Name your top five underrated skaters, past or present.

[SarahSynchro]

Voltare would remind us that we all have a right to our opinion and my opinion will always be that:

Pairs and all pairs are criminally underrated.

Pairs skating really is the endangered species of figure skating.

 

[ancientpeas]

Pairs skating really is the endangered species of figure skating.

You and me Sarah.. we are keeping the love alive. The rest of you are welcome to join us!

 

[labgoat]

You and me Sarah.. we are keeping the love alive. The rest of you are welcome to join us!

Don't forget about me - I love pairs!

 

[MGstyle]

Pairs skating really is the endangered species of figure skating.

I have been concerned about this for some time too, seriously. There seem to be less and less of them, and with the retirement (now with Aljona's condition, it's pretty much a given) of Savchenko/Massot, Pair Skating scene took a severe blow. It seems that James/Cipres and Sui/Han are the only pairs with bona fide star power at this moment. I do hope the tide will change in the near future, but the skating world does need a solid inspiration for that.

 

[Seven Sisters]

Don't forget about me - I love pairs!

Hey, I love pairs too!

And I’m hoping against hope that Marina Zueva—an absolute master of packaging and positioning teams for success, IMHO—will be able to do something with Tarasova/Morozov. They have the talent, and that beautiful classic Russian technique; they just need to project some personality.

 

[ancientpeas]

Hey, I love pairs too!

And I’m hoping against hope that Marina Zueva—an absolute master of packaging and positioning teams for success, IMHO—will be able to do something with Tarasova/Morozov. They have the talent, and that beautiful classic Russian technique; they just need to project some personality.

I'm so glad that Moskvina has another top ranked pair. Seeing her in the kiss and cry is such a delightful thing.

Russians really are the gold standard for pairs. China's progress in pairs has been very impressive.

 

[MGstyle]

I agree about Tarasova - Morozov. Their talent is undeniable, while they have been repeatedly given programs that did little (or worse) to compliment the quality they have, with the exception of the Rachmaninov and the Irish SP from a few years back.
Also I feel it was a huge pity that Marchei - Hotarek dissolved their partnership just when their talent came together and spiced up the pair skating scene in such a grand fashion last season.

 

[Seven Sisters]

I agree about Tarasova - Morozov. Their talent is undeniable, while they have been repeatedly given programs that did little (or worse) to compliment the quality they have, with the exception of the Rachmaninov and the Irish SP from a few years back.


Absolutely right MG, I should have added that the programs they have had so far have not done them any favors.

Also I feel it was a huge pity that Marchei - Hotarek dissolved their partnership just when their talent came together and spiced up the pair skating scene in such a grand fashion last season.

And to ancientpeas and SarahSynchro, the Canadians among us, let me cite Seguin/Bilodeau as another huge missed opportunity in pairs. They never got as far as they needed to get technically, but I thought they had tons of “it factor,” right from the beginning. How delightful they could have been!

 

[Mathman]

I don't know if they were actually "underrated," but here are some skaters that I greatly enjoyed that most folks on the board have most likely never heard of.

Men. Vakhtang Murvanidze
Dance. Watanabe and Kido
Pairs. Andrea Best and Trevor Young
Ladies. Yebin Mok http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dRgBJzszwH0/UgpQ8W_O0aI/AAAAAAAAA0w/D1NXDNdAP24/s1600/Yebin_.jpg

 

[ladyjane]

You and me Sarah.. we are keeping the love alive. The rest of you are welcome to join us!

I'm definitely joining you. Pairs are the thing for me, it's the discipline I love best. It is encouraging that in the US there are good developments (pair camps, couples staying together for a longer time, help from top coaches), that Canada seems to be getting back on track (really hoping the new pairing between Charlie and Lubov works out), China is continuing strong, while the depth of the field in Russia is just spectacular. Furthermore, the Austrians and Germans are becoming somewhat more succesfull even though one of those pairs was lost to us, that Zoe's partnership still is going strong, etc. However, last season was a bit of a bummer with so few participants in pairs at the major competitions. Let's hope it's picking up soon. There have been some ISU seminars just now, which should be a motivational factor.

 

[Kenyie]

Instantly, the following come to mind:

1. Alyssa Csizny: A remarkable talent without a major title, mostly because of her inability to settle her nerves, not her thrilling skating skills. The best spinner after Ms. Ruh.

2. Johnny Weir: Homophobia robbed him an Olympic medal, in my humble opinion.

3. Elizabeth Punsalan and Jared Swallow: The Russian bloc never allowed their improvements and artistry to be rewarded.

4. Ashley Wagner: It is tiring to keep hearing that she’s not one of the USA’s most important female skaters. She’s definitely in the Top 10.

This list is very American-centric. Sorry.

 

[surimi]

I can't believe I've forgotten about Kawaguti/Smirnov. They definitely belong in this thread IMO.

 

[labgoat]

I'd like to add Sinead & John Kerr to the list

 

[deedee1]

I'd like to add Sinead & John Kerr to the list

:agree:

 

[blue_idealist]

Mine are Hanyu, Plushenko, Yagudin, Fernandez and Chen

IMO, Plush, Yags, Hanyu and Chen have been rated extremely well (deservedly).

 

[LiamForeman]

Another American skater I thought was underrated was Ryan Jahnke. He had superb skating skills. Just watching him stroke around in practices was a sight to behold. The hum of his blades cutting the ice was amazing! It seemed so wrong that he was held down at the time because Goebel and Weiss were quadsters and he never got the PCS he deserved. Patrick Chan and Jeffrey Buttle were coming up at that time too, and I'd put Jahnke's PCS on par, especially against Buttle's. Had Jahnke been Canadian he would have been National champ I'm sure. It seemed weird that Jahnke was totally overlooked in PCS because he had a shaky 3axel, while Chan and Buttle also had shaky axels but on the world scene they were given sky high PCS. Matt Savoie also comes to mind as another American with excellent SS who never received fair scores.

 

[LiamForeman]

Mine are Hanyu, Plushenko, Yagudin, Fernandez and Chen

Huh? Underrated?!?!?! You might as well include Lysacek and Patrick Chan then too and every other World gold medalist since 2002, LOL. Michelle Kwan, Katarina Witt, Peggy Fleming and Sonja Henie were also criminally underrated too!! They didn't get the respect or titles they deserved either!! Too funny.

 

[labgoat]

Kyoko Ina & Jason Dungjen and Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman, Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig,

 

[StephenGfan]

5 overrated skaters:
Grishuk/platov
Navka/Kostornamov
Davis/white
Plushenko
Katarina witt

 

[Imagine]

1. Arakawa Shizuka
2. Sasha Cohen
3. Sasha Cohen
4. Sasha Cohen
5. Sasha Cohen

That is all.