2018 Skate Canada Men's Short Program

[oatmella]

Is Shoma ok? His head hit the boards

 

[Tavi...]

I agree with you- but I think he is capable of regaining that confidence, it’s just going to take time.

What I should have said is I wouldn’t be surprised to see a great freeskate, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him struggle. Last year really did a number on Jason- It might take some time for him to trust his ability again. Either way I am pulling for him.

I really hope he’s capable of regaining the confidence. I just wonder what it will take. He was visibly nervous when he started, as if he expected to fail - even after this morning’s beautiful practice with squeaky clean, fully rotated jumps.

 

[oatmella]

Jason is really capable of a lot better than what he did here - hoping for a good FS!

And #higherpcsforjunhwan please

 

[ancientpeas]

I want you all to know that I watched this with a cat on my chest and a 85 pound dog on my lap so posting was impossible.

I thought Keegan was great and I hope he changes his outfit to something more Buzz Lightyear or Woody like.
I actually really liked Shoma's tango/flamenco stairway to heaven but the fall on the triple axel looked painful. I actually said "ouch" outloud.
Sad about Jason. Happy for Junhwan. Happy for Nam too. Also happy for both Alexanders. Tracy said that AS was actually quite musical and good with the performance but for some reason the audience didn't connect with the music he choose. Which is a shame.
Good luck to all the men tomorrow.

 

[Skater Boy]

Shoma still is in good position to win it all. I do hope he is okay and that they check his head. I do not want another Yuzuru situation. WE do not need fake heroes. But Shoma has al ot more quads and pcs than the others especially Keegan. Jason is a lovely skater but eventually he has to get penalized pc wise. We can all criticize Chan for his lack of tech content but Jason pales to Chan in part because Chan was a better skater and Jason is no slouch. But with Nathan, Yuzuru, Shoma and Mikael K well Jason is looking a little long in the tooty. I appreciate he has been iwith Brian for a short period of time but eventually his golden boy status may fade. He has to be at least clean if he has no quad. He needs to be a Jeffrey Buttle.

 

[TallyT]

But with Nathan, Yuzuru, Shoma and Mikael K well Jason is looking a little long in the tooty.

Umm.... I think he's actually a week younger than Yuzuru? (yes yes I know, when you look at him Yuzu doesn't seem to age like normal human beings, but still...)

 

[Colonel Green]

Looking over the scores and the protocols (having got back from the event), my main quibbles would be that Shoma should be lower (I'm sure he'll come back with a huge score in the free tomorrow and win anyway, so this won't matter in the end, but all the same) and Kazuki Tomono should be a bit higher.

 

[Tonichelle]

SO excited for Keegan! I cheered so loudly in my room today that it scared my dog (sorry, pup!). Here's hoping he holds it together for the long!

 

[CellarDweller]

Was out running to get chores done, so I missed this event live.

Felt badly for Jason, but he's gotta hit these jumps. I don't mean to be mean, but he's where he deserves to be in the standings. Can't say the same for Shoma. There is no way he should be in second after that performance. At the very least, he should be 5th or 6th in my book. With all the great performances that proceeded him, he definitely shouldn't be in the second place spot.

Never been a Keegan fan, but damn, he was THE MAN tonight. I love this SP from him, and he completely deserves his 1st place spot after the SP. I hope he can carry it through the LP, and get himself a title.

 

[Skater Boy]

Umm.... I think he's actually a week younger than Yuzuru? (yes yes I know, when you look at him Yuzu doesn't seem to age like normal human beings, but still...)

I actually meant his lack of quads seems so yesteryear now. I didn't mean age wise. I just think he has such wonderful skating skills. Nathan is trying but he does not have the glide or edge.

 

[Fruitpie]

I just want to say that Keegan was awesome.

 

[NoNameFace]

I want you all to know that I watched this with a cat on my chest and a 85 pound dog on my lap so posting was impossible.

I thought Keegan was great and I hope he changes his outfit to something more Buzz Lightyear or Woody like.
I actually really liked Shoma's tango/flamenco stairway to heaven but the fall on the triple axel looked painful. I actually said "ouch" outloud.
Sad about Jason. Happy for Junhwan. Happy for Nam too. Also happy for both Alexanders. Tracy said that AS was actually quite musical and good with the performance but for some reason the audience didn't connect with the music he choose. Which is a shame.
Good luck to all the men tomorrow.

Keegan dressed as 'Toy story' character makes me smile instantly, this would be an ultimate quirk embrace. And his hat would fit briliantly

I think that the most important thing with watching him in my perspective is the authenticity of enjoyment he gives out every time stepping on ice to perform. His smile is infectious and illuminates his skating. I get that his programs, the compact aesthetic of his skating don't have to be everyone's cup of tea, but he is undeniable an amazing performer and entertainer in his craft, a charmer who puts people at ease and makes them smile involuntarily. And that 3A was for me the best jump from all SPs, just sublime.

 

[elektra blue]

lets' face it, i jst have to stop rooting for people, i'm jinxing them all, they can be all surprisingly cealn, even samohin (i mean SAMOHIN!), but my favoutites...sorry guys, my bad!:hopelessness:



Kevin AYMOZ: now I know for sure, I love this man, his passion and beautiful style, he is a dancer on ice. +5 for handsome coach

Junhwan CHA: how amazing he is! This performance is growing and growing and so is the tech, that combo was huge and beautiful. He’s going to get a medal here (and very likely everywhere else)

Keegan MESSING: he is here to stay and to throw 3 lutz out of nowere right to our faces ! -5 for looking like my grandpa but everything else was amazing

Jason BROWN: with all the men doing so fine it had to be Jason to screw it up. Why, fs gods? Why?

Shoma UNO: he wasn’t flawless, I blame the plain costume. Just one color? No sparkles? No wonder he wasn’t his usual self! Give him back his glitters!

 

[Danny T]

Whew finally caught up to most of the men before the LP (which I might actually miss again argh timezones). Skating-wise, I was pretty shocked about 10 of the men's SPs went much better than expected. Sure, a hand-down and step out here and there, but overall the majority of them didn't disaster ... except Shoma and Jason (and Roman RIP). Judging-wise, technical panel here was verrrrryy generous on jumps (I would hate to think that was due to Tom Z's online tantrum). Junhwan's 4S was UR, Shoma's 4F was under (even without counting the excessive PR as always), and quite some more. OTOH, they are still strict with levels, so small blessings I suppose. Only Jason got level 4 steps IIRC and mostly level 4 spins.

Happy that Keegan seems to be on an upward trajectory. Sure, he's skating to the essentially the same program over and over in an ugly sweater, but I agree that his joy can be quote infectous. His jump quality is great today, tight combo but fantastic 3A and the entrance to that lutz was insane. Spins are very fast, too. Deservedly in first (not sure about his components since I'm a bit tired of the program itself but TES was undeniable).

Shoma ... was not his day today. The 3A fall was quite horrible, but on slow-mo (jeez why would they even slow mo that) he didn't seem to hit his head on the ice, so it will definitely hurt but hopefully no lasting damage. Program-wise, this SP starts out well, very intense, and finishes off on a high step sequence and spin. However, the looong section just before the 3A was really anemic: the music picks up its pace but Shoma's skating was even slower than the first half? He can definitely skate fast though, so I have no idea why the choreo is like that. With his general consistency, I think he should easily pull back to win in the free.

Junhwan was great! Yep, 4S was under and lutz edge looked kinda suspicious, but I'm really charmed by this Cinderella programme, clock choreo and all. I like his flow across the ice, could have been better but good flow never hurts a programme. A bit underscored in the PCS I think, the gap with Keegan was unwarrented IMHO but his TES was generous so I guess I don't have huge complaints.

Oh Jason ... his practices went really well, so I'm guessing this is a mentally adapting to new technique problem (Medvedeva's practices went really well too so there's that). He might not have a stable quad now, but I really like his triples, like that 3F to start, they have a suspended quality that is very aesthetically pleasing. He won't have the technical goods to climb back up all the way to the podium (unless the other men bomb badly which is TBF quite likely but still I wouldn't look forward to that) but hoping he can have a redemption free. Not that this SP was extremely bad, just the TES not up to par.

Samarin, wow that cracking 4Lz sure showed the rest he's not here to play. I enjoyed the programme, but judges might not want to go so quad-happy with his PCS. Skating-wise he was not so great.

The Morozov men (sorry, B.ESP uncles keep reminding me Kerry and Majorov are) are very ... Morozov-like Cracking StSq, all landed jumps, not much else. But personally happy that they got what they came here for.

Kazuki was great! The program doesn't look very Kazuki, Misha's signature was all over it and sometiems even his slight over-interpretation too. But I was hoping this might show off a more lyrical side to Kazuki to the judges (their PCS showed not so much but fingers-crossed).

Really happy for the rest of the men. Don't bomb your free, guys

 

[CellarDweller]

Kevin AYMOZ: now I know for sure, I love this man, his passion and beautiful style, he is a dancer on ice. +5 for handsome coach

Agreed. Now if someone could convince him to drop that whole thing where he uses his hands to put 'horns' on his head. It was the only part of his program that I didn't like. Made me roll my eyes. I loved his long program when I saw it earlier at the Autumn Classic, hope he can be just as successful or better than he was there.

 

[elektra blue]

Agreed. Now if someone could convince him to drop that whole thing where he uses his hands to put 'horns' on his head. It was the only part of his program that I didn't like. Made me roll my eyes. I loved his long program when I saw it earlier at the Autumn Classic, hope he can be just as successful or better than he was there.

we can forgive him, can't we?