Tomas Verner is awesome

[haribobo]

And should win everything.

That's all.

[pinky166]

Yes I totally agree. I think the judges at CoC were "punishing" him for bombing last season, I thought his scores should have been higher. The fact that Mrozzz beat him in the FS made me a little ticked off, Tomas is so clearly superior IMO.

Hope he kicks but this season and show the judges Verner is back and ready to dominate.

[Marco]

My favorite Euro male skater by a large margin. Hope he gets his confidence back (and work on that lip!)

[igniculus]

Wuzrobbed.

I hope he gets his mojo back this season!

[dinakt]

He is Tomas for the podium!

[snoopysnake]

Tomas! My biggest wish for a Worlds medal this season is for him. Love his new "Singin in the Rain" SP.

[deedeelocks]

[pinky166]

Tomas! My biggest wish for a Worlds medal this season is for him. Love his new "Singin in the Rain" SP.

Me too! He is probably the most charming skater out there now, that program went by in a flash, and I especially love that little wave thing he does in the beginning, so adorable . He's easy on the eyes too . If he can fix the lip and bring back his monster quad this season, he could challenge Takahashi, at least I think he could.

[mia joy]

I just adore the title of this thread

Yes, Tomas is awesome and I hope him doing well in China means he's getting back on track and he'll be ready for some some European and World medals!!! He's cute, charming and irresistable I would really love him to stay until Sochi and give Olympic Games one more shot.

[ninadel]

Woohoo Tomas!

On a superficial note... I kind of wish he could have two different haircuts for the two programs (the shaggy hair works for Michael Jackson but not Singing In The Rain).

[pinky166]

Woohoo Tomas!

On a superficial note... I kind of wish he could have two different haircuts for the two programs (the shaggy hair works for Michael Jackson but not Singing In The Rain).

Haha, I was thinking the same thing! He's cute though so it's ok, I'm sure he'll get a haircut eventually.

[Marco]

With Tomas the most important thing is stamina. He already has enough of everything else.

[aftershocks]

I love Tomas! He didn't seem very inspired last year in his performances (maybe he was a bit discouraged about some of his competition marks -- I certainly think he should have medaled at Worlds by now -- or maybe he was coming back last year from injury). To get over the hump, perhaps Tomas needs to work on his consistency and his confidence? He's landed beautiful quads before, but again, as I've said, the quad takes away a lot of energy from skaters and their overall development, IMO (in the training of it, and in the performing of it, both mentally and physically). I also think the demands of the new scoring system with the need to point-grab by chocking programs full of frenetic moves is a detriment to skaters attempting to develop a consistent quad.

In any case, I think Tomas, and his former training partner, Carolina, are both quite brilliant. It would be very sad if they don't fully realize their unique potential as skaters.

Tomas seems to enjoy both of his programs this year. His charm and the joy and quirky fun he expresses, brings the audience in.

ITA re Mroz!!! placed in front of Tomas???!!! To me Mroz is a talented skater, but he's not very interesting or charming, nor does he have any exciting quality or uniqueness to his skating.

[Ziggy]

I haven't seen Verner's CoC performances yet and I wonder if I'll get over my irrational dislike of him after I see them. ;P

I hope he's happy in Canada and getting on with the new coach. It was sad to see him bombing to that extent last season.

[Marco]

I haven't seen Verner's CoC performances yet and I wonder if I'll get over my irrational dislike of him after I see them. ;P

At least you admit your dislike is irrational

He has excellent skating skills and is a much more fluid skater than Joubert. He is probably the only current Euro skater who has presence, strength and grace.

[pinky166]

I haven't seen Verner's CoC performances yet and I wonder if I'll get over my irrational dislike of him after I see them. ;P

I hope he's happy in Canada and getting on with the new coach. It was sad to see him bombing to that extent last season.

His LP is exciting because he went almost entirely clean, just doubled one loop, he landed and rotated everything else! I was so proud of him. I think he and his new coach have a good strategy, focusing on consistency, stamina, and skating clean programs before putting too much attention toward the quad. I hope he does well at his next GP, it's a pretty competitive lineup. What do people think of Tomas vs. Jeremy Abbott? They will be going head to head in Russia in 2 weeks. I tend to think if they both skate well they are pretty comparable, but that's just my opinion.

[aftershocks]

Abbott and Verner -- interesting comparison. I think they each have a unique style and completely different personalities. Abbott seems to perform more within himself, while Verner is more of an extrovert who plays to the audience. Great skating skills for both -- perhaps Abbott is a bit more attuned to music (on manleywoman's podcast, Abbott's mother was interviewed and she said that Jeremy often picks and cuts his own music). Taking into consideration that there will be others competing with them in the field, and that its hard to know what judges will do, both Jeremy and Tomas have to skate to their abilities. If Abbott is landing quads and Verner is focused on going clean, then I think obviously Abbott is ahead. In any case, Abbott's lp is a bit more intricate and deep. I do think Verner has more of a crowd-pleasing personality, but overall it's the level you reach on the ice and putting it all together, not how much the audience likes you (can't forget the politics too, because Mroz placed in front of Verner seems more than a bit ominous, but Verner should keep working hard and reaching his goals and not get down about arbitrary judges' decisions when he knows how well he's performed).

[deedeelocks]

His LP is exciting because he went almost entirely clean, just doubled one loop, he landed and rotated everything else!

The judges didn't give him the 2nd axel. It was UR according to them He would have been 2nd otherwise.

perhaps Abbott is a bit more attuned to music (on manleywoman's podcast, Abbott's mother was interviewed and she said that Jeremy often picks and cuts his own music)

Tomas picked his own music too this year.

[aftershocks]

Well, I guess a lot of skaters have some input in music choices, especially as they gain experience and develop as seniors. It's something else to cut your own music -- I think that takes some knowledge of music, which I think Jeremy has, plus he was also an ice dancer early in his skating career. Does Tomas cut his music too? Whoever chose that jazz piece from a couple of seasons ago, for Tomas, ... that was a great choice, program, and performance. I think that perhaps Tomas' freewheeling, carefree way of skating somehow belies his intensity and desire.

[ninadel]

What do people think of Tomas vs. Jeremy Abbott? They will be going head to head in Russia in 2 weeks. I tend to think if they both skate well they are pretty comparable, but that's just my opinion.

Jeremy's my other favourite male skater, so I'm going to root for both of them. Assuming that Patrick will medal even if he sits down for the entire program, I'd hope that these two get the remaining two medals.

-At NHK Jeremy got very similar TES scores (67.15) to Tomas in CoC (68.94).
-Both are using lutz temporarily as a placeholder for the quad.
-Jeremy doesn't really have any weaknesses technically and is more likely to milk PCS with difficult transitions. Tomas needs to work on his spins, but has more exciting footwork and jumps.
-Jeremy's Life is Beautiful program already looks like a finished product. Tomas' MJ is a little sloppy but will probably come together as the season continues.
-Jeremy is more of an early season skater, Tomas a late season skater.

I would predict that Jeremy would beat Tomas in Russia if he skates clean because he's better prepared at this point, but by the end of the season (assuming both are healthy) Tomas will up his game.

I think people underestimate Tomas as an artist because he's getting the reputation of being a crowdpleaser. He's like a Candeloro but with strong skating skills and dancer-like qualities. Back-to-back with Mroz you can see how Tomas really uses his shoulders and arms, but it's so natural that it's easy to take for granted.