2022–23 Canadian Pairs: News and Updates

[Karen-W]

Just watched Max and Deanna's SP at Quebec summer skate.

Up until today they have been the team that has disappointed me the most. On paper I thought this was a perfect match but they have looked like oil and water - with barely mediocre packaging.

Today, a different story. Great program. All in black with a little fire (skated to Oblivion). They look like a match. Elements improved: the 3T has same entry and timing and the 3Tw shot out of the frame. 65 pts with a majorly botched throw and out of synch sbs spins. I'm on the Deanna and Max train, now. Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.

I wouldn't call a step out on the throw "majorly botched" but YMMV. The spins were really bad though. The rest was great - very solid, flowing lift, and the 3Tw was spectacular.

 

[Rock2]

I wouldn't call a step out on the throw "majorly botched" but YMMV.

I would. Mostly -4s. Semantics, I guess.
Point is, left a lot of points on the table, so, room to grow in both TES and PCS.

 

[Vase]

Didn't Lia Pereira skate pairs for a season? How tall is she - 5'2/5'3ish?

She is maybe 5’2, my guess she’s the girl. She’s had experience and top junior lady.

 

[Aaron MB Fan]

Schumacher's 5'0" - on paper, it's a good match, but she's still got to work on projecting, imo.

This was exactly my thought. Allison has a lot of work to do on projecting and Pairs may make this even more noticeable.

After multiple partners, I want Trennt who I think is a great Pairs guy albeit on the shorter side to finally find someone who is a great match where he can finally fulfill his potential and they can gel as a team.

 

[Vase]

This was exactly my thought. Allison has a lot of work to do on projecting and Pairs may make this even more noticeable.

After multiple partners, I want Trennt who I think is a great Pairs guy albeit on the shorter side to finally find someone who is a great match where he can finally fulfill his potential and they can gel as a team.

Lia can ‘project’ she has the jumps.

 

[Rock2]

This was exactly my thought. Allison has a lot of work to do on projecting and Pairs may make this even more noticeable.

After multiple partners, I want Trennt who I think is a great Pairs guy albeit on the shorter side to finally find someone who is a great match where he can finally fulfill his potential and they can gel as a team.

Agree. This is where Dave Pelletier was after 98 Nationals.

Trennt needs his Jamie Sale, not another Caroline Roy, if you follow. I know that's easier said than done because the partner has to be out there. But if Trennt wants to fulfill his potential to be a world medalist, he might need to make some hard decisions (e.g. sit out a year/wait for right partner, move, etc). Unsure if this would be his strategy - he might opt for convenience to stay in the game and keep things moving.

My understanding is his partner search is much closer to the end of the process than the beginning, is how I'll say it. So he has either plucked another Walsh out of junior, taken up with Alison or will give us some serious retro vibes with Lubov (who hasn't posted on Insta since June 30...all I'm sayin). Whomever it is, sounds promising that he'll be back at Nationals to spice things up in January.

 

[Alilou]

Oh Lubov! Please let it be Lubov! (And please let her stop being nervous about her jumps so she lands them in competitions)

 

[blue_idealist]

Agree. This is where Dave Pelletier was after 98 Nationals.

Trennt needs his Jamie Sale, not another Caroline Roy, if you follow. I know that's easier said than done because the partner has to be out there. But if Trennt wants to fulfill his potential to be a world medalist, he might need to make some hard decisions (e.g. sit out a year/wait for right partner, move, etc). Unsure if this would be his strategy - he might opt for convenience to stay in the game and keep things moving.

My understanding is his partner search is much closer to the end of the process than the beginning, is how I'll say it. So he has either plucked another Walsh out of junior, taken up with Alison or will give us some serious retro vibes with Lubov (who hasn't posted on Insta since June 30...all I'm sayin). Whomever it is, sounds promising that he'll be back at Nationals to spice things up in January.

I wondered, if he'd be satisfied with Worlds and not Olympics, if he'd skate with an American.

 

[Colonel Green]

I wondered, if he'd be satisfied with Worlds and not Olympics, if he'd skate with an American.

Why would he need to do that? Foreign skaters are able to get Canadian citizen easily enough.

 

[honey]

Could not agree more with the Pelletier analogy. But, and this is strictly my opinion of course, none of the options floated in this thread are going to be the Sale to his Pelletier.

Lubov is lovely, but I don’t think we can pretend anymore that the jumps are going to happen. The others mentioned in this thread are perfectly competent skaters, but are they strong enough to reach a world podium? IMO, no. I would think he wouldn’t be continuing unless it would be to have the chance to achieve greater results than he did with Evelyn.

But it’s not like suitable partners with pair experience grow on trees, so it will be interesting to see if he takes a gamble on someone new to pairs or not.

 

[Alilou]

Why would he need to do that? Foreign skaters are able to get Canadian citizen easily enough.

What gives you that idea? It takes years to even get permanent residence, let alone citizenship.

 

[Colonel Green]

What gives you that idea? It takes years to even get permanent residence, let alone citizenship.

Elite athletes can use the accelerated process. It has been done many times within a quadrennial.

 

[Alilou]

Elite athletes can use the accelerated process. It has been done many times within a quadrennial.

I guess we have different definitions of "easily" and "many".

 

[Colonel Green]

I guess we have different definitions of "easily" and "many".

There’s been one per quad on the national team for the last four quads. Given the small sample size, that’s a lot.

Anybody Michaud teamed up with right now would have a full year’s head start on Piper in the 2010/14 cycle.

 

[dramagrrl]

Oh Lubov! Please let it be Lubov! (And please let her stop being nervous about her jumps so she lands them in competitions)

No thanks. Does anyone really think her jumps are going to get more consistent as she gets older? With Charlie, even her throws were not super-consistent.

I honestly think a junior singles skater with a bit of pairs experience would probably be a better bet in terms of long-term potential.

 

[Alilou]

No thanks. Does anyone really think her jumps are going to get more consistent as she gets older? With Charlie, even her throws were not super-consistent.

I honestly think a junior singles skater with a bit of pairs experience would probably be a better bet in terms of long-term potential.

Oh no doubt you're right. I just have a soft spot for Lubov from way back when she was skating with Maizuradze. And she's had so much bad luck. It looked like the partnership with Dylan would finally get her to the Olys and then of all the freakish accidents a huge glass door falls on Dylan and he can't recover from his injuries in time for them to have a good skat at nationals. Then it looks as if all the stars are aligning with Charlie and he dumps her without warning even after she'd moved to Montreal for the partnership, because he suddenly decided he didn't want to do it anymore. 😢

 

[Sylvia]

Translation of Patinage Quebec's post featuring Deanna Stellato ("We took advantage of the Quebec Summer Championships to take some 🔥 content from our athletes. We can't wait to show you all this? Keep an eye out!"): https://www.instagram.com/p/ChDQOv3FxQc/

 

[barbarafan]

No thanks. Does anyone really think her jumps are going to get more consistent as she gets older? With Charlie, even her throws were not super-consistent.

I honestly think a junior singles skater with a bit of pairs experience would probably be a better bet in terms of long-term potential.

Her jump problems are not technique ...it is freezing up due to muscle memory of the horror stories of her past training. Years have past and she is happy and confident . As far as throws her are better than any Cdn pair girl. That was a Charlie thing....He quit in his head long before he quit and was not doing any training & had no strength in his arms. Lubov is lucky she was not seriously injured prior to his quitting due to this. No idea if she would be interested.

 

[miffy]

This is exciting it feels like we haven’t had as many mystery partner announcements in recent years.

I feel bad saying this but I wasn’t a big fan of W/M as a team. To me the lack of height difference and sometimes unsteady lifts made me nervous. I saw them live and in practice and was really worried but it was a few years ago and maybe they improved. I am pleased she retired on her terms and it’s a friendly split, and am really looking forward to seeing how Trennt does with a new partner. Lubov coming back would be exciting, or someone less experienced could be good for a longer term partnership. Either way - we just need more pairs!

 

[Sylvia]

Tilda Alteryd/Gabriel Farand will make their debut as a Senior pair at the Skate Ontario Sectional Series #2, August 19-20 in Mississauga: https://skateontario.org/results/23AUG/23AUGSeniorPairSP1SO.pdf
She announced their partnership back on February 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZbwwNOufgN/

 

[Rock2]

Her jump problems are not technique ...it is freezing up due to muscle memory of the horror stories of her past training. Years have past and she is happy and confident . As far as throws her are better than any Cdn pair girl. That was a Charlie thing....He quit in his head long before he quit and was not doing any training & had no strength in his arms. Lubov is lucky she was not seriously injured prior to his quitting due to this. No idea if she would be interested.

I agree. A truly supportive environment might make a difference. My money is on Schumacher to be the announcement (I have no inside knowledge on this) but among current crop of known/potential/local candidates, I would genuinely be most excited about Luba.

If Trennt has made up his mind that this is his last cycle and he has no long-term plans for extensive touring (no idea, so it's a big if, but could be the case), I would think Luba could get him to the Olympics/worlds faster than anyone, especially someone just starting in pairs. This has got to be a factor now - he's about to turn 26. He needs to set his goals high and I'm not sure to what extent 'starting over' - including training a new pair girl - can get him where he needs to be on the best timeline. The only thing working in his favor on that front is, who else you gonna send from Canada? (shrug)

I think Luba's 3T can be decently consistent to cover off the short. For the free, there are options with the new rules. She does have 3S, but she has also competed the 2A in the past. So something like a 2A+2A+2T combo (no longer a sequence) can be evaluated as an option.

 

[clairecloutier]

I think Luba's 3T can be decently consistent to cover off the short. For the free, there are options with the new rules. She does have 3S, but she has also competed the 2A in the past. So something like a 2A+2A+2T combo (no longer a sequence) can be evaluated as an option.

Agree on this.

There was also some criticism recently of Luba's throw jumps toward the end w/ Charlie Bilodeau. With regard to this, I think it should be noted again that throw jumps are a two-person endeavor, very dependent on fine-tuned timing, trust, and consistent practice between the two partners. I think it is reasonable to surmise that those qualities may not have been fully present toward the end of that partnership. Which may well explain why consistency went down.

 

[barbarafan]

I agree. A truly supportive environment might make a difference. My money is on Schumacher to be the announcement (I have no inside knowledge on this) but among current crop of known/potential/local candidates, I would genuinely be most excited about Luba.

If Trennt has made up his mind that this is his last cycle and he has no long-term plans for extensive touring (no idea, so it's a big if, but could be the case), I would think Luba could get him to the Olympics/worlds faster than anyone, especially someone just starting in pairs. This has got to be a factor now - he's about to turn 26. He needs to set his goals high and I'm not sure to what extent 'starting over' - including training a new pair girl - can get him where he needs to be on the best timeline. The only thing working in his favor on that front is, who else you gonna send from Canada? (shrug)

I think Luba's 3T can be decently consistent to cover off the short. For the free, there are options with the new rules. She does have 3S, but she has also competed the 2A in the past. So something like a 2A+2A+2T combo (no longer a sequence) can be evaluated as an option.

True....as well, if Trent is really strong so he could hold up his end of lifts she has always had the best lifts and works constantly on a strong core. What about the twist? Could Trent learn a Russian twist. Lubov did a half Cdn, half Russian twist with Dylan which was good but nothing like her twist with her former partner which was sky high....Who would they train with though?

 

[Rock2]

True....as well, if Trent is really strong so he could hold up his end of lifts she has always had the best lifts and works constantly on a strong core. What about the twist? Could Trent learn a Russian twist. Lubov did a half Cdn, half Russian twist with Dylan which was good but nothing like her twist with her former partner which was sky high....Who would they train with though?

I'm hearing he's training still with Purkiss but who knows if that remains permanent or if this is who is working with him on tryouts or what. What it does seem like is people are coming to him and not vice versa.

Random other point that makes me wonder how much Schumacher is in the mix. If I'm Trennt I want someone committed. Alison is at Cranberry this weekend and is slated for other senior singles events. Good for Alison to continue to pursue singles, but that would seriously stunt development in pairs.

Looking at juniors from last year I don't see locals such as Summer Homick or Lily Wilberforce looking anywhere near Trennt's level atm. Don't know the junior ladies well enough to speculate who he could grab out of those ranks and develop.

I just can't rule Luba out at this point simply because I don't see an obvious/convenient choice to otherwise speculate on as an obvious front-runner. (Vanessa James announced her retirement so I haven't brought her up)

This just all feels like it's building up to an 'OMG' choice no matter which way it goes lol.

 

[dramagrrl]

There have been rumours (I have no idea how accurate) that Milly Murdock from the US was thinking of switching to pairs, and likely knows Trennt as she trained in Toronto for several years. I honestly know nothing about her, but I guess it could be a possibility.

 

[Rock2]

There have been rumours (I have no idea how accurate) that Milly Murdock from the US was thinking of switching to pairs, and likely knows Trennt as she trained in Toronto for several years. I honestly know nothing about her, but I guess it could be a possibility.

Hadn't heard of her. Her singles long program is only recently choreographed and posted by On-Ice perspectives. Unsure how tall she is but if she has made the sudden decision to switch to pairs this seems promising just based on her look and how she presents herself.

ETA: just did a little research on her. Good friends with Walsh so she must know Trennt. I LOVE this girl's singles skating. Definitely at least a few inches shorter than Walsh. Dunno, she just looks like she can pick up pairs quickly and has 'it' quality. I'd be all over this if it happened. If she has been training in Toronto for awhile, I wonder if that gives her a head start with immigration?

 

[happycamper2554]

There have been rumours (I have no idea how accurate) that Milly Murdock from the US was thinking of switching to pairs, and likely knows Trennt as she trained in Toronto for several years. I honestly know nothing about her, but I guess it could be a possibility.

She competed this week in the domestic version of Cranberry

 

[Sylvia]

Murdock relocated from Toronto (Cricket club) to Colorado Springs earlier this year.

 

[Rock2]

Ok well so much for that. Had high hopes. We back to Luba then? LOL

 

[shutterbug]

Just throwing this out there - does anyone know what Patricia Andrew is up to now that Steven Adcock has a new partner? I know she's not any better size match than Walsh, but she and Michaud did skate together for about 5 minutes when he was between partners.