2017 GP Rostelecom Cup Mens SP

[icetug]

Yuzuru really didn't change anything, did he?

In fact he did. He moved his combo to the second part of performance, after 3A. Only opening quad, 3A and closing spins are in the same place. He upgraded enter to the quad, the quad itself and step sequence.

 

[sailormoon]

Nathan Chen didn't perform well at the Japan Open but he seems to be very focused in Moscow, exuding confidence. I think he could beat the current world champion after the free program. Yuzuru is still bothered by a leg injury and he's not at his peak yet.

 

[TerpsichoreFS]

In fact he did. He moved his combo to the second part of performance, after 3A. Only opening quad, 3A and closing spins are in the same place. He upgraded enter to the quad, the quad itself and step sequence.

Thank you for the information, but i meant content-wise, impactful changes.These technical changes don't matter to me. The content itself is the same, the program feels like a copy. I should have been more specific.

 

[TontoK]

I feel completely different about Patrick Chan. The older he gets, the better the programs are for me. Doesn't feel like the 'old' Chan at all, who I admit I wasn't the biggest fan of.

Either Patrick is better than he was, or I've just come to appreciate him more.

I sometimes just skipped his performances, even if he won. Not now. I want to see him every time he skates.

 

[TontoK]

I won't completely disagree. He performed this program quite a bit better at Carnival on Ice in Japan just a couple of weeks ago but he was also doing no quads or 3As. I think including these big jumps really take a lot of energy both physically and mentally and he probably still needs more time before he can perform this choreography (which is not trivial at all) as freely, polished, and in sync with the music as he otherwise could when he doesn't have to worry about the quads. I hope he'll eventually get there though.

This was also his first "real" competition with the program. Everything else we've seen has been in a show, or an early summer comp, or a cheesefest.

 

[double_flip]

Actually Nathan has a lot more to do with his SP. You have to be there to understand the feeling. The performance was kinda underwheming with the materials he has. I was expecting more excitement but I did not feel that much. It was good. But not electrifying like I imaged it when I first saw his practice in the summer.

I saw it and I have to disagree, I thought it was very exciting in its way. There really is a special specific quality to his skating, that feels very much about ease and cool, but in control and masterful at the same time. I love the style he brings - it doesn't feel like other skaters. I've had the same experience watching Lambiel and Plushenko - even if it's not always my taste there's a sense the occasional skater finds a way of being on the ice that feels very much theirs. I think Nathan absolutely can go further in developing his particular vibe, but I very much get that energy from him.

In other news, really enjoyed Deniss Vasiljevs, though found it hard to watch him and not Lambiel floor-skating it with him.

 

[yyyskate]

IMO, yeah! I don't really know how to describe it other than it's what Lori was trying to achieve with Gracie's Firebird.

I would say it is what Lori was trying to achieve with Gracie's Firebird but could not, and she achieve it thru Nathan.
You will see. The vision is pure genius. especially if you watched movie, I never could have imagined Lori could do music editing as genius as Nathan's FS.
I guess it maybe just purely coincidence. Nathan got lucky tho.
Here is the music of Nathan's LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuU8YpCL_R4
specifically for FS stsq, the incorporation of the rite of spring is so well done.

 

[yyyskate]

I think the SP is set. It is the LP that would need his attention in doing 6 or 7 quads.

The B.ESP guys did say Nathan's quad need a longer drawback at landing to improve his GOE for jumps. Yuzu gets consistently +2s and +3s for jumps, while Nathan usually gets +1s and +2s. I am not sure exactly what that means. I would assume a smoother flow out of the jumps, holding on to the exit position a bit longer.

Nathan can still push the BV of SP jumps further, his original SP jump lay-out is ,3A in first half and both 4F+3T and 4L Zin the second half. He is not feeling very comfortable with his big quads at this competition practice and his 3A is much better (according to practice repo), so he made the switch (ironically, he landed his 4LZ-3T and had issue with 3A again in the real SP competition) The original choreo were designed around the 3A // 4LZ, 4F+3T. so that is his SP BV upper limit.
BTW Nathan is known to to 3lz-3loop combo, if he absolutely need it, I still he can tag a -3loop as well.

"a longer drawback at landing" is the ride out of jump landings, Euro sport guys are right, Nathan is indeed lacking in this department comparing to Yuzuru or Boyang Jin(4LZ). Nathan generally does not have a long glide out, even when he lands his 4LZ perfectly/effortlessly (you may check his US international classic 4LZ, it was really effortless, but still does not have a long glide out). It maybe his habit. I personally really hope he can improve his big jump landing ride out.

 

[icetug]

Thank you for the information, but i meant content-wise, impactful changes.These technical changes don't matter to me. The content itself is the same, the program feels like a copy. I should have been more specific.

The truth is, in SP content is always the same, 7 particular elements You can compare Chopin 2.0 and Let's Go Crazy - the elements are exactly the same, in the same order - and can you say it is a copy? In Chopin 3.0 at least the order is different

 

[Interspectator]

I wrote my comments last night but couldn't post it, went to sleep instead.
I got to watch this on the Asahi Broadcast in beauuutiful HD. Some thoughts, though my brain is tired and I just got off a plane.
This is pretty good for Yuzu, considering how he usually is in the early season. He's not popping his jumps any more, he's going for them. He could have been 5th or 6th, but he held it together. He looked like he couldn't quite get the fire burning hot enough to hold the landings like Nathan did. But he's still stunning to watch.
Nathan's SP is really good. I enjoy his expressions especially when he finished his last jumps and let loose. A well deserved 100Pts. I feel the judges got the placements and the scores right this time -Not that anyone is asking me. Lol. Perhaps a little high for Kolyada?
Deniss and Misha are complete performers and entertainers. I love their skating with or without jumps, but they went clean and were rewarded with good scores.
You can see that no one is quite at their peak yet, which is comforting to me, because I want every one to do their best towards the end of the season, and all the skaters seem to be building their condition so that this happens.
Over all, though I was half asleep, it seems like a solid event so far.

 

[keasus]

I'm late to the thread, so pardon me if this was addressed elsewhere. I thought Denis Ten had left Frank Carroll and was skating with another coach (Morozov?). Any details?

 

[silverfoxes]

Yes I too agree! The Oblivion SP by had the makings of a Masterpiece.

I loved Oblivion, but I think Masquerade Waltz is also pretty great, and I appreciate the fact that he is showing some versatility instead of playing it safe and recycling like so many others. Let us not forget that Dima did not do any senior B - he has been injured and this is his very first major senior competition. I think the program will look stunning once he has a few more performances under his belt.

 

[essence_of_soy]

Oh God, I really, really hated Nam's short program.

That pretentious cover of Over The Rainbow just reinforced all of the over-emoting and posturing nonsense.

A shame because he is a very good technician with a flair for fun and showy choreography.

At least his An American In Paris free skate is much better.

 

[MIM]

I agree with b-euro comments on Kolyada. He should have more confidence in his perfect jump technique and beautiful edge works. I am worried that Aliev is going to top Kolyada at Russian nationals; Aliev’s classical music and regal choreography vs. Kolyada’s quirkier music/choreography in the olympics season.

Denis Ten tries two quads in the sp, skates a beautiful step sequence, and returns to coach Frank!!
He is not afraid of trying new music with female voice. He owns the music and emotes in the program. Is this his first time working with David Wilson? I think they can be quite a good duo!! I was very pleased

Daniell and Misha were just so beautiful to watch!!

Nathan’s sp music keeps repeating in my ears. Very addictive, unconventional music and choreogrphy could have been risky. However, it worked to Nathan's benefit, triumphed any minor mistakes he made, and put him to the top. Bravo! I dearly like this program and his spirits...

Shae-Lynn Bourne and David Wilson could have been available and produced an amazing master piece for Yuzu only if Yuzu wanted a new program. It was a missed opportunity... but Olympics are different. Most people watch figure skating every four year, then why waste your energy when you have an existing weapon proven to be perfect over and over again! It is too soon to determine if it was a mistake or not; yes, he missed an opportunity to create another master piece, but he may not miss the chance to become two times Olympic champion

 

[silverfoxes]

I agree with b-euro comments on Kolyada. He should have more confidence in his perfect jump technique and beautiful edge works. I am worried that Aliev is going to top Kolyada at Russian nationals; Aliev’s classical music and regal choreography vs. Kolyada’s quirkier music/choreography in the olympics season.

If he does win, it will be because he deserves it. If Kolyada is not hungry enough or strong enough to fight, then the one who is should win and go to the Olys. Of course, there are other men he should worry about as well. Plushy's face said it all in the replay Well, that's what you get when you put all your eggs in one basket. Don't make one man your "savior" and neglect the rest. Especially when he hasn't proven anything.

 

[eaglehelang]

Well, Hanyu broke a new WR with this same Chopin during Autumn International. Just he did with the old 4 salchow.
Here he did 4 loop.

 

[mrrice]

Is it true that Plushy was at this event. If so, who is he here with? I'll look for him tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

 

[merleice]

Is it true that Plushy was at this event. If so, who is he here with? I'll look for him tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

Yes he is but I think he is just there to watch the event. The cameras showed him in the audience many times, and also picked out other skaters like Adelina Sotnikova.

 

[anonymoose_au]

Is it true that Plushy was at this event. If so, who is he here with? I'll look for him tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

He was, with Sasha too! The camera man showed a shot of him whenever a Russian was about to skate which cracked me up.

There was a rather exciting moment where everyone thought Sasha was one of the flower kids, but apparently it wasn't him...uncanny resemblance though, he even had a mullet!

Not sure if he'll be there for the LP, but if so we can play 'Spot Plushy' in between the skaters!

 

[Mrs. P]

I missed the men due to scheduling conflicts to work/home tasks, so I'm watching it piecemeal -- I watched Nathan's SP so far. I agree with all that this is a good SP for him, there are some nice moves in the field in between the different elements and the music/choreo is fresh for him. It's a given his technical score is going to be massive, good for him for putting the 3A and 4F in the second half.

That said, I would like to see a bit more flow between the elements -- I've seen him do this with other programs, granted they are not full of quads, but I know he can do it -- and maybe a bit less upper-body flailing- it just felt like he lacked some awareness of those movements. But these are polish things he can work on throughout this season. It truly was a solid performance of the SP.