Which of these 3 American skaters will be most successful in seniors?

[Maofan7]

Joshua, Jason, and Nathan have dominated the JGP this season. But which of the 3 of them is most likely to ultimately be successful in the senior ranks?

[love_skate2011]

Nathan Chen
Jason Brown
...
Joshua Farris

[Sylvia]

Looks like this poll will generate some constructive discussion.

Why "skaters" instead of just "men"?

[Maofan7]

Looks like this poll will generate some constructive discussion.

FSU members are always constructive

[misskarne]

I have to say probably Josh - he has it all right now, the jumps, the spins, the PCS, everything. So unbelievably good. And he seems to have got over that period where he was getting injured (conveniently, with a change of coaches...touch wood!).

Jason will be amazingly good as a Senior though once he gets the 3A landed properly. At the moment, much as it pains me to say, he has too many question marks over him to get top spot.

I don't know about Nathan Chen because he hasn't really been out and about enough to judge. Yes, he's wonder-baby and everything. Will it survive his growth spurts which are sure to come? I think he tends to be a little over-scored at the moment, and it will be interesting to see his development.

[pinky166]

All of them! But seriously they are all really good. Josh already has a 3a and 4t, Nathan has 3a and I don't doubt he will get quad(s) in the coming years, and well Jason needs a 3a and quad, but there's still time for him to get those, and at least he's trying the 3a in competition now and standing up on it even if it's cheated, but if he gets those then he should do well too. I don't doubt that the three of them could comprise the Olympic team for 2018. You know, if all goes well between now and then. *knock on wood*

I think they are all better/more interesting than the likes of Lysacek, Weir, Rippon, Miner, Aaron, etc. I do like Abbott (will obviously be too old to try for Pyeongchang though), Dornbush, Messing, and Mahbanoozadeh too though.

[Macassar88]

If Farris learns to express the music, I think I'll enjoy his skating the most. He already has the jumps - he just needs the artistry.

[pinky166]

I don't know about everyone else but I feel like Josh Farris is pretty artistic already, he's really improved in that department since leaving Tom Z and helping choreograph his programs IMO. Obviously there's always room to improve, but to me he's definitely not just a jumper who really is a bit lacking the artistry department like someone like Max Aaron or Brandon Mroz is, to me what makes Josh so good is how he balances his good jumps with his strong spins highlighted by his flexibility, intricate step sequences, and sensitivity to the music. He could be more extroverted in his performance, however, and I can see how this aspect of his skating could cause some to see him as lacking artistry. He's apparently pretty shy and reserved off the ice, so I imagine it's hard not to shake that when competing.

[Macassar88]

I don't know about everyone else but I feel like Josh Farris is pretty artistic already, he's really improved in that department since leaving Tom Z and helping choreograph his programs IMO. Obviously there's always room to improve, but to me he's definitely not just a jumper who really is a bit lacking the artistry department like someone like Max Aaron or Brandon Mroz is, to me what makes Josh so good is how he balances his good jumps with his strong spins highlighted by his flexibility, intricate step sequences, and sensitivity to the music. He could be more extroverted in his performance, however, and I can see how this aspect of his skating could cause some to see him as lacking artistry. He's apparently pretty shy and reserved off the ice, so I imagine it's hard not to shake that when competing.

I agree with parts of this analysis, but I feel like he could be more in tune with the music. I'm especially referencing his FS to Rachmaninoff. To me, that piece is like a souffle - if you do too much with it, it will be awful and if you don't do enough with it, it will also be awful, and I feel like he was pretty much skating through the music. I understand that he's a junior and there's time to improve, but there is much to improve. I also feel like his choreography could be improved. Having a skater doing crossovers during the climax of the rach 2 finale was an awful idea.

[love_skate2011]

only 2 votes for Brown but 19 votes for Farris ?

If Farris learns to express the music, I think I'll enjoy his skating the most. He already has the jumps - he just needs the artistry.

exactly, when I see Farris skate I don't see an overall skater
compared to Joshua and Nathan who has the jumps and artistry

we'll find out by seniors soon
though I don't bet much on Farris, he has already been left behind by Jason Brown and now Nathan Chen !

[Macassar88]

only 2 votes for Brown but 19 votes for Farris ?



exactly, when I see Farris skate I don't see an overall skater
compared to Joshua and Nathan who has the jumps and artistry

we'll find out by seniors soon
though I don't bet much on Farris, he has already been left behind by Jason Brown and now Nathan Chen !

I think that people worry about Jason Brown's tech scores. If he doesn't get a complete triple axel, he won't be able to have much success in seniors IMO.

[briancoogaert]

only 2 votes for Brown but 19 votes for Farris ?
exactly, when I see Farris skate I don't see an overall skater
compared to Joshua and Nathan who has the jumps and artistry
we'll find out by seniors soon
though I don't bet much on Farris, he has already been left behind by Jason Brown and now Nathan Chen !

I don't understand why you seem so negative to Joshua Farris. He won his JGP by a large margin, almost the same total score as Nathan Chen, although Jason Brown was more than 30 points behind...
I love Jason Brown, but IMO, he will be the next Shawn Sawyer, ie, a spectacular skater, amazing and interesting, but not that successful in term of results.

[pinky166]

I think that people worry about Jason Brown's tech scores. If he doesn't get a complete triple axel, he won't be able to have much success in seniors IMO.

Realistically he'll need a 3a and a quad to be a factor on the senior level, and as of now, his 3a is not yet reliable and he's never even tried a quad (in competition). Because Josh has landed both in competition and has gotten the 3a to a reliable point, he has the edge for now. I don't think anyone doubts Jason's abilities, but where he's turning 18 soon and the 3a still seems a major issue for him, time is ticking and im sure some are wondering if that jump, and a quad, will ever truly be in his arsenal.

[LilJen]

I just hope they can all stay healthy and injury free. And that Jason will own that 3A soon so that he can be on a similar technical footing as the others!

[query5]

asked the USFSA who they will cheat for , not who the public wants.

[museksk8r]

Right now it appears Brown will be the least successful. Unfortunately, jumps count a great deal, particularly in men's skating. In today's skating landscape, if you are a male competing at the senior level and don't own a 3Axel and a quad, you are gunning for 15th in the World Championships, tops. Plus, it doesn't look too bright for him that at the age of 17, he hasn't even landed the 3Axel cleanly in competition once and has never even attempted a quad in competition. I really would love to see him prove any naysayers wrong though. He's a terrific stylist and seems to be a great guy!

It's way too early to tell for Chen, who hasn't even passed the age that the puberty monster usually attacks most viciously. The puberty monster doesn't only claim female victims, sadly.

Farris's future at the moment appears the most predictably optimistic, in my opinion. I think he's way more talented than Lysacek and Weir were at the age of 17.

[pinky166]

^^ I agree about Farris. I think what he really needs to do at this point is to learn how to maximize his points under CoP. He is strong in jumps, spins, and footwork, his PCS are among the highest of all the junior men competing internationally, yet I feel like his scores, particularly his FS scores, are always a bit lower than I feel like he should be capable of achieving with his current skill set. Maybe it's the fact that he tends to have some mistakes in his FS, but even so, I think with a more CoP savvy program layout, he could boost his scores in the FS a bit, so that with mistakes he can still be in the 140s, and when near clean in the 150s. Obvious ways he could do this would be moving a second combo to the 2nd half (3lz-2t would make sense since it is not a particularly difficult combo for him), switching the 3lo at the end which he tends to under-rotate with another jump at the beginning so he can attempt it on fresh legs, changing the 3f-2t-2lo combo to a 3-1/2lo-3 combo, which would allow him to add a 2a in there somewhere and still attempt the same number of triples, putting an extra jumping pass in the 2nd half, and being vigilant about getting his spin and step levels (it seems like he'll commonly get lvl3 on a spin and lvl2 on steps when we know he is easily capable of the higher level, with +GOE even). Of course, all this could hurt his consistency, in which case it's not worth it, I just feel like it's not that uncommon to see skaters score mid 130s-mid 140s (what he earned for his last two FS) without attempting a quad or two 3a, sometimes without even any 3a, so theoretically, given his capabilities and planned layout, Josh should be able to score higher, and if he can, then watch out for him at Nationals!

[leapfrogonice]

Without a technical foundation, in senior men's, I just feel like so much of the rest of the factors don't matter enough. Right now it is looking like Chen has the equipment to keep on progressing technically though it is still sooo early in his physical development.

[museksk8r]

I agree with parts of this analysis, but I feel like he could be more in tune with the music. I'm especially referencing his FS to Rachmaninoff. To me, that piece is like a souffle - if you do too much with it, it will be awful and if you don't do enough with it, it will also be awful, and I feel like he was pretty much skating through the music. I understand that he's a junior and there's time to improve, but there is much to improve.

Farris is fully aware and acknowledges in interviews that he needs and wants to improve on the artistic side of his skating. There's still time for that. Besides, Evgeni Plushenko, Evan Lysacek, and Patrick Chan all skate through the music all the time in their competitive programs and it never hurts their PCS scores. I really don't think the judges focus as much as they should on the musical interpretation component of the PCS, which is a shame.

[briancoogaert]

Farris's future at the moment appears the most predictably optimistic, in my opinion. I think he's way more talented than Lysacek and Weir were at the age of 17.

Johnny Weir was amazing by 17. I think I prefered him at this time.