviously the top American and I think we’ll see the 4Lo from him next season. He doesn’t really need it as he has both a 4Lz and 4F, and I expect for his dominance to continue as his technical abilities are far beyond anyone else in the field.

Brown: He had a rough start with two wishy-washy competitions (barely missing the Grand Prix Final), but finished strong with silver medals at both USNats and 4CC. Brown is still going for the 4T in the free skate, but I would argue that he doesn’t even need it. Brown scored in the mid-270s at 4CC and very few skaters are scoring that high with quads. (Don’t believe me? Check out the SB list and the top ten scores for Worlds for the past five years). People are merely talking about hypothetical maximums and ignoring actual ability and what the quadsters consistently put out on the ice when they say that he must rely on mistakes from others for the podium. The dudes with quads are the ones that need to be clean, not the other way around. I consider Brown to be the US’s solid #2.

Pulkinen: He’s inconsistent but his 4T is solid enough. But when things go wrong, things go very wrong. He also gives up way too many points on spins and steps.

Hiwatashi: I really don’t know what to make of him. His Grand Prix season was mediocre, but he had a bronze medal turn at USNats and he wasn’t bad at 4CC. Maybe he’s a second-half skater? He doesn’t strike me as nervy and of his peers (Pulkinen, Krasnozhon, and Torgashev), he’s looking to be the one most likely to play spoiler for an Olympic spot.

Zhou: Zhou only had one international competition this season and it didn’t bode too well. He was expected to win easily, but then almost lost the bronze medal to Krasnozhon. He withdraw from his Grand Prix assignments and the next time we see him was at USNats. He placed fourth with watered down but clean programs. If there’s a time for him to fix his URs, it’s NOW because the new rules aren’t going to be his friend (or will they?) and he can be beaten by a US man other than Chen. The good news is that he’s already made a welcome coaching change and he doesn’t meltdown on the ice.

Krasnozhon: To be honest, I’m worried about him. He originally only had one GP spot last season and USFed passed him up for a 4CC nod. He’s already been surpassed by Hiwatashi. Pulkinen and Torgashev will surpass him too once they get their nerves together as they’re improving yet Krasnozhon seems to be regressing. His spins need a doctor and his jumps need a psychiatrist. He doesn’t jump his jumps; the jumps jump him. He also doesn’t have a solid quad – that 4Lo is << or < most of the time – and it’s the only quad he’s ever landed in international competition. His triples are solid (the 3A is even his best jump) but he’s too much of an acquired taste. His biggest strength is that, like Zhou, he doesn’t have meltdowns on the ice. In fact, he has his best skates when he’s pissed off and the pressure’s on. But that will only take him so far. The US men is getting kind of crowded and if improvements aren’t made, he’s in danger of never leaving US ice. I mean, he was already ignored for…okay, I’m done. Yup, I’m still salty about that. Moving on.

Naumov: Yo, this cat turns 19 on August 1. He’s probably going to stay Junior another season (something I strongly disagree with, but that’s another thread) and it will be to his benefit that he does. He doesn’t have a quad yet, but hey, his heroic free skate at Junior Worlds shows that skating clean speaks volumes. I can’t really say much about him as the first and only time I saw him was at Junior Worlds.

Torgashev: I already said enough about him already so I’ll make it brief. He missed the cut-off by 2 days, but he probably would have moved up to Seniors anyway. I think he’s the most talented of his peers and judges (both domestic and international) like him. For this reason, I’m not worried about GP spots for him. He’ll get at least one. And if there’s a second spot left over, he’ll probably get it over Krasnozhon. All the goods are there; he just needs to work on his head game.

*Special thanks to tosca as I used his or her format from the 2019-2020 US Men's thread.
 
Last edited:

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
... Naumov: Yo, this cat turns 19 on August 1. He’s probably going to stay Junior another season ...

I do not know the basis for "probably"?

FWIW, on April 18, when speaking about his plans for the upcoming season, Naumov referred to "senior level now."
(Without specifying whether he meant for both domestic and international competition or for domestic only).

Can be heard at approx. the 42-minute mark of Skating Club of Boston's Instagram Live with Max.
It was hosted by Jimmy Morgan and is archived here:


Anyway, best wishes to all the U.S. men (including those of any level who are not yet mentioned in the new thread). :ghug:


ETA (on Jun 9):
For easy reference, tosca's OP for the 2019-20 thread had included the link to the 2018-19 thread.
Following that pattern, I will add here the link to the 2019-20 thread:
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
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Mar 3, 2014
Country
United-States
Thank you for starting the thread, @YouBluByMe Detailed and interesting post!

I can only hope that Andrew T. puts it all together in the senior ranks:pray:

And that there are senior competitions:pray:
 

fzztsimmons

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 14, 2018
It's pretty darn amazing to see how high up on the world standings and seasons bests Jason is, considering the lack of quad, and the bumpy start to his season due to his concussion! I continue to remain bummed that Worlds was cancelled as I really think Jason was going to peak there (though ofc cancelling was the right thing).

He hasn't ruled out re-using both I can't go on without you and Schindlers List as he doesn't feel that they're "done", and I wouldn't complain if he re-used them for whatever we have of this season.
I just wish he'd give us that Quad Flip he keeps talking about in interviews!!
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
Record Breaker
Joined
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Country
United-States
It's pretty darn amazing to see how high up on the world standings and seasons bests Jason is, considering the lack of quad, and the bumpy start to his season due to his concussion! I continue to remain bummed that Worlds was cancelled as I really think Jason was going to peak there (though ofc cancelling was the right thing).

He hasn't ruled out re-using both I can't go on without you and Schindlers List as he doesn't feel that they're "done", and I wouldn't complain if he re-used them for whatever we have of this season.
I just wish he'd give us that Quad Flip he keeps talking about in interviews!!

I wouldn't complain about repeating programs either, and photos have surfaced of Jason and Rohene outside of a rink, so maybe refinement of "I Can't Go On Without You" .

Jason's triple flip is so textbook gorgeous, it would be so cool if that was the one he could transform into a quad. :yes:
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
:eek:topic:

I know this is off topic but, I've been so bored lately that I've watched a lot of old skating videos. Here's my question. What is Ryan Bradley up to these days? He was such a showman and loved him during shows after he retired.
 

Ross74

Medalist
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
:eek:topic:
I know this is off topic but, I've been so bored lately that I've watched a lot of old skating videos. Here's my question. What is Ryan Bradley up to these days? He was such a showman and loved him during shows after he retired.
He still seems to be involved in shows. I've seen him in several small shows in Colorado over the past 2 to 3 years, skating and emceeing. Also happened to catch him on the practice ice in Sun Valley last August before what I assume was an evening show. Still doing the back flip. :)
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
Anyway, best wishes to all the U.S. men (including those of any level who are not yet mentioned in the new thread). :ghug:

My man Andrew Austin! So my question is...one theory (and they can all only be theories) is that Nationals would be the only competition and be held without spectators. If this proved to be the case, how would they decide who would be allowed to skate? With no other comps no one else could make the minimum scores.
 

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
He still seems to be involved in shows. I've seen him in several small shows in Colorado over the past 2 to 3 years, skating and emceeing. Also happened to catch him on the practice ice in Sun Valley last August before what I assume was an evening show. Still doing the back flip. :)

:cheer2::bow::thank:Ross74
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Jun 5 article about Vincent Zhou:



... So my question is...one theory (and they can all only be theories) is that Nationals would be the only competition and be held without spectators. If this proved to be the case, how would they decide who would be allowed to skate? With no other comps no one else could make the minimum scores.

Just my two cents, but for me, it is too early to speculate as to whether your theory will play out.

For singles: Regionals are not scheduled to begin until Sep 30, and Sectionals not until Nov 10.
Whether it will be possible for them to go forward remains to be seen.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
:eek:topic:

I know this is off topic but, I've been so bored lately that I've watched a lot of old skating videos. Here's my question. What is Ryan Bradley up to these days? He was such a showman and loved him during shows after he retired.

Shows, coaching though not in CO permanently anymore.
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Country
United-States
Just my two cents, but for me, it is too early to speculate as to whether your theory will play out.

For singles: Regionals are not scheduled to begin until Sep 30, and Sectionals not until Nov 10.
Whether it will be possible for them to go forward remains to be seen.

I see the NQS has been cancelled for the year. So, assuming Regionals and Sectionals happen, would the skaters have to make minimum scores to compete in Nationals? I really hope not. 2 competitions doesn’t even seem enough to tweak one’s program for Nationals.
 

Ella5555

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
And since this is the U.S. Men’s thread, it might be worth a quick mention that the other one belongs to Nathan.
 

Tahuu

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 3, 2014
Top 10 and Top 20 Senior Men Spin Ranking in 2019-20 season (GOE Score):

Top 10:

1 CCoSp4 Shoma UNO Challenge Cup 2020 (1.68 5.18)
2 CCoSp4 Jason BROWN Four Continents Championships 2020 (1.5 5)
2 FCCoSp4 Nathan CHEN Internationaux de France 2019 (1.5 5)
4 CCoSp4 Roman SADOVSKY NHK Trophy 2019 (1.45 4.95)
4 CCoSp4 Roman SADOVSKY Skate Canada 2019 (1.45 4.95)
6 CCoSp4 Keegan MESSING Skate Canada Autumn Classic 2019 (1.4 4.9)
6 CCoSp4 Roman SADOVSKY Finlandia Trophy 2019 (1.4 4.9)
6 CCoSp4 Deniss VASILJEVS 27th Ondrej Nepela Trophy (1.4 4.9)
6 CCoSp4 Yuzuru HANYU Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix Final 2019 (1.4 4.9)
6 CCoSp4 Jason BROWN Skate America 2019 (1.4 4.9)
6 CCoSp4 Yuzuru HANYU NHK Trophy 2019 (1.4 4.9)
6 CCoSp4 Yuzuru HANYU NHK Trophy 2019 (1.4 4.9)

Top 20:

13 CCoSp4 Yuzuru HANYU Skate Canada 2019 (1.35 4.85)
13 CCoSp4 Keegan MESSING Skate America 2019 (1.35 4.85)
13 CCoSp4 Roman SADOVSKY Skate Canada 2019 (1.35 4.85)
13 CCoSp4 Yuzuru HANYU Four Continents Championships 2020 (1.35 4.85)
13 FCCoSp4 Nathan CHEN Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix Final 2019 (1.35 4.85)
13 CCoSp4 Nathan CHEN Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix Final 2019 (1.35 4.85)
19 CCoSp4 Shoma UNO Finlandia Trophy 2019 (1.34 4.84)
20 CCoSp4 Yuzuru HANYU Skate Canada Autumn Classic 2019 (1.33 4.83)
20 CCoSp4 Keegan MESSING Skate Canada Autumn Classic 2019 (1.33 4.83)
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
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Feb 27, 2012
Congratulations to Sam Mindra, who is the overall winner of the USFS 2020 Athlete Alumni Ambassador (3A) award.
Also to Samir Mallya, winner for the men's discipline.
"The 3A award is a scholarship program that recognizes skaters who have achieved figure skating excellence while actively volunteering."

[Congratulations also to the award winners for other disciplines: Cate Fleming (pairs); Cordy Pride (dance); Maryn Pierce (ladies); and Gia Swanson (synchro).]

"The overall winner receives $2,000, while each of the remaining five honorees receive $500, which can be used at the skaters' discretion."

I hope that Sam Mindra will have a chance for a JGP assignment.
By winning Novice Men at his sectionals, he advanced to Junior Men at 2020 Nats, where he placed seventh in the SP :cool: and tenth overall.


ETA (on Jul 14):

Fun to see Taira Shinohara, the Juvenile Boys champion at 2020 Midwestern Sectionals, in today's USFS #ProudMember2020 video:

https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/1283144237190717440 (Jul 14, 1:57)​
 

sworddance21

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
So - I'm late to this game, apparently - but I just saw Emmanuel Savary in the Peggy Fleming trophy. He wasn't on my radar at all. He's really got tremendous potential!! Such beautiful lines and musicality. Someone fill me in on why he doesn't seem to be really in the mix? Who coaches him?
 
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