- Joined
- Mar 3, 2018
- Country
-
Tessa and Scott have vacated their thrones (again), for good this time (we presume).
But in contrast to Canada's departing legends in the men's and pairs categories, Canadian ice dance is uniquely deep. Indeed, this is the only area where we have more Top 15-caliber entrants than we can have spaces for at Worlds in the next few years. The players:
Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje, who had two seasons as Canada's #1 team during the interregnum, in which span they also won two Grand Prix Finals and excruciatingly narrowly missed the World Championship title. Had a rocky time in the last little while, but capped the 2017-2018 season with their first Worlds podium finish since 2015. They seem likely to inherit the national title again.
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier, who would be the reigning national champions if they skated for all but a couple of countries. Unfortunately for them, they've generally been stuck in second/third banana status nationally. As an aside, these two are my favourites. Anyway, they ended 2017-2018 with their highest scores to date; it seems like they're finally being allowed into the upper echelon in terms of scoring (if not quite yet making it into the final flight).
Carolane Soucisse & Shane Firus, the newbies to the international scene, who (rather like Gilles and Poirier four years ago) got to go to Four Continents in lieu of the Olympics and win a silver medal there. They made a solid debut at Worlds afterward. With Tessa and Scott gone, they'd seem well-positioned to neatly slide into the third Canadian spot at Worlds going forward. Except for...
Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Sorensen, who gave up trying to make Laurence Danish and have found it much more viable to make Nikolaj Canadian. Obviously not getting to go the Olympics was a crushing disappointment for them after working so long and hard to qualify a place for Denmark there. Here's to more favourable returns for their efforts from now on.
Going forward:
1. Looking at the Worlds results, one could easily get the impression that Tessa and Scott's absence freed up some points to be awarded to Weaver/Poje and Gilles/Poirier, as they both got noticeable scoring boosts relative to what they got at the Olympics for similar performance quality. Can they keep this momentum going?
2. Kaitlyn and Andrew are actually both older than Tessa and Scott (if narrowly, both cases), so it seems like most have been assuming they aren't contemplating another full quad. At the same time, it seems unlikely they'll make this their last season, what with 2020 Worlds being in Montreal.
3. In the race for third place on the 2019 Worlds, Laurence and Nikolaj are the more internationally experienced team, but expect a race to see if Carolane and Shane, who have been steadily improving, can head them off. If nothing else, Carolane and Shane can compete internationally this fall, which Laurence and Nikolaj can't.
4. Looking to the international junior scene, Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha came ever-so-close to the podium at the 2018 Junior Worlds. They've enjoyed steady improvement, and will be looking to get more than a small medal next time.
But in contrast to Canada's departing legends in the men's and pairs categories, Canadian ice dance is uniquely deep. Indeed, this is the only area where we have more Top 15-caliber entrants than we can have spaces for at Worlds in the next few years. The players:
Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje, who had two seasons as Canada's #1 team during the interregnum, in which span they also won two Grand Prix Finals and excruciatingly narrowly missed the World Championship title. Had a rocky time in the last little while, but capped the 2017-2018 season with their first Worlds podium finish since 2015. They seem likely to inherit the national title again.
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier, who would be the reigning national champions if they skated for all but a couple of countries. Unfortunately for them, they've generally been stuck in second/third banana status nationally. As an aside, these two are my favourites. Anyway, they ended 2017-2018 with their highest scores to date; it seems like they're finally being allowed into the upper echelon in terms of scoring (if not quite yet making it into the final flight).
Carolane Soucisse & Shane Firus, the newbies to the international scene, who (rather like Gilles and Poirier four years ago) got to go to Four Continents in lieu of the Olympics and win a silver medal there. They made a solid debut at Worlds afterward. With Tessa and Scott gone, they'd seem well-positioned to neatly slide into the third Canadian spot at Worlds going forward. Except for...
Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Sorensen, who gave up trying to make Laurence Danish and have found it much more viable to make Nikolaj Canadian. Obviously not getting to go the Olympics was a crushing disappointment for them after working so long and hard to qualify a place for Denmark there. Here's to more favourable returns for their efforts from now on.
Going forward:
1. Looking at the Worlds results, one could easily get the impression that Tessa and Scott's absence freed up some points to be awarded to Weaver/Poje and Gilles/Poirier, as they both got noticeable scoring boosts relative to what they got at the Olympics for similar performance quality. Can they keep this momentum going?
2. Kaitlyn and Andrew are actually both older than Tessa and Scott (if narrowly, both cases), so it seems like most have been assuming they aren't contemplating another full quad. At the same time, it seems unlikely they'll make this their last season, what with 2020 Worlds being in Montreal.
3. In the race for third place on the 2019 Worlds, Laurence and Nikolaj are the more internationally experienced team, but expect a race to see if Carolane and Shane, who have been steadily improving, can head them off. If nothing else, Carolane and Shane can compete internationally this fall, which Laurence and Nikolaj can't.
4. Looking to the international junior scene, Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha came ever-so-close to the podium at the 2018 Junior Worlds. They've enjoyed steady improvement, and will be looking to get more than a small medal next time.
