Skate Canada Rundown

It's looking like Skate Canada is going to be... interesting. Due to withdrawals in both the ice dance and pairs events, neither has a clear favorite for the gold. The ladies have an interesting mash up of some familiar names, but there doesn't seem to be a clear front runner there either. And like NHK, it appears that the men will be the highlight, with most of the field being familiar names and a few definite front runners.

Ice Dance Entries

1	Sarah ARNOLD / Justin TROJEK	CAN	1
2	Vanessa CRONE / Paul POIRIER	CAN	1
3	Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM	CAN	1
4	Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES	FRA	2
5	Stefanie FROHBERG / Tim GIESEN	GER	3
6	Sinead KERR / John KERR	GBR	4
7	Kristina GORSHKOVA / Vitali BUTIKOV	RUS	5
8	Madison CHOCK / Greg ZUERLEIN	USA	6
9	Rachel TIBBETTS / Collin BRUBAKER	USA	6

 
The only names on that roster that I am at least somewhat familiar with are the Kerrs, along with Crone/Poirier, and Chock/Zuerlein. The Kerrs placed 5th at Worlds last season, while Crone/Poirier placed 7th. I'm really not sure how everything is going to pan out, but I am thinking that those 2 teams are the most likely candidates for gold. And really... that's about the only thought I've had for the ice dancing at this event based on entries.


Pairs Entries

1	Meagan DUHAMEL / Eric RADFORD	CAN	1
2	Paige LAWRENCE / Rudi SWIEGERS	CAN	1
3	Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Dylan MOSCOVITCH	CAN	1
4	Huibo DONG / Yiming WU	CHN	2
5	Stacey KEMP / David KING	GBR	3
6	Lubov ILIUSHECHKINA / Nodari MAISURADZE	RUS	4
7	Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR	USA	5
8	Britney SIMPSON / Nathan MILLER	USA	5

I'm not sure that I've ever seen any of these pairs skate! I do remember that Meagan Duhamel was half a pairs team that had some success before, so I think she and her current partner definitely have a shot at this title. Nothing else really to say here.

Ladies Entries

1	Amelie LACOSTE	CAN	1
2	Cynthia PHANEUF	CAN	1
3	Myriane SAMSON	CAN	1
4	Valentina MARCHEI	ITA	2
5	Haruka IMAI	JPN	3
6	Fumie SUGURI	JPN	3
7	Ksenia MAKAROVA	RUS	4
8	Sonia LAFUENTE	ESP	5
9	Sarah MEIER	SUI	6
10	Alissa CZISNY	USA	7
11	Alexe GILLES	USA	7
12	Agnes ZAWADZKI	USA	7

As previously stated, the ladies do have some familiar names in the lineup, but it isn't really a field with a clear cut favorite. Because of what I have heard of her consistency, I think that Agnes Zawadzki has a great chance to snag not just a medal here, but a gold, in what will be her senior debut. Fumie Suguri definitely is someone who could easily show up on the medal stand, but she hasn't been at her best the last couple of years it seems. Czisny and Phaneuf both have the potential to medal, but neither is none for consistency. It will be interesting to where everyone will end up in such an open field.

Men's Entries

1	Patrick CHAN	CAN	1
2	Kevin REYNOLDS	CAN	1
3	Jeremy TEN	CAN	1
4	Alban PREAUBERT	FRA	2
5	Paolo BACCHINI	ITA	3
6	Yasuharu NANRI	JPN	4
7	Nobunari ODA	JPN	4
8	Artur GACHINSKI	RUS	5
9	Javier FERNANDEZ	ESP	6
10	Kristoffer BERNTSSON	SWE	7
11	Grant HOCHSTEIN	USA	8
12	Adam RIPPON	USA	8

By far the most exciting field in this competition (and my favorite in general), it looks like the main guys to keep an eye on here are Adam Rippon, Nobunari Oda, and Patrick Chan. I'm extremely excited to see how Adam fares as many are looking to him as the next star in American men's skating. If he performs anywhere near how he did at the Japan open a few weeks back, I think he'll easily be in contention for a medal, possibly even gold. Patrick Chan has reportedly been having more luck with the quad lately, but has commented that his triple axel still needs work. Unless he completely implodes, he'll probably get one medal or another here. Nobunari Oda is also definitely in contention. Although he had a disaster of a time at Worlds, I really do think (and hope!) that he will do well here. He's been landing quad-triple-triples in practice, and from a snippet of a video that I watched, his jumps in general are as wonderful as ever. Possible podium crashers here could be Kevin Reynolds (whose quads are great, but he lacks consistency and artistry), Javier Fernandez (who performed pretty well at Worlds this past season), and the always entertaining Alban Preaubert. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Jeremy Ten fares in this competition compared to NHK; he really does have lovely skating, and I'd love to see him skate clean and see where that places him.

P.S. Due to internet problems, I haven't recapped the ladies, pairs, or ice dancing freeskates from NHK and probably won't be able to do it for Skate Canada either. With the internet being inconsistent at best, I'm just trying to see the men for now. If I have an opportunity to recap the other disciplines when my internet is more consistent, I may try.