2019-20 Canadian Men news & updates

[Dobre]

No one could beat Kevin Reynolds in the hair department

Hmm.

 

[DynamicMutation]

Hmm.

As a child and young figureskater I had actual nightmares based on this exact photo and program. shudder

 

[quartz]

Hmm.

That was totally my 80’s hair.

 

[Sylvia]

ISU Season Best Total scores & placements so far this season:

256.02 Keegan MESSING CAN ISU CS Autumn Classic International 2019 (bronze)
214.98 Conrad ORZEL CAN ISU CS Autumn Classic International 2019 (6th)
203.70 Stephen GOGOLEV CAN ISU JGP Lake Placid 2019 (silver)
200.71 Aleksa RAKIC CAN ISU JGP Grand Prix de Courchevel 2019 (silver)
189.72 Joseph PHAN CAN ISU JGP Riga Cup 2019 (6th)
185.80 Alec GUINZBOURG CAN ISU JGP Chelyabinsk 2019 (4th)
179.74 Iliya KOVLER CAN ISU JGP Chelyabinsk 2019 (6th)
176.77 Beres CLEMENTS CAN ISU JGP Lake Placid 2019 (9th)
174.07 Eric LIU CAN ISU JGP Riga Cup 2019 (8th)

Upcoming (before Skate America):
JGP Gdansk: Joseph Phan, Corey Circelli
Nebelhorn: Nam Nguyen
JGP Zagreb: Stephen Gogolev, Aleksa Rakic
JGP Egna: Eric Liu
Finlandia: Roman Sadovsky

 

[Colonel Green]

Forgot to post about this at the time, but Keegan took another run at the quad Lutz at the Autumn Classic. Pretty good attempt, too, no question about rotation -- seemed like the landing edge just didn't quite take.

 

[Alvyne]

Bev Smith article on Nam Nguyen

Nam Nguyen: Growing is Believing - Bev Smith Writes

Somehow Nam Nguyen has grown to be 5-foot-11, sometime after that bustling childhood, when as a tiny one, he set all sorts of records: youngest to be pre-juvenile, juvenile, novice, and junior champion of Canada. Now he’s 21. At 20, he finally began to find his footing in matters other than...

bevsmithwrites.com

 

[haribobo]

Senior and junior combined summer/fall scores over 180

Keegan Messing (256 Autumn), 253
Joseph Phan 217 (207 JGP)
Conrad Orzel (214 Autumn) 203
Nam Nguyen 209
Stephen Gogolev (203 JGP) 186
Aleksa Rakic (200 JGP)
Iliya Kovler 196 (179 JGP)
Roman Sadovsky 196
Eric Liu 195 (174 JGP)
Bennet Toman 188
Alec Guinzbourg (185 JGP)
Corey Circelli 183 (172 JGP)
Alistair Lam 180

 

[Marco]

Nam didn't have the best international season debut at Nebelhorn. Not a good start to fight for the sole world team spot this season.

I do like his program.

 

[dramagrrl]

Nam placed second in the free, which was a great comeback after being ninth in the short. Not bad.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Not really a fan of Nam's all arms and legs style.

When skaters experience a growth spurt, I sometimes wonder if their choreographers make the adjustment along with them.

 

[Rock2]

Nam doesn't to me look to be progressing. His growth is making him look or actually skate slower. He doesn't seem to be in great shape and the programs have an interesting mood but not a lot of non-element content. I'm glad he's trying to get a 4T back in but disappointed it was absent in the long.

144 is a very meh LP score even for this point in the season. His last two spins had a base value combined of 3.76 which is inexcusable.

Net net, no apparent conviction to up his game. If I'm choosing between slow / low PCS skaters, I have Conrad way over Nam based on his efforts to bring more to the table thus far.

All that said, I will be in a massive state of fear if anyone other than Keegan is sent to World's. And no I don't care much about what happens between now and Nationals -- even a blindingly good skate by someone else won't leave me in a comfort zone that this will be repeated at world's. And with the world around us progressing, I'll be looking to Keegan to ensure there are 3 quad attempts in the long to leave me feeling a top 10 is realistic.

 

[Seerek]

It's interesting that SC has been trying to send a message to TCC to get Conrad to improve his overall attention/engagement to his programs. The Canadian judge gave him 4.25 in transitions in the free skate at Autumn Classic (ranking him 11th of the 12 men in components). Maybe SC has already pegged him for the second berth at Junior Worlds no matter he actually does on the GP.

 

[Alilou]

Nam doesn't to me look to be progressing. His growth is making him look or actually skate slower. He doesn't seem to be in great shape and the programs have an interesting mood but not a lot of non-element content. I'm glad he's trying to get a 4T back in but disappointed it was absent in the long.

144 is a very meh LP score even for this point in the season. His last two spins had a base value combined of 3.76 which is inexcusable.

Net net, no apparent conviction to up his game. If I'm choosing between slow / low PCS skaters, I have Conrad way over Nam based on his efforts to bring more to the table thus far.

All that said, I will be in a massive state of fear if anyone other than Keegan is sent to World's. And no I don't care much about what happens between now and Nationals -- even a blindingly good skate by someone else won't leave me in a comfort zone that this will be repeated at world's. And with the world around us progressing, I'll be looking to Keegan to ensure there are 3 quad attempts in the long to leave me feeling a top 10 is realistic.

Well I'm with you, but Keegan just lost his brother in a tragic accident. I wouldn't think he'd be even training at the moment so I'm not counting on him to do anything other than be with his family and grieve.

 

[mackiecat]

Well I'm with you, but Keegan just lost his brother in a tragic accident. I wouldn't think he'd be even training at the moment so I'm not counting on him to do anything other than be with his family and grieve.

Do you think that perhaps this was also weighing on Nam’s mind this weekend since he is such a close friend of Keegan?

 

[Japanfan]

Well I'm with you, but Keegan just lost his brother in a tragic accident. I wouldn't think he'd be even training at the moment so I'm not counting on him to do anything other than be with his family and grieve.

I think he might actually be training, or soon to be resuming training. It's quite possible that his loved one and friends would be saying that Paxton would want Keegan to continue on training.

 

[Alilou]

Do you think that perhaps this was also weighing on Nam’s mind this weekend since he is such a close friend of Keegan?

Yes, I wouldn't be at all surprised if that were the case. When something like that happens it sure puts your life in perspective.

I think he might actually be training, or soon to be resuming training. It's quite possible that his loved one and friends would be saying that Paxton would want Keegan to continue on training.

This had occurred to me for sure, and possibly he will resume training fairly soon. I just can't even imagine how to deal with something like that. From things I've read/heard Keegan say I'm guessing he and his brother were close, and Paxon (no "t") was only 26 and died in a motor vehicle accident just last week. I would imagine the whole family is still in shock.

 

[Japanfan]

This had occurred to me for sure, and possibly he will resume training fairly soon. I just can't even imagine how to deal with something like that. From things I've read/heard Keegan say I'm guessing he and his brother were close, and Paxon (no "t") was only 26 and died in a motor vehicle accident just last week. I would imagine the whole family is still in shock.

I wouldn't know how to deal with it either - does anyone? Myself, I'd just want to crawl into a hole and weep.

I'm reminded of Joannie Rochette skating in the Olympics just days after her mother died.

I suppose that for some people, keeping going after experiencing a tragic loss of a loved one might be preferable to drowning in grief.

 

[Rock2]

I had NO idea about Keegan. That's just awful. No words.
Skating is very much secondary but as far as that goes, tragedy can inspire someone just as much as weigh them down. I wish him nothing but the best.

Reading articles about Nam it seems he lost training time because of boot issues and his focus being on touring. While you want to give him a bit of a pass, you also have to recognize he won't have much chance to catalogue a number of confident skates as a foundation for world's. Still meh.

Conrad is clearly a thinker/feeler. You can see his brain engage the second the music starts. The more you think, the slower you get, and the more disengaged you become from the program. Not an easy road to overcome this (Sandhu for example never did) but he still has time.

 

[Sylvia]

I had NO idea about Keegan. That's just awful. No words.

Here's the thread in GSD:

Our condolences to the Messing family on the death of Keegan's younger brother, Paxon, in a motorcycle accident in Alaska

Keegan Messing's younger brother Paxon was killed in a motorcycle accident (collision) this past Sunday. :( https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Man-identified-in-deadly-crash-that-happened-over-the-weekend-561231921.html This is the link to a GoFundMe for Paxon's wife and 3 kids...

www.fsuniverse.net

 

[barbarafan]

I wouldn't know how to deal with it either - does anyone? Myself, I'd just want to crawl into a hole and weep.

I'm reminded of Joannie Rochette skating in the Olympics shortly after her mother died - I think a day after?

I suppose that for some people, keeping going after experiencing a tragic loss of a loved one might be preferable to drowning in grief.

In the case of Joannie's mother she lived and breathed Joannie's skating. It was her priority so Joannie found it in herself to compete sort of as a tribute to her mother. That being done she pretty well walked away from figure skating.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

In the case of Joannie's mother she lived and breathed Joannie's skating. It was her priority so Joannie found it in herself to compete sort of as a tribute to her mother. That being done she pretty well walked away from figure skating.

With the Japan Open coming up very soon, one of the last competitions Rochette skated at was in 2013. Her free skate there was one of her finest, too.

2013 Japan Open- Joannie Rochette LP [HD]

1280x720

www.youtube.com

 

[shutterbug]

Bennet Toman and Roman Sadovsky took part in a Skate Ontario Sectional Series event, Paris Autumn Skate, over the weekend. Bennet finished third with 195.50 points, Roman finished first with 238.80 points.

SP protocols: https://skateontario.org/results/19S3/19S3SeniorMenSP1DRO.pdf
FP protocols: https://skateontario.org/results/19S3/19S3SeniorMenFP2DRO.pdf

Looks like Roman has removed the 4T from his programs this season. Probably wise to scale back the difficulty a bit and go for cleaner performances.

 

[Sylvia]

Bennet Toman and Roman Sadovsky took part in a Skate Ontario Sectional Series event, Paris Autumn Skate, over the weekend. Bennet finished third with 195.50 points, Roman finished first with 238.80 points.

And Alistair Lam (5th in Junior at 2019 Canadians) placed in between them in 2nd with 201.95 (68.30 in SP, 133.65 in FS).

Bennet Toman wrote about his programs and costumes in his blog earlier this month (describes his new SP is choreographed by Joey Russell and why he's keeping last season's Elgar FS): https://bennetsworld.wordpress.com/2019/09/15/programs-for-the-2019-2020-season/

Alec Guinzbourg won the Junior Men's event at Paris Autumn Skate with a total score of 172.07 (63.61 in SP, 108.46 in FS). Earlier this month he skated well in his 2nd JGP in 2 years, placing 4th (185.80) and setting 3 new ISU PB scores.
His SP (66.64): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6PDUbYIWhU
His FS (119.16): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpvLgVsqAhA

 

[Colonel Green]

From his comment on Justine Brasseur's Instagram post about the Warsaw Cup, I gather Joseph may also be going there.

 

[shutterbug]

From his comment on Justine Brasseur's Instagram post about the Warsaw Cup, I gather Joseph may also be going there.

Joseph Phan confirmed for Warsaw Cup: http://www.isuresults.com/events/cat03109526.htm

Emmaunel Sandhu is Skate Ontario's Skater In Residence for October: https://skateontario.org/skater-in-residence-emanuel-sandhu/

I’m sure there are people out there that have always wondered what makes me tick. Well, I’m still trying to figure that out. Or maybe I know all along and it’s just too ineffable to put my finger on. Either way, this knowing and not knowing, the here and there, represents a central theme in my life: that of duality. Even the word has a double connotation depending on how you spell it: dual or duel. A fantastic tug-of-war that can yield gorgeous results.

at the height difference on the men's podium at Finlandia Trophy: https://twitter.com/InTheLoPodcast/status/1183269658138427393/photo/1

Congrats to Roman on his bronze medal!

 

[aftershocks]

Roman Sadovsky looked good at Finlandia Trophy. I really like his sp (a rendition of Fly Me to the Moon). He looked very comfortable skating to the sp and he got a great score. Roman has maybe reached his adult height? In one of his Romsky videos he said he's 6' 1". In even just one year, Roman looks more comfortable and in more command of his body. He's got such long limbs, and he seems a bit thinner too. His wingspan is huge and he seems to cover the ice effortlessly. His spins are gorgeous and he's a good jumper -- he just needs to gain more confidence and consistency. Although being compact is supposed to be more conducive for fs athletes, having a long lean frame lends itself to such elegant positions.

Roman is a visual marvel on the ice. He seemed very happy after the sp, but less so after the fp where he had two falls and a couple of other poor landings. The fp is to Schindler's List, so we'll hear a lot of that music this season (Jason Brown is skating to it as well for his fp). I think Roman's fp needs a bit more tweaking. He didn't seem as comfortable with it. Maybe right now it could be about endurance. I like his fp costume a lot. His tech score dropped in the fp unsurprisingly, but the judges still gave him a vote of confidence with his PCS score, showing that if he skates clean, both scores will rise. Roman placed well at this Challenger event, so congrats, and I hope he pulls it together all the way. He has potential to break through to top level competitive status if that's his goal. There's something mesmerizing and ethereal about his skating when he's on.

Funnily enough, Roman's personality off the ice is quirky, cheeky and full of witty humor. He posted a very sweet and funny promposal awhile back. And he posted some snippets of down time at Canada's High Performance Camp in August. It was so funny and charming seeing familiar Canadian skaters teasingly interacting with each other. Mike Slipchuk was having none of impertinent Romsky attempting to draw him into the fray in the cafeteria. Elladj bantering with Romsky was a highlight. Roman and Nam hanging out at the rink toward the end is silly fun...

2018 High Performance Camp

Lightness by Nomyn https://soundcloud.com/nomyn Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Music pro...

www.youtube.com

On a sad note, my heart goes out to Keegan Messing and his family and friends.

 

[4rkidz]

I think we have at least three Canadian men that have the potential to make the top 5 at worlds with two clean programs (Roman, Nam & Keegan). But the key is consistent and clean. Having seen them all live i think the improvements artistically by Roman is impressive and Keegan is always entertaining as can be Nam.

 

[barbarafan]

Joseph Phan confirmed for Warsaw Cup: http://www.isuresults.com/events/cat03109526.htm

Emmaunel Sandhu is Skate Ontario's Skater In Residence for October: https://skateontario.org/skater-in-residence-emanuel-sandhu/


at the height difference on the men's podium at Finlandia Trophy: https://twitter.com/InTheLoPodcast/status/1183269658138427393/photo/1

Congrats to Roman on his bronze medal!

Stephen G. on the roster for Volvo cup

Volvo Open Cup 40 th - Junior Men

www.kristalice.lv

 

[Colonel Green]

Stephen G. on the roster for Volvo cup

Volvo Open Cup 40 th - Junior Men

www.kristalice.lv

Just looking at the other entries, I'm guessing he's going to win that by a lot.

 

[barbarafan]

Just looking at the other entries, I'm guessing he's going to win that by a lot.

hope so.....I guess to build confidence for Junior worlds...Joseph Phan is doing Warsaw.