Patrick Uber Thread - road to Sochi

[alilou]

I think Hanyu will be Patrick's main competition at Sochi and the man who puts two good programs down will win.

I'm not so sure about this, if only because of Hanyu's asthma.

[fscric]

I'm just glad that Patrick might not have been left in the dust yet.

[spikydurian]

Looks like Patrick has some company in the "fall" department, but I don't see anyone complaining about it .....hmmmm. Now if it had been Patrick with 3 falls and coming 2nd, there would have been another uproar. Methinks there's a double standard here with many.

There IS double standard! There was so much taunting which I find unreasonable and distasteful. One would have thought Patrick mudered their families to deserve such hatred.

[VarBar]

Looks like Patrick has some company in the "fall" department, but I don't see anyone complaining about it .....hmmmm. Now if it had been Patrick with 3 falls and coming 2nd, there would have been another uproar. Methinks there's a double standard here with many.

Don't you think that if Hanyu could win the silver medal with 5 major mistakes, Chan would be entitled to the gold medal with just 4? Seems only fair to me. The more so as I find Chan's falls to be more aesthetically pleasing to look at than Hanyu's.

Yup so many excuses:
Poor Hanyu he is young
Poor Hanyu he had a bad day
Poor hanyu he has asthma
Poor Hanyu its Brian Orser's fault etc etc etc.

Not sure Hanyu would like to know that people pity him for his asthma. Just a thought.

I adored Hanyu's Sd at SA. He filled the ice completely

Hanyu skated brilliantly in the SP and I have no problem at all with his 95 points score.

I'm just glad that Patrick might not have been left in the dust yet.

lol Some people tend to forget that it's not over until it's over and the game isn't over yet, quite far from it.

Don't know what to expect from Patrick at Skate Canada. No falls in at least one of his programs would probably be too much to ask from him so early in the season but of course I woudn't mind being pleasantly surprised whether in Elegy or La bohème. Speaking of which, I rewatched his new LP the other day and I think there's still a lot of work for Patrick to do between the jumps for this program to look really but really polished. His Aranjuez looked more competition ready to me in its little details at JO of last year than La bohème did this year.

[The Accordion]

I rewatched his new LP the other day and I think there's still a lot of work for Patrick to do between the jumps for this program to look really but really polished. His Aranjuez looked more competition ready to me in its little details at JO of last year than La bohème did this year.

I'm thinking this shouldn't be too much of a surprise/worry seeing as this is the first season in how long where he has had two new programs? Not to mention a new coaching situation and possibly most important getting used to 2 new choreographers after an awfully long time with a choreographer who was probably so in tune with Patrick and the way he works as well as his strengths and challenges.

[luckiest1]

Hanyu scares me but he is very young and Patrick has experience on his side. I look forward to this season of competition! Yes, I am quite nervous about Skate Canada....it's always tough to be working through problems on home ice with the media in your face. I hope this week goes well for Patrick. I am starting to get packed to leave! Will be sitting in the first row all weekend.

[clarie]

Lucky U, Luckiest1Skate Canada, and a front row seat. Have fun.....Fingers x'd for Patrick

[Emdee]

Enjoy Luckiest1
Front row will be fabulous. Sent PC plenty of Luuurv! Also to V&M though their program already looks full of love and quite hot!

[spikydurian]

Will be sitting in the first row all weekend

Luckeeeee you indeed! I am so jealous. Do post what you see … we want to hear from you.

Don't you think that if Hanyu could win the silver medal with 5 major mistakes, Chan would be entitled to the gold medal with just 4? Seems only fair to me.

Absolutely agree!

Hanyu skated brilliantly in the SP and I have no problem at all with his 95 points score.

Yes, he skated very well and deserved to be first in SP. Hanyu is very talented.

I rewatched his new LP the other day and I think there's still a lot of work for Patrick to do between the jumps for this program to look really but really polished. His Aranjuez looked more competition ready to me in its little details at JO of last year than La bohème did this year.

I agree. I think he is less ready at JO this year. I think it will be well and ready by Canadian Nationals.

I'm thinking this shouldn't be too much of a surprise/worry seeing as this is the first season in how long where he has had two new programs? Not to mention a new coaching situation and possibly most important getting used to 2 new choreographers after an awfully long time with a choreographer who was probably so in tune with Patrick and the way he works as well as his strengths and challenges.

Indeed, with two new programs and change in coaches and choreographers, I also think that Patrick needs longer time to adjust. He is aiming to qualify for the Grand Prix Final as he indicated he is keen to see Sochi. Don’t know how well he will fare in GP as the other skaters have upped their jumps too which is good for all figure skating fans. I won’t worry even if he doesn’t win gold in GPF. I prefer to him to peak at the right time.

[spikydurian]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/figureskati...rick-chan.html

New coaches. New programs. New music. Four falls.
That kind of opening to Patrick Chan’s season was not going to leave the dedicated, sometimes nerve-wracked, fans of the two-time reigning men’s figure skating world champion filled with confidence as the Sochi Olympics come more clearly into focus.

Exactly how I feel.

Every coach I have been with has been just right for every moment of my career,” he said. “I needed them in a different way. Don [Laws] was a great transition, and he taught me a lot of good things … Christy did a lot of great work with the quad, but after that, something was missing.”
Something was missing in Japan, and Chan understands that. He made no excuses.

This gives me some reassurance.

[naan]

Just watched Patrick's SP practice. He looked nervous at the beginning, but everything was great except 2A.
He did 4T, 2A, and 3Lz-3T. His jumps looked fine! I like EX program more, but it's a good program and suits him well.
Go Patrick!

[vigiliae]

Enjoy luckiest1! Hope you are at least luckier than me abd watch two almost clean programs from paddy

Just watched the revised elegy and i cannot say i loved it.. music cuts were weird here n there, step was not worked well with the music. The transition into 3lz was fantastic though.
BTW was it a quad toe? It was so smooth and i am confused.

[naan]

^ I think it was 4T. Wasn't it great?

[vigiliae]

^ I think it was 4T. Wasn't it great?

If it was a quad toe then it was damn gorgeous, probably one of the best I've seen from him. Hope he brings it at the actual competition with a successful 3A.

[naan]

If it was a quad toe then it was damn gorgeous, probably one of the best I've seen from him. Hope he brings it at the actual competition with a successful 3A.

Yeah, it was gorgeous!
I agree with you that step was not worked well with the music. I felt something was missing...?
BTW Patrick looks thinner than before.

[vigiliae]

He finished way behind the music n it is possible that he was already late at the spin preceding the step. Still do not like the use of music n added choreography in the step section-too many Buttle-esque moves IMO.
But as I said before I'll wait n see how the program grows at least for GP events.

[VarBar]

Just watched Patrick's SP practice. He looked nervous at the beginning, but everything was great except 2A.
He did 4T, 2A, and 3Lz-3T. His jumps looked fine! I like EX program more, but it's a good program and suits him well.
Go Patrick!

Yeah I noticed that too. Patrick must still be shaken up by the JO disaster and the media and fan reaction to his meltdown there, I'm guessing he will need some time to regroup mentally and emotionally and rebuild his confidence. Great run-through opening though with that gorgeous quad jump, he did it so easily that you would say it had only three revolutions in the air instead of four.

He finished way behind the music n it is possible that he was already late at the spin preceding the step. Still do not like the use of music n added choreography in the step section-too many Buttle-esque moves IMO.
But as I said before I'll wait n see how the program grows at least for GP events.

Not particularly thrilled with how Jeffrey designed the footwork section either and I feel (in fact I know from previous programs) that Patrick's feet are capable of far more challenging things than I've seen in the video. I also wish Patrick could have kept the choreography into his final spin from his ex version of Elegy, ideally. But the transition into the combination of jumps is really mind-blowing and Chan's skating is as fluid and efortless as ever. Love his program overall, hopefully he'll be able to bring his 3A back in competition soon and skate to full potential. Go Patrick.

[spikydurian]

Here is his practice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga9nhJyDkyo
I stayed up late just to watch his practice. The streaming was bad when it came to men's .. slow motion effect. Nevertheless, happy to see that he had a good practice. Now I need cups of strong coffee to keep me awake at work.

[clarie]

Thanks for posting the SP Spiky. Couldn't watch today and I'm liking what I see........

[spikydurian]

Patrick Chan surrounded by new team of choreographers, coaches ahead of Sochi
http://www.brandonsun.com/sports/bre...811.html?thx=y

Chan said he felt the need to push the boundaries to stay ahead of the pack, swapping what he knew for something new in his pursuit of an Olympic title.

"I definitely wanted to look at different areas, kind of go in different branches before I went to the Olympics, so I knew that I wouldn't leave anything on the table and I knew I would cover all the angles and I could find the perfect formula for the Olympics," Chan said after practice at the WFCU Centre.

"I just really wanted to see how it was to work with someone else," he added. "It wouldn't be right if I went to the Olympics and won without having experienced other choreographers and other types of programs and different types of movement, if that makes sense."

It makes sense Patrick. It makes sense that you probably wish to explore beyond your comfort zone prior Sochi, and in especially if you are likely to retire after the Olympics. Now is the time. Just do what you think best for only YOU can control the outcome. I am behind you all the way but try not to turn me into a nervous wreck if you can.