- Joined
- Feb 13, 2014
You heard it here first: Kovtun will win Russian nationals :laugh15:
#despair
You heard it here first: Kovtun will win Russian nationals :laugh15:
You heard it here first: Kovtun will win Russian nationals :laugh15:
I love a good comeback story but Kovtun's skating is not what I want to see win. What do we have to sacrifice for Kolyada to get it together?
Everyone give up your firstborns! NOW! :dev2:
I love a good comeback story but Kovtun's skating is not what I want to see win. What do we have to sacrifice for Kolyada to get it together?
Oh yikes. I mean I like Misha, but not sure if I’m prepared to do that
I’m having visions of a Kovtun-Samarin-Gumennik podium.....
Um I was kinda impressed by what I saw from Kovtun at Tallinn Trophy....
I’m having visions of a Kovtun-Samarin-Gumennik podium.....
Yuzu is still #1--he still has the highest segment and combined scores, and I think he would most likely have won GPF quite handily had he been able to compete. Get well soon, Yuzu..
i hope Nathan can clear up his short and skate it clean. Its clear that Yuzu is miles ahead of everyone. What i dont like is Judges still give high GOE for jumps (mainly quad/3A) even if its low quality, often happen with Shoma's ugly "trying to save" landing. it has happen to Yuzu too few times.
Bumping this with a post GPF Update:
1. Yuzu with an * Because he's injured but he still has the highest SP, LP and Over-All scores this season.
2. Nathan showed he can hold it together when it matters and has extended his GPF reign to 2 years! Puts him definitely above Shoma for now.
3. Shoma's jump quality has been harshly evaluated by the judges this season so he will need to aim for more secure and rotated landings. Like it or not, if the jumps suffer, PCS also begins to suffer as well.
4. Jun-Lieeeet! A strong showing and a GPF medal. He's on the right track! He needs to watch the rotations as well because he tends to rotate more slowly in the air than other skaters.
5. Brezina continues to be solid in competition, but lacks the difficulty to challenge for higher rankings...maybe it's time to up the difficulty, put a second quad sal in the free?
6. Jason has come back strong with a win at Golden Spin and seems to have regained his competition confidence. Still, the time to quad is NOW. Put it in, fall on it, get up and try it till you make it.
7. Voronov is still Russia's no.1 Man. For years now I hear people ask 'What about the future?' well, Voronov has been here the whole time, getting to the final, winning medals. He deserves his spot on the World team.
8. Kolyada the potential is as present as ever and we get glimpses of it. When will it break free?
9. Keegan is extremely unpredictable, but his momentum has stalled a little. -Could it be that the earthquake in his home town has thrown him off?
10. Sentimental favorite pick this time is Daisuke Takahashi.
Post your updated rankings and other thoughts on the men's skating progress in general.
After Tallinn, Golden Spin, and GPF!
1. Yuzuru Hanyu (-)
2. Nathan Chen (+1) — jumps ahead of Shoma following his second consecutive GPF title. However, his performances in the short and the free were not ideal. If Hanyu comes back in top or near-top form, it will be difficult for Nathan to challenge him. At the same time, it could be promising for Nathan that he hasn’t yet peaked.
3. Shoma Uno (-1)—Looking ahead to 4CCs and Worlds, Nathan not only won the battle at GPF, but he may well have won the war with the eternal Silver Prince. The judges could have placed Shoma in first following the short, and they could have ignored his URs and scratchy landings in the free, but they did not. And once those weaknesses are out in the open, it may be hard for Shoma to bounce back and challenge for #1 and 2.
4. Junhwan Cha (-)—With his GPF bronze, he has medaled at every event he has entered, now including a major international competition. If one of the top 3 falters or is injured, consistent Junliet will be right there to continue that streak.
5. Michal Brezina (-)—At GPF, he again showed that his recent success is no fluke, but a full-fledged Breznaissance. With Javi’s preparation ambiguous, Michal is now the frontrunner for the European title.
6. Jason Brown (+5)—Leap-frogs his way to #6 this week after taking gold at Golden Spin. While his free skate may have been flawed, his high-scoring short program shows that he can compete for top 5 on the strength of his GOEs and PCS. I don't even think he needs a quad.
7. Keegan Messing (+1)—Finished a disappointing 5th at GPF, though extenuating circumstances, first-time jitters, and home crowd pressure should be taken into account. Moreover, he showed that he can land 4Lz, a jump that seems to be as elusive as 4A right now.
8. Kazuki Tomono (+1)—Moves up due to the mess happening right below.
9. Alexander Samarin (-2)—After a disappointing third-place finish at Golden Spin, he moves down, but is now higher than his compatriots. At this point in time, Sasha seems to strike the most promising balance between consistency and tech content within his country, and he isn’t vulnerable to meltdowns the way Kolyada, Kovtun and Aliev are. I do believe the momentum is with him going into Nationals.
10. Mikhail Kolyada (-)—Misha is going to be European and World Champion one day (so I tell myself every night before I go to bed), just not this season. The stamina isn’t there, the jumps (even when landed) look iffy, and his failure to win gold at Golden Spin will be hard to come back from in terms of confidence. That said, his scoring potential is still so huge that I think he’ll make it to Euros, barring an implosion that lands him off the podium at Nats. In his current form, top 5 at Euros and top 10 at Worlds seems the best he—and Russia—can hope for.
11. Sergei Voronov (-4) / Maxim Kovtun / Dmitri Aliev (+4) — Predicting the Russian Nats podium/Euros team is hopeless, but I’m going to try, anyway—and I think spot #3 will be between these three. Voronov is a sentimental favorite, but his performances at GPF demonstrate why RusFed is so reluctant to put their support behind him. He may be the most consistent, but his technical ceiling is too low to compete with the top men, and it leaves little room for errors: to put it in perspective, his SkAm and GPF totals are nearly equal to Kolyada’s CoR meltdown. As for Kovtun, we only have one international competition (Tallinn Trophy, where he won gold) and a mixed bag of national results to go by, but he looks good for a podium finish, if not a win, if others falter. Aliev, meanwhile, moves up due to Samarin and Kolyada’s disappointing showings at Golden Spin. With his high scoring potential, he could grab the third spot or steal one of theirs.
12. Kevin Aymoz
13. Boyang Jin
14. Matteo Rizzo
15. Vincent Zhou (+4)
16. Morisi Kvitelashvili
17. Nam Nguyen
18. Deniss Vasiljevs
Wild Cards and National Team Spoilers
Japan: Daisuke Takahashi, Keiji Tanaka, Sota Yamamoto
Russia: Andrei Lazukin, Artur Dmitriev, Jr., Alexey Erokhov
US: Alexei Krasnozhon
Canada: Roman Sadovsky
Javier Fernandez (for Euros)
The gap between the top three and the rest of the field is still depressingly huge. With his consistency, Junhwan has the most potential to challenge, but he is still so young and rough around the edges, and his PCS reflects that. In Hanyu’s absence, Jason has the most quality, but without a quad it will be hard for him to challenge for the very top. Brezina is fun to watch, but he might have hit his ceiling in Helsinki. I just wish my bronze lutz boys would get it together..
Bumping this with a post GPF Update:
1. Yuzu with an * Because he's injured but he still has the highest SP, LP and Over-All scores this season.
2. Nathan showed he can hold it together when it matters and has extended his GPF reign to 2 years! Puts him definitely above Shoma for now.
3. Shoma's jump quality has been harshly evaluated by the judges this season so he will need to aim for more secure and rotated landings. Like it or not, if the jumps suffer, PCS also begins to suffer as well.
4. Jun-Lieeeet! A strong showing and a GPF medal. He's on the right track! He needs to watch the rotations as well because he tends to rotate more slowly in the air than other skaters.
5. Brezina continues to be solid in competition, but lacks the difficulty to challenge for higher rankings...maybe it's time to up the difficulty, put a second quad sal in the free?
6. Jason has come back strong with a win at Golden Spin and seems to have regained his competition confidence. Still, the time to quad is NOW. Put it in, fall on it, get up and try it till you make it.
7. Voronov is still Russia's no.1 Man. For years now I hear people ask 'What about the future?' well, Voronov has been here the whole time, getting to the final, winning medals. He deserves his spot on the World team.
8. Kolyada the potential is as present as ever and we get glimpses of it. When will it break free?
9. Keegan is extremely unpredictable, but his momentum has stalled a little. -Could it be that the earthquake in his home town has thrown him off?
10. Sentimental favorite pick this time is Daisuke Takahashi.
Post your updated rankings and other thoughts on the men's skating progress in general.
Um I was kinda impressed by what I saw from Kovtun at Tallinn Trophy....
I’m having visions of a Kovtun-Samarin-Gumennik podium.....
I liked Kovtun, and I'm happy he's back!
Enjoyed both of your rankings and pretty much agree with them! :2thumbs:
Interspectator, I especially agree with you on your thoughts on Voronov. Would really like to see him have his chance at Euros and Worlds this year - least Euros for sure!
rachno2, I like your wild cards and national team spoilers list, but I noticed you mentioned Alexey Erokhov. Isn't he injured? I don't think he's competed since Finlandia, although I'd love to hear some good news. I really want to see his "Black Earth" SP skated cleanly. I love the choreography.
You heard it here first: Kovtun will win Russian nationals :laugh15:
I told yall! #rise