Skate America
1st
Yuzuru Hanyu
This competition doesn't look like an overly challenging one. He has a lot of momentum coming out of last season and as long as the stupid idiotic catastrophic travesty of a move switch to Brian Orser doesn't affect him too much, like him trying to put two quads in neglecting to consider Yazuru's asthma, he should win.
2nd
Jeremy Abbott
How rare is it to find a man with long arms and legs without going the way of Evan Lysacek (looking like a cat with a scratching post)? I loved his long program last year, though the short was a bit over the top with the theme. His spins are good, even though I think the flying upright spin looks stupid. If he nails it, I doubt he'll beat Yazuru, but he can beat the other ones by a wide margin.
3rd
Michal Brezina
Honestly I don't like Michal's skating, something has always seemed off in his skating to me(besides those grotesque things he calls costumes). He does have a gorgeous triple flip and, when he gets it, quad salchow. It shouldn't trouble him too much to get on the podium here, what with Takahiko being all over the place.
Skate Canada
1st
Patrick Chan
Anyone who thinks otherwise is in need of shock therapy, he has destroyed most of his credibility with me last year considering he only seems to skate cleanly at nationals. His skating skills and transitions are second to none, but the other aspects of his skating are often spoiled by uninspired, mistake ridden pieces of crap the judges call a winning program. I honestly wonder if any of the judges thought he deserved to win the free at Niece, or if they were afraid that every judge but them would put him first.
2nd
Javier fernandez
He seemed to buckle under the pressure at worlds and europeans, but those kind of results(the Grand-Prix ones) don't disappear into thin air. He needs to work on his triples, astoundingly enough he has more consistency on his quads, also his choreography is rather lacking. Not really sure if there's anything more to say.
3rd
Artur Gachinski
I don't know what it is about him and the other Plushenko clones, but I find something about their skating rather depressing. One minute I'm watching them, next I'm reading Sylia Plath to cheer myself up from this. The judges may drop him to the lower placements for a while after worlds. I think, having seen his program live, that he's really trying to interpret but I also noticed in practice sessions if Mishin and his choreographer would tell him to do two different things, he would do what Mishin wanted hmm...not surprised. The jumps will get him on the podium if Mishin doesn't forget to turn the switch hidden behind his hair to "on".
Cup of China
1st
Daisuke Takahashi
Aw come on. This couldn't be much easier for him. Like with Mao Asada at NHK, PCS should fight most of the battle for him especially with the move to Morozov excuse me for one moment......WHHHHHHYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!! Ahem, he ha(d)s incredible qualities and is my favourite of the men right now. Hopefully he won't be forced to try two quads with his knee. This one is definitely happening.
2nd
Song Nan
I liked him last year, and him working with Jeffrey Buttle can't go too horribly wrong, can it? He seemed really sick at Four Continents and it was quite sad. I want him to do well here, the two quads are always quite fun. The one thing he could work on is that there are points in the program where he's doing his best not to rush in the slow sections of the music, but because of this he ends up looking like he's not putting any energy into his performance which, if you've seen him during the fast sections is far from the truth. He does his best to sell his programs and that will always be a huge asset to him.
3rd
Brian Joubert
Good god I am not looking forward to seeing his "Inception" program, which will probably be similar to his "Matrix" program in almost every way conceivable. He seems to be coming back to his own but I doubt he'll be able to over power Song Nan skating in home territory, especially if he delivers a messy performance.
Rostelecom Cup
1st
Patrick Chan
The only way Patrick isn't making it to the Grand-Prix Final is if he withdraws or literally falls on every element at this event and I mean every element, not just jump. He really needs to work on his expression and also not letting himself just go through the motions as for the last few competitions he has entered he got enormous PCS scores when his performance was akin to that of a six week old fish that was just microwaved; it stank!! If he gets everything right, I doubt there's anyone who has the ability to outscore him at this event, and rightfully so.
2nd
Artur Gachinski
As long as he gets his quads done he should be fine, I mean it's a Plushenko clone, coached by Mishin, with a program that's only slightly worse then the average program in Russia! His spins are pretty fugly especially the awkward "y-spin" position where he grabs his toe!(I hate it when skaters pick up from the toe)
3rd
Takahiko Kozuka
Please, please, please don't go for the quad in the short program! It's still pretty inconsistent and has been the cause for quite a lot of his inconsistent results. He has incredible speed and I like him more then the other two, but based on what's been happening lately and after seeing Gachinski practice so well, it doesn't look good for him.
Trophée Bompard
1st
Brian Joubert
He's definitely going to be the crowd's favourite here without a shadow of a doubt, I also doubt that any of the other contenders are going to be skating clean performances, so that should help him as well. As well as predictably boring choreography, he has ultra-fugly spins such as his y-spin picked up from the toe *sigh* with a Quasimodo influenced back. His main problem with the jumps is that he tends to land over the toe pick making it hard for him to pick up positive G.O.E. He's still the most likely one to win gold here.
2nd
Song Nan
He's actually pretty well rounded, other then that really awkward looking catch-foot camel position he does. His main problem technically is that he tends to use a huge amount of his energy on the big jumps, such as quads and triple axels, and then makes silly mistakes on the easier jumps. I really don't see anyone else having what it takes considering everyone else is either a second-rate skater, a complete head case or tend to skate badly during the Grand-Prix.
3rd
Jeremy Abbott
If he succeeds in executing a clean quad in the long program, he would only have to avoid a meltdown to earn a medal and possibly, a place at the Grand-Prix Final. The world team trophy and the world championships aren't painting a good picture of his mental strength but I think he can hold himself together enough for a medal.
NHK Trophy
1st
Daisuke Takahashi
He and Yuzuru are going to have an absolutely huge battle this year at multiple events. This one should be even more interesting the the Chan-Takahashi rivalry considering how one sided the judges are on that front. He will automatically have the PCS edge especially with Morozov as his advisory coach(thank god the damage has been limited) So he has the advantage and will keep it if he skates up to par.
2nd
Yuzuru Hanyu
This, if everything goes the way I hope it does, is the point at which his PCS will begin to rise considering he will have shown himself as a major contender at every event he enters to everyone. I don't think he missed his quad in the long program once, the problem is asthma makes it almost impossible to obtain good consistency especially considering he's just been separated from his long time coach who he seemed to have a really close bond with. He needs to skate relatively cleanly for the PCS raise, and if he gets that combined with his incredible spins, he'll be a very scary force in this sport.
3rd
Javier Fernandez
Not much to add to what I originally said. It's not so much that his choreography is bad, it's just that there isn't enough of it. Then again I'm sure every skater needs a recovery period from Morozov.
SO MY PREDICTION FOR THE FINAL STANDINGS IS
- Patrick Chan
- Daisuke Takahashi
- Yuzuru Hanyu
- Song Nan
- Brian Joubert
- Javier Fernandez
- Jeremy Abbott
- Artur Gachinski
- Takahijo Kozuka
- Michal Brezina
Hanyu.Na and Jourbert in front of J.Fernandez- not even in your wildest dreams! x x
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