2018 Rostelecom Cup: Thoughts, Analysis & Reviews

[sunn1ly]

Ladies- there were some surprieses apart from Alina. I am still happy I managed to see Gracie. Hope she does not give up and continue. I thought Mako was injured because she had troubles with the jumps during warm-up us as well. Polina had again two days off. Very happy for Eunsoo and Sofia. Both made very good performances. I am happy with what Alina showed , I just don't get the people here at the forum expect her to deliver every time 100% if you consider her programs the most difficult ones. If it was that easy everybody would have transitions, exist entries like her, but they don't. So its normal when she hits them to have record scores. Next week hope we will see many clean programs and hopefully 3 clean Axels and make the field even more interesting. If you prefer programs with gliding and expressions good for you I like the action at the right music moment Alina programs bring. Did Nathan was just for the ladies event, I am asking for a friend .

Men - there was Yuzuru and all the rest. I will not speak of him, he is the king period I just adore that now he is at ease and just enjoy the skating and every moment. I was really hoping Kolyada to deliver in front of home crowd, but still he had the perfect first music cut of Carmen with loads of speeds nice gestures and beautiful quads, next time more. Kolyada hitted 40 points with 3 jumping passes and then bomb the rest. Happy for the surprised medalists.

Ice dance - it feels so good to see Bukin and Ponomarenko in one competition. I am rooting for Stepanova and Bukin to bring back medals for Russia in big competitions. Anyway I was secretly hoping the polish couple hit the podium (at least on one of the dances) and Carreira and Ponomarenko silver. Congratulations to Sarah and Kiril who shattered this dream . Very good placement for Evdokimova and Bazin. Also let not forget to mention here that Shpilevaya and Smirnov could have made the competition far more interesting and classy, but instead we had a rare view seeing Russian couple last with a good difference, good job Russian Fed.

No surprises at the top, Evgenia is fighter once again. I was far more interested to see how the young Russian couples will do against each other, Daria and Denis almost got me chocked on my drink with random fall and Efimova and Korovin just have to work a bit more on their jumps. Seeing Bruno at the boards and then Miriam and Severin make very good skate cant be coincidence right. They are really improving so much. I will not lie that Cain and Leduc are my fave US couple after Chris and Alexa and wanted they to show more, their programs are so creative and they are not the typical pairs couple. I also wanted to see more from Deanna and Nathan after their previous competition unfortunately they along with Alexandrovskaya and Windsor had really bad falls on the throws.

 

[VenusHalley]

Men:
I wonder what is going on the Koliada. There was a poster here who claimed that public shaming him and bullying him helped... erghhh... it seems something is getting to him.
The appreciation of Hanyu's skates is now marred for me knowing that he is badly injured

Ladies:
Gracies run here was heartbreaking. She does not seem to be fit yet (nothing to do with her body, just with her stamina and strengh... poor girl really struggled, so i am glad she had enough sense of self-protection to WD, eventhough I wanted to see her skating to that beautiful sad song).

I am happy for Eunsoo, she is a thing of beauty. ANd her LP dress was so amazing, the fringe "skirt" looked amazing in movement and enhanced her moves. She was criminally underscored in PCS.

Alexia Paganini was a lovely surprise, she has gotten so good. It seems lots of European ladies improved over the summer, so I am really looking towards this season.

Polina keeps struggling, which is said, she is lovely to watch... until she messes up.

And Alina... she has talent... but her programs are cringe worthy. There is not story to them asides "there was a skater and she did lots of transitions". I thought i could warm up to her Carmen... but... it is too crammed with movements to be a believable Carmen. Carmen should be more sensual and sultry.... this feels bit more like Manic Pixie dream girl, constantly moving, outrageous... Few times (like when she holds her leg up for a split second) it looks like she fell out of the position... And she is proving to be bit inconsistent. Wonder what will her season be like.

 

[RobinA]

And Alina... she has talent... but her programs are cringe worthy. There is not story to them asides "there was a skater and she did lots of transitions". I thought i could warm up to her Carmen... but... it is too crammed with movements to be a believable Carmen. Carmen should be more sensual and sultry.... this feels bit more like Manic Pixie dream girl, constantly moving, outrageous... Few times (like when she holds her leg up for a split second) it looks like she fell out of the position... And she is proving to be bit inconsistent. Wonder what will her season be like.

I feel that this describes far too many Russian programs these days. Since PoC, really. Stuff as much as you can into the program whether it has anything to do with the music or not. If jumps at the end are rewarded, put all the jumps at the end. Maximize points. Where is the art? The thing is, they really don't have to do this to win. Sagitova is waaaaay ahead of her competition at this point, so why not rest for 10 seconds and do a beautiful Ina Bauer? Unfortunately, Alina's Carmen music begins where Katarina Witt's ended, so whenever I see the program and those first tones come on I'm seeing Witt. Or wishing I were. SHE was sensual and sultry. And older at the time she did that program. I like your "manic pixie dream girl." I call it seizure on ice.

I think part of the problem with Eunsoo's PCS is that the jazzy music does not suit her and she doesn't carry the style off real well. I agree, her dress is gorgeous and I love her skating, I just think she isn't at home being jazzy. Hopefully this is something they are trying out and she will learn from it and get back to something more elegant. her lines are gorgeous.

 

[Charlotte 71]

Well, I will go on record to say that Alina was a real highlight for me

Me too - I like Alina more this year than I ever did before. I don't think she is head-and-shoulders above the field and record/precedent settingly magificent, like Yuzu is, but she is comfortably ahead of most of her GP Final competition, except maybe a perfect Rika.

 

[Charlotte 71]

It might be nice to see Eunsoo resurrect Yuna Kim's Lark Ascending. I feel like that might really suit her. I don't like Chicago on her much. Even if she were not too young for it, and if the music were not a tired warhorse, she seems too dignified for it.

 

[RobinA]

It might be nice to see Eunsoo resurrect Yuna Kim's Lark Ascending. I feel like that might really suit her. I don't like Chicago on her much. Even if she were not too young for it, and if the music were not a tired warhorse, she seems too dignified for it.

That would probably work well for her. I'm chalking the Chicago up to trying to broaden her range a bit. Her ability to carry it off was not up to the rest of her skating ability, but she skated well do it.

 

[Jaana]

Highlights:

Ladies
- Lim's freeskate was just wonderful, such a flow and great interpretation
- Paganini´s sp and fs, I really liked her skating and programs. She has improved so much.
- Shiraiwa´s freeskate, her skating style is wonderful (oh my, Japan has so many great lady skaters, that I have great difficulty in remembering their names)

Men
- Hanyu sp, really great, the music suits him so well!. Fs, Hanyu is Hanyu even as injured. Hopefully he will heal quickly...
- Tomono, WOW, I loved both his sp and fs, wonderful!!!

 

[[email protected]]

My 2 cents after seeing it live.

A very depressing competition. I start to ask myself if I should give up on figure skating and Golden Skates alltogether.

Ladies:

Alina is struggling. Still the best in the world. She does not have 3A. In everything else she is still way better than Rika. Well, I have not seen Rika live.

Sofia is not bad. She was lowballed in the free. But she does not have "it" factor.

Mako - I even placed her in the power ranking. Give me a break - she is weak.

Yuna S - a good average skater.

Eusoon. There was a member here. He had many faces. His last face was "tars". He made mistakes. At some points of time he believed in the greatness of Gracie, then he believed in Marin Honda. His last infatuation was Eusoon. Boy, I can understand him. She is good. She is better than Mako, Yuna S, Satoko with her jump twizzles. She is better than all the Russians but Alina, Zhenya, and Liza. She would have been a star....but 5-6 years ago.

Lizbet Tursynbaeva. Major improvement, program and skating wise. If she nails jumps she becomes relevant in the "big girls game". But this "if" is important, very important.


Men:

Yuzuru is not from this planet. Then his injury and his second half of the free after the outstanding first one was sort of an ordeal to watch.

Kolyada. I gave up on him. I have given up on all Russian men but Voronov. But he is what? 31? He will never get pcs he deserves. Will he finally get into the National team as all these alievs, samarins, lazukins, etc. cannot deliver?

Moris. I saw him some years ago at Rostelecom. He was last. He even did not score 200. Now he is second. He does not have Kolyada's or Aliev's natural talent. He is tall and awkward. But he is second. Why? Because he has Eteri behind him. And this is what matters.

Dance

I fell asleep. But then Stepanova/Bukin. They are different. They like Yuzuru widen the horizons. They have been underscored as long as I watch them. Now they get some scores. But I am sure they will be placed under average good Americans no matter how they skate. It's dance....

I am too negative, I shall stop at this.

 

[TallyT]

Interesting assessment. This begs the question- which is better: for a skater to captivate a live crowd of hundreds for a few minutes, or an audience of thousands that views via a screen for years to come?

Both, if they can manage it {sneaking a look at my quite staggering collection of videos and fancams... the latter I like because they can't cut to closeup so you do see how they move across the ice.}

 

[RobinA]

The entire GP has been depressing. With the exception of the Japanese ladies, there is no depth on any team. Very few are enjoyable to watch. Moskvina's pair at Rostelecom was falling all over the ice. Time was that was a rare sight. If it weren't for the Asian ladies, I don't think I'd even be watching, although I am watching all disciplines. Dance has been a struggle. I hate the tangos, I'm sick of required Latin dances it seems like almost every year. Some people are greeeeat at them and others just aren't. Let people chose that style of dancing for the free if they want, because if they pick it they are probably good at it. Otherwise require dances that allow for a little more flexibility in styling. What a disappointing season. Hopefully it's a sorting out year and not further death by CoP.

 

[TallyT]

The appreciation of Hanyu's skates is now marred for me knowing that he is badly injured

I'm trying to look at it this way, maybe he shouldn't have done it (though I do think if he hadn't, for Plushy and for the Russian skating he looks up to, he would always regret it, soooo....) but could anyone else in the current field, and yes I mean anyone have poured as much into it and done as brilliantly? Putting it together pretty much on the fly, in shock and pain, and then getting some of those component marks...

Maybe they could, and I hope we never find out (I would never want this sort of heartbreaking pain for Shoma or Boyang or Chen... anyone, please, let them all be fine at the GPF). Personally, I doubt if any but a handful of skaters ever could match it. But Yuzuru proved again that he is just that legendary, even when the chips are decidedly down and shattered at his injured feet. I am now sending karmic vibes for the Origin skate of his dreams - if not at Nationals, then at Worlds.

And watching Yagudin literally willing him through, and visibly feeling every beat of a tribute to his greatest rival, was something else

(PS - I also have a feeling I will be cheering for Kolyada, my underdog-petting streak is stirring every time I read someone saying they might give up on him... but can the heart that is already bruised by Yuzu and Boyang stand it?)

 

[dobrevaria]

I'm a bit late, but better late than never.

Well, that was a depressing competition. Some good things, but not enough to compensate the bad things, unfortunately. I didn't watch pairs and ice dance fyi.

For the ladies :
- Eunsoo : I'm starting to like her program more and more. She has a good technique and skating skills overall (even if she can still improve) and a great presence on the ice.
- Gracie : I'm heartbroken for her, and I hope everything is going to be okay, because it must have been tough. She took a long break, so maybe (and surely) she is not ready physically and mentally yet. I hope than she knows what she's doing because personally, I don't understand. You should not go to a competition untrained ; and I'm afraid it's not going to help her dealing with her mental health. But well, we will see. I wish her the best of luck!
- Alina : I really like Alina, she is a beautiful skater, and really cute, but she does not deserve her score tbh and I feel she is becoming the new Medvedeva (in the sense that she is getting scores she does not deserve). I'm also a bit worried, because she seems to be struggling a bit : before, her jumps were more fluid. Now, from what I saw, she underrotates and is not as perfect technically as she was before. I actually think it was to be expected since she grew up and she has a new body now. I'm just hoping it will not stay like that in the future. Apart from that, I don't like her programs this year, which bothers me a bit because I really liked both her SP & her FS last season. Hope these programs will grow on me.
- Not a good day for the Japanese ladies I was heartbroken for Matsuda ; something is clearly wrong.
- Polina is fighting, I see that, but she is struggling a lot.
- I don't see any imrpovements about Tursynbaeva personally, which is actually surprsing since I tought that she would soar under Eteri. Oh well.
- Samodurova was fun! I really like her this season.
- Paganini was a highlight for me! I didn't know her, and I see a lot of potential. I'm going to follow her closely from now on.

Men:
-Kolyada, what is happening ? I tought he spent the off season with Arutunian to improve his jumps...So where is the result of all this work? I'm starting to lose hope. It's a skater I like a lot, but he seems to be struggling on his jumps this season. His jumping condition was not good last season, but not THAT BAD. His potential is huge, but it's just not working out.
- Messing ; he messed up a bit, which is a pity since I wanted to see him at the GPF.
- Dmitriev : Kudos for trying to do the 4A. Not a success, but at least, he tried.
- Kazuki Tomono is really charming, I like what he is putting out there!
- Hanyu was really the highlight of the GP for me. A sublime, magnificient SP. I was in awe during the whole thing ; it's just so beautiful, and breathtaking. The FS was not as good as the SP, but since he was injured (recovers Yuzu!!), it was still a solid performance, and way better than the rest of the field.

 

[lavoix]

For those talking about Sofia, she didn't have spark at this competition. I think she was too focused on being clean? Her previous GP she was just shining!

 

[Mathman]

Sofia ... does not have "it" factor.

Disagree! Disagree! Disagree!

This performance wasn't as good as her first event. But still ...

 

[Baron Vladimir]

For those talking about Sofia, she didn't have spark at this competition. I think she was too focused on being clean? Her previous GP she was just shining!

Yeah, thats the problem with skaters in general. When they have nothing to lose they are more relaxed and their personality/performance is so much better. Sofia and Mako at their first GP and Alexia here. Alina at Japan Open. Kolyada at his first competition. Messing too. There are a lot of examples... And you can see they are just too nervous when the stakes are high and not on their best as a consequence

 

[Interspectator]

Disagree! Disagree! Disagree!

This performance wasn't as good as her first event. But still ...

With both Samodurova and Mako-chan, I was so impressed with them in their first GP. But being so young, the pressure may have tripped them up in their second here at COR. They are really fun to watch.

 

[crazydreamer]

Is Dmitriev the first to attempt a 4A in competition?

 

[Arriba627]

Was not able to watch the majority of the event live but have now watched most of it, other than the ice dance. As I was watching, I couldn't help but wonder if a lot of the skaters are experiencing Olympic hangover and just having a hard time gearing up for the new season.

LADIES -- Mako started out her season so well at Lombardia and Sk Can. I fully expected to see her get on the podium again at this event and so was disappointed when she had a rather flat performance. I was at Sk Can, and she had a very good short and a brilliant Madame Butterfly program that had powerful jumps with light-as-a-feather landings. Did the pressure get to her this time as she tried to earn her way to the GPF? Maybe so...I enjoyed Sofia's skating very much and (since I don't follow juniors) was impressed with her when I saw her at Lombardia and her first GP. She had a rather cautious skate here...Not quite sure what happened to Yura. She usually has a beautiful springiness to her jumps, and it was obvious she couldn't get any lift when she performed her jumps here. She must have an injury of some sort. I know some don't care for her SP with the old fashioned dress and pearls, but I like it just because it's something different...My beautiful Alina. Already her center of gravity is changing as she gets taller and more womanly. I am envisioning her having another good season and then making room for the up and coming quadsters. Ugh -- all those transitions. Busy, busy, busy. Remove about 1/3 of the transitions, hold some positions, ride the edge on a couple of the jumps and get some flow. I am still chuckling at the remark supposedly made by Mishin saying that Eteri is responsible for the obsession with transitions into mediocre jumps. As many have already said, Alina's music cuts for her programs are rather jarring. But I still have to give her credit for really going for it and doing her best to sell whatever they give to her...Plenty has already been said about Gracie, so only adding that it was painful for me to watch her. In my mind I still think of her at St. Paul Nationals 2016 watching her come out and dazzle us with her Firebird in that beautiful red costume as she took the title. I'm not sure what the future holds for her, but I wish her only the best.

MEN -- So glad to see Kazuki improving his consistency and gaining more confidence. He seems to be projecting more to the audience and "selling" his Riverdance more...Sending a virtual hug to Mikhail. His confidence crisis is painful to see. He has such a wonderful presence on the ice, great musicality, beautiful jumps when he manages to land them, gorgeous posture. I hope his coaching team can get him the help he needs -- be it with more time with Raf, a sports psychologist, or whatever. He has it all, and I so want him to pull it all together...Darn it Keegan, I thought you would be at the GPF! Not sure if it was the pressure or just having a bad day at the office. Very disappointed for him. He was so entertaining at Sk Can.

PAIRS -- Heartbroken for Deanna and Nate that Deanna had food poisoning. Her falls looked painful, and they looked so demoralized in the Kiss and Cry. I know they tried to do the FS but realized it was better to withdraw. Cheer up and work hard towards Nationals...Had hoped Ashley & Timothy might make it to the GPF, but their costly SP error (was it on their lift? can't remember now) was devastating. Nice comeback in the FS, and it seems their work with Nina Mozer is starting to pay off with better unison and less skating as singles and more as a pair...Hope Ekaterina is ok after her painful falls in the FS throws...All in all, the pairs were a little underwhelming, but congrats to those who made the podium.

Hope to have a chance to catch the ice dancing...It is my dream to attend a competition in Moscow some day, so I always watch Rostelecom with great interest.

 

[leoleo]

Alina is struggling. Still the best in the world. She does not have 3A. In everything else she is still way better than Rika. Well, I have not seen Rika live.

lmao how random! What business does Rika have being mentioned here? from what i remember she wasn't competing at Rostelecom

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

lmao how random! What business does Rika have being mentioned here? from what i remember she wasn't competing at Rostelecom

I think samkrut was probably forced to look outside of this event to find someone and something to compare Alina to since she crushed everyone else here rather easily.

No one else even broke 200 so.....

FWIW: My scorecard would have easily reflected a score of well over 200 for Sofya