Seguin/Bilodeau, Firus out of Worlds

[puglover]

Skating is such a confidence game to begin with - I can believe that a skater would rather withdraw then compete knowing going in that you are not landing the big jumps in practice and are on a wing and a prayer at best. I think those tough long programs must feel like an eternity out there and very humiliating when they are telecast around the world. Skate Canada obviously likes Liam - I was personally surprised when he was sent to the Olympics as I didn't see even one triple axel landed in any of his practices or in his programs at Nationals. I would rather believe that this was a joint decision for the best of all concerned and his progress with the quad is encouraging this year so he has good hope for next year.

 

[haribobo]

I'm very curious to see how Nadeau scores at Jr. Worlds vs. Nam at SR. Worlds. I think nicolas' fs at nationals could have won him a medal but he sadly blew the SP jumps and was kinda far down. Hoping he goes Senior this fall and shows what he can do!

 

[Rock2]

So much potential with Nic. Anyone know how tall he is? On the nats broadcast they said 6ft, but someone who has stood near him recently said 5/8, 5/9 ish more like. Matters. Tall = tougher to be consistent.

He's got the goods. Personality, jumps, choreo ice coverage. His very 'senior' presence with place his PCS favorably among the competish and have him right in there for a JW medal.

But, like with all skaters, we learn about how they perform under pressure. No idea what to expect this week. He's much better than last year but had such a rough go at world's. I just want him to get over this hurdle before I start to dream about his place in seniors.

 

[Xela M]

S&K started the crazy trend of withdrawing from Worlds for no reason. Now they are injured and at risk of not skating at Worlds again.

You need to take your chances when you are given the opportunity because such an opportunity may never come again.

 

[mag]

@puglover, Liam did land a clean 3A at Nationals in 2010. I think it was in the long and it was a beauty.

 

[barbarafan]

So much potential with Nic. Anyone know how tall he is? On the nats broadcast they said 6ft, but someone who has stood near him recently said 5/8, 5/9 ish more like. Matters. Tall = tougher to be consistent.

He's got the goods. Personality, jumps, choreo ice coverage. His very 'senior' presence with place his PCS favorably among the competish and have him right in there for a JW medal.

But, like with all skaters, we learn about how they perform under pressure. No idea what to expect this week. He's much better than last year but had such a rough go at world's. I just want him to get over this hurdle before I start to dream about his place in seniors.

ITA I love this skater and this years programs..he did well on the junior grand prix circuit and when his short is clean he is amazing..So full of personality and mad skating skills . His triple axel is amazing. So he needs to work on conistancy and we should give him the time he needs to sort that out so his competitions look like his practices and he manages great shorts and longs in the same competition. I certainly have had my eye on him all year and am waiting anxiously to see if jun. worlds is his competition to shine.

 

[Seerek]

There's also 17 year old Bennet Toman (8th place, 2016 nationals), who broke 200+ for the first time at an international this past weekend at Coupe de Printemps (en route to a 4th place finish overall, 3rd place in freeskate ahead of a likely still injured Denis Ten).

As a point of reference: 23 year old Liam only broke 200+ internationally for the first time this season at Finlandia.

If Nadeau, Sadovsky, Toman become factors, the field will be very crowded next season even with 3 Worlds spots available.

 

[artsciboy]

@puglover, Liam did land a clean 3A at Nationals in 2010. I think it was in the long and it was a beauty.

I'm not seeing any clean 3axels from Liam's end at Nationals. There was that slightly 4toe this year, but the 3axel has consistently been MIA. I am relieved that Firus is off the team.

 

[honey]

This is the only clean 3A I remember from Liam (2013 nats sp). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8IPhn87OfQ

 

[ilovepaydays]

This is the only clean 3A I remember from Liam (2013 nats sp). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8IPhn87OfQ

I'm not seeing any clean 3axels from Liam's end at Nationals. There was that slightly 4toe this year, but the 3axel has consistently been MIA. I am relieved that Firus is off the team.

I'm still trying to interpret Krall's behavior in the 4CC KnC with Liam (SP at KnC, FS at KnC). Was it just frustration that the jumps aren't happening? Or was it something else that is going on? She also had Maisy Hiu Ching Ma (Hong Kong) at 4CC who made some jumping errors but Krall was pleasant in the KnC with her in the SP and FS. I also think that while Krall usually seems positive with her skaters, she is no Kori Ade.

I have a hard time believing Krall wouldn't make the jumps a focus in training, especially for a Senior Man - isn't she the more technical side of Team Christy/Damon?

 

[Alilou]

Given that 4C's K&C - which I really noticed, (and I don't usually take too much notice of K&C behaviour) I wouldn't be surprised if something was amiss between Liam and Krall.

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

There's also 17 year old Bennet Toman (8th place, 2016 nationals), who broke 200+ for the first time at an international this past weekend at Coupe de Printemps (en route to a 4th place finish overall, 3rd place in freeskate ahead of a likely still injured Denis Ten).

Bennet Toman is turning 19 in April. He is a good jumper, but really needs to improve his skating skills to get to the top level.

 

[aftershocks]

I recently watched the sp and fp of the top Canadian men at their 2016 National championships -- very entertaining and interesting to see.

I thought Liam performed a beautiful sp, but with a number of shaky landings and technical errors, which is too bad since Liam is such a stylish skater with a wonderful ability to express himself and interpret the music. Nam's tech mistakes in the sp were particularly bad because he doesn't have good speed, musicality, nor aesthetic style at the moment. What Nam had going for him last season was overall technical consistency along with solid quads, programs that suited his juniorish on-ice presence, and the absence of Patrick Chan. Nam's team was not able to help him successfully transition into a more mature skater this season. The vehicles and costuming they chose for him only highlighted his weaknesses. Nam never looked comfortable with his programs, and his lack of confidence seemed to trip up his technical consistency (I'm not sure how much growth spurts may also have contributed to Nam's sophomore blues on the senior circuit).

I'll take more of my observations to the Canadian men's thread, but meanwhile I have to say that I think the sp scoring was interesting as it reflects who it seems TPTB wished to be on top. Nam failed to deliver as expected. They wanted to reward Liam even with his mistakes. Kevin in his return was okay but average, not sparkling. Nicolas is an exciting up-and-comer who needs a bit more marinating. Roman is gorgeous and has great style, but he obviously is not strong technically at the moment. Since Roman is very young, hopefully he has time to work hard on strengthening his technique and mastering the difficult jumps (he slipped from 4th overall in sr Canadian Natls debut last season to 9th this season). So sad for Elladj who had a great start to the season but has yet to even make the Canadian World team despite his senior intl experience and his raw appealing talent (he's placed 10th, 5th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 6th, 7th).

And then there's the talented but rough around the edges, Keegan Messing, who the announcer Rod Black repeatedly referred to as "an American skating for Canada now." Even after Keegan's impressive crowd-pleasing sp, Rod Black commented in grandiose fashion, "He's an import, but he's become a proud Canadian!" It wasn't until at some point during his fp that Black finally referenced the fact that Keegan's mother was born in Canada (while Keegan hails from Alaska, which is geographically closer to Canada than to the US). With his quad-triple combo in the sp and a great overall program despite the pop to double-axel with a hand down, I thought Keegan deserved a higher score in the sp. This especially in light of the fact that of those in front of Keegan in sp, no one except Chan skated cleanly. Apparently, Keegan has to be extra good and squeaky clean since he's also carrying the unavoidable burden of being "American." As a matter of fact, Piper Gilles, Kaitlin Weaver, and Josh Reagan are also "Americans," and all Canadians do factually reside in North America. Keegan was 5th at last year's Canadian nationals, and he dropped to 6th this year.

Full last group Canadian men sp with Keegan at 28:00; Liam at 40:09; Elladj skates just before Keegan, and Roman skates just before Liam; Nicolas is featured at 6:25; and Chan skates first in the final group right after a clip of him talking with Scott Moir at 11:12 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q_sTpOD6Ys

It's sad that Seguin/Bilodeau are out of Worlds after their stellar season. Who knew that their Canadian Natls appearance would be their last this season! Good luck to S/B in the off-season for full healing and continuing to improve. They are so talented and delightful to watch.

What in the world is gonna happen at Worlds? Will it be exciting or anti-climactic, what with all those missing-in-action? I guess there are still more than enough contenders with gravitas and unpredictable battles to look forward to, especially in ice dance. Hopefully, there will be no more injuries and sudden withdrawals with Worlds nearly upon us.

 

[shutterbug]

So much potential with Nic. Anyone know how tall he is? On the nats broadcast they said 6ft, but someone who has stood near him recently said 5/8, 5/9 ish more like. Matters. Tall = tougher to be consistent.

Here's a photo of Nicolas with Kaetlyn and Nam. Kaetlyn is 5'5", so if Nicolas isn't 6', he's close to it: http://skateshutterbug.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v29/p1779671562-4.jpg

 

[Sylvia]

I just posted the initial entries list for 2016 Triglav Trophy in Slovenia, March 23-27, in the Kiss & Cry forum and Liam Firus is one of the 8 Senior men: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...av-trophy-in-slovenia-march-23-27-2016.98084/

 

[Skate Talker]

Well that's kind of interesting because in your Triglav Trophy post you say entries closed on March 1st. Obviously Liam could not be entered in both this and Worlds on March 1st unless the withdrawal was already mostly decided.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Must be that immediately after 4CCs, Canadian Fed began behind-the-scenes brainstorming re how to finagle getting Liam off the World team. With the fact that no one other than Chan skated brilliantly at Nationals among the men, they should have hedged their bets and waited until after 4CCs to make final official selections for Worlds.

Possibly Liam had been put on notice post Nationals that they were counting on him making a good showing at 4CCs, or else. Might that account for Liam's terrible showing at 4CCs? Dunno, since quite a few skaters were not at their best on 4CCs ice.

Here's a photo of Nicolas with Kaetlyn and Nam. Kaetlyn is 5'5", so if Nicolas isn't 6', he's close to it: http://skateshutterbug.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v29/p1779671562-4.jpg

During Canadian Natls, Tracy Wilson and Rod Black referred to Nicolas as being 6 feet in height. They praised his smooth and agile skating for someone so tall.

Roman Sadovsky appears to be of above average height for a figure skater too, but his long legs might make him appear to be taller than he actually is.

 

[Japanfan]

His name is Michael Slipchuk, and there is no reason for anyone to be hating on him or calling him juvenile names.

Well, we think of him as Slippery Chuck in this household. He's a bureaucrat, and a fast-talking slippery one at that.

 

[elka_sk8]

Aww that's too bad about S&B. I like them a lot. Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery!

 

[mag]

Well that's kind of interesting because in your Triglav Trophy post you say entries closed on March 1st. Obviously Liam could not be entered in both this and Worlds on March 1st unless the withdrawal was already mostly decided.

I suspect the delay in the announcement had to do with waiting to see if Kevin would get the SP minimum.

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

During Canadian Natls, Tracy Wilson and Rod Black referred to Nicolas as being 6 feet in height. They praised his smooth and agile skating for someone so tall.

http://www.patinage.qc.ca/UploadsNew/Équipe du Québec/Guides de presse 2015-2016/Senior/Messieurs/2015-2016_NadeauN_SeniorMess-CAN.pdf

It says 178 cm, 5'10''.

(edited : because 5,8399 is not 5'8'' but 5'10''. )

 

[ioana]

http://www.patinage.qc.ca/UploadsNew/Équipe du Québec/Guides de presse 2015-2016/Senior/Messieurs/2015-2016_NadeauN_SeniorMess-CAN.pdf

It says 178 cm, 5'8''.

not that it matters all that much, but 178 cm is actually 5.8 feet as in 5ft 10 inches. It is possible he could have grown 2 inches since the bio was published.

 

[chewy]

Well that's kind of interesting because in your Triglav Trophy post you say entries closed on March 1st. Obviously Liam could not be entered in both this and Worlds on March 1st unless the withdrawal was already mostly decided.

Hedging their bets, it seems, with having Reynolds going to Sportland, the federation couldn't announce a replacement until they knew if Reynolds could get the qualifying score. So why is Firus doing a small European comp at all?

 

[vesperholly]

So why is Firus doing a small European comp at all?

"Sorry!!!"

 

[Erin]

not that it matters all that much, but 178 cm is actually 5.8 feet as in 5ft 10 inches. It is possible he could have grown 2 inches since the bio was published.

And his ISU bio says 180 cm which is just under 5 ft 11 inches. It's probably close enough at that point to round up to 6 ft (or he could have grown another inch since that one was updated).

 

[rjblue]

The math is off. 5'8" is 172.5cm.

 

[aftershocks]

not that it matters all that much, but 178 cm is actually 5.8 feet as in 5ft 10 inches. It is possible he could have grown 2 inches since the bio was published.

Plus with the skate boots on, he's then six feet on the ice.

 

[skategal]

I stood next to Nadeau at Nats this year, he's definitely close to, if not already, 6 feet tall.

My hubby is 6ft 1inch so I have a good frame of reference for a 6 footer.

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

Sorry, 5,8 is not 5'8'' but 5'10''. Oh well, you see I grew up with the metric system...

 

[barbarafan]

I stood next to Nadeau at Nats this year, he's definitely close to, if not already, 6 feet tall.

My hubby is 6ft 1inch so I have a good frame of reference for a 6 footer.

hi..I watched him at challenge last year and he seemed really tall..when you look at him at the boards it is very noticable. His bio for junior worlds says 180cm....not sure how old infor is but I am sure he is not shrinking yet....so what was the math again for 180cm?