2024–25 Canadian Men: News and Updates

[jägerbomb]

Sad news about Chiu.

This could be one of the more chaotic/disastrous events of the season, like a Canadian ladies event from 1997 or something.

 

[jlai]

Who are still in?

 

[Sylvia]

Starting orders are posted in the 2025 Canadians thread in K&C - Senior Men down to 15: https://skatecanada.ca/results/25CDNSSeniorMenSP1SO.pdf

 

[Stephanie]

FWIW the following skaters have the 4CCs minimum CTES:

Competing at nationals: Newnham, Rakic, Sadovsky
Not competing: Chiu, Gogolev, Blumenthal (not sure on his status)

 

[Sylvia]

I liked Gabriel Blumenthal's skating a LOT - assume he retired since AFAIK he did not compete at all this season?

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

FWIW the following skaters have the 4CCs minimum CTES:

Competing at nationals: Newnham, Rakic, Sadovsky
Not competing: Chiu, Gogolev, Blumenthal (not sure on his status)

Paradis doesn't have them because he's never competed internationally as a senior, yes?

 

[fsfann]

Has Paradis learned any new jumps this season?

 

[Sylvia]

Has Paradis learned any new jumps this season?

He attempted 3A (fall) in his FS at Challenge: https://skatecanada.ca/results/CHA24SeniorMenFP2DRO.pdf

 

[Karen-W]

I'm sorry, but those of you who are hoping for an Anthony Paradis win are just asking for Canadian men to spend even more years wandering around in the wilderness of being a non-factor on the international scene. I thought it was bad this season when only Chiu & Gogolev had 2 GP assignments, but rooting for Paradis is basically asking for Canada to have just their home GP host spots & that's it for their men.

 

[Sylvia]

but rooting for Paradis is basically asking for Canada to have just their home GP host spots & that's it for their men.

Huh?

 

[Karen-W]

Huh?

Here's the list of where the Canadian men sit on the SB list -

Sadovsky - 42
Rakic - 44
Gogolev - 50
Chiu - 70
Grayson Long - 71*
David Bondar - 86
Paradis - 91
William Chan - 109*
John Kim - 114
Edward Vasii - 146

Why anyone would root for a guy who is 7th best on the SB list, even with 2 of the guys ahead of him out of Can Nats & another guy ahead of him senior age-ineligible is a real head-scratcher to me.

I understand the appeal of his artistry, but his SB wouldn't even put him on the GP Alternates list for next season.

And here's last season's SB list for the Canadian men -

Chiu - 23
Gogolev - 28
Sadovsky - 40
Orzel - 54
Rakic - 58
Paradis - 89
Blumenthal - 94
David Li - 111
Grayson Long - 119
Rio Morita - 121
David Shteyngart - 134
David Bondar - 136
Terry Yu Tao Jin - 144
David Howes - 146
Alec Guinzbourg - 147
Shohei Law - 153

Paradis' SB from 23-24 is about .5 higher than his current 24-25 SB. Realistically, one has to ask - is he improving enough to be the future of Canadian men's skating? I don't know why you're saying "huh?" to that point I was making in my previous post (albeit without all this data laid out for everyone to see for themselves).

 

[Sylvia]

I posted "Huh?" because even if Anthony wins gold in Laval, he will not be sent to 4CC or Worlds. As the 2024 national champ, Chiu, IF healthy, could go to 4CC where the 1 man for Worlds likely will be determined. If Chiu does not go, then 3 other Canadian men will have a chance to improve their ISU SB total scores.

ETA:

FWIW the following skaters have the 4CCs minimum CTES [in addition to Chiu and Gogolev AND Celestino per Karen's post below]:

Competing at nationals: Newnham, Rakic, Sadovsky

 

[Karen-W]

I posted "Huh?" because even if Anthony wins gold in Laval, he will not be sent to 4CC or Worlds.

Gotcha. I just think that rooting for Anthony to win, in general, is not really rooting for a healthy future for Canadian men's skating. That's what I was driving at. A win in Laval & he'd be sent to Jr Worlds again. I can't see how he's the best choice for that spot either, if you're concerned about Canada having more than just its Skate Canada host spots on the GP circuit.

As the 2024 national champ, Chiu, IF healthy, could go to 4CC where the 1 man for Worlds likely will be determined. If Chiu does not go, then 3 other Canadian men will have a chance to improve their ISU SB total scores.

I was just looking over the CanNats men's entry list and realized you forgot one person who has the 4CCs CTES mins - Edrian Paul Celestino. He got them while representing the Philippines, but it transfers over (FBSoer, Les Gacs, SouFir all had their TES mins follow them after country switches).

I think I'm gonna root for Edrian. His last competition for the Philippines was 4CCs last year, so he's eligible to represent Canada at 4CCs this year. If we're going to have maximum chaos, I'm down with him coming out victorious.

 

[Sylvia]

I was just looking over the CanNats men's entry list and realized you forgot one person who has the 4CCs CTES mins - Edrian Paul Celestino. He got them while representing the Philippines, but it transfers over (FBSoer, Les Gacs, SouFir all had their TES mins follow them after country switches).

I think I'm gonna root for Edrian. His last competition for the Philippines was 4CCs last year, so he's eligible to represent Canada at 4CCs this year. If we're going to have maximum chaos, I'm down with him coming out victorious.

Good catch! Celestino is a lovely skater I enjoy watching (even without a 3A ).

Forgot to mention this earlier - Matthew Newnham didn't attempt 3A at Challenge (has landed 3A last season & earlier ones) and Ravi Walia showed an Insta story clip (now expired) of him landing a very smooth 3A in practice.

 

[fan]

Circelli is probably smacking his head right about now…

 

[Sylvia]

Pretty sure @Theatregirl1122 meant to post in this thread :

It’s not like there appears to be a whole host of people in this thread hoping for Anthony Paradis to win.

2 have posted in here.

Circelli is probably smacking his head right about now…

I think he's looking forward to competing in Torino (Winter University Games) this week.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Pretty sure @Theatregirl1122 meant to post in this thread :

Yeah, I fat fingered and hit the similar threads button at the bottom without noticing I’d been transported.

2 have posted in here.

I don’t know that I count hoping for chaos as the same thing, but either way, two isn’t exactly a crowd.

 

[Karen-W]

Yeah, I fat fingered and hit the similar threads button at the bottom without noticing I’d been transported.



I don’t know that I count hoping for chaos as the same thing, but either way, two isn’t exactly a crowd.

Hey, now, given that this thread is all of 47 posts long, I think two people hoping for a Paradis win is a "host of people", lol.

I'm all for chaos and I get why people enjoy/appreciate him, but there's no need to compound the chaos with the insanity of a Paradis win. There's not enough alcohol in the world that could account for having to sit through a Can Nats men's competition where Anthony Paradis at his current tech level wins Canadians.

 

[Sylvia]

I'll be interested to see which 2 men go to Junior Worlds. Competing Senior at Nationals are Paradis, John Kim (has 3A and attempts 4S & 4T), David Li and Grayson Long (getting his 3A consistent this season), while David Bondar (clean 3A+3T & 3A in his FS at Challenge, scoring 209.47 total) has the highest CTES of the 7 who are both age- and minimum score (80)-eligible:

David BONDAR	CAN	106.13	ISU JGP Czech Skate 2024	05/09/2024	38.45	J	ISU JGP Wuxi 2024	11/10/2024	67.68	J
William CHAN	CAN	87.47	2024 Cranberry Cup International	09/08/2024	29.50	J	ISU JGP Ankara 2024	21/09/2024	57.97	J
Parker HEIDERICH	CAN	91.86	Trophy Metropole Nice Cote d'Azur 2024	16/10/2024	31.96	J	Trophy Metropole Nice Cote d'Azur 2024	17/10/2024	59.90	J
John KIM	CAN	87.75	ISU JGP Ankara 2024	19/09/2024	36.06	J	ISU JGP Wuxi 2024	11/10/2024	51.69	J
David LI	CAN	89.09	2023 Cranberry Cup International	10/08/2023	32.83	J	Winter Youth Olympic Games 2024	29/01/2024	56.26	J
Grayson LONG	CAN	101.61	2024 Cranberry Cup International	09/08/2024	34.90	J	2024 Cranberry Cup International	10/08/2024	66.71	J
Anthony PARADIS	CAN	90.84	ISU JGP Solidarity Cup 2024	26/09/2024	33.92	J	ISU World Junior Championships 2024	02/03/2024	56.92	J

Competing in the Junior event: Howes (71.38), Shteyngart (74.67) and Vasii (62.72)

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Hey, now, given that this thread is all of 47 posts long, I think two people hoping for a Paradis win is a "host of people", lol.

I'm all for chaos and I get why people enjoy/appreciate him, but there's no need to compound the chaos with the insanity of a Paradis win. There's not enough alcohol in the world that could account for having to sit through a Can Nats men's competition where Anthony Paradis at his current tech level wins Canadians.

I just don’t think that 1.5 comments require a call out.

 

[Karen-W]

I just don’t think that 1.5 comments require a call out.

call me a wet blanket - I just wanted to get out ahead of that train before it even left the station, lol.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Circelli is probably smacking his head right about now…

I knew he'd end up regretting it. Would have loved to see him become Canadian champion. As for Paradis, I'm mostly rooting for him for the chaos potential. Plus he's lots of fun to watch even though he doesn't have the tech to be competitive. Besides his listed hobbies are "Being a fashion ICON, slaying all day everyday, dancing " - he's practically an honorary FSUer.

 

[fsfann]

Hey, now, given that this thread is all of 47 posts long, I think two people hoping for a Paradis win is a "host of people", lol.

I'm all for chaos and I get why people enjoy/appreciate him, but there's no need to compound the chaos with the insanity of a Paradis win. There's not enough alcohol in the world that could account for having to sit through a Can Nats men's competition where Anthony Paradis at his current tech level wins Canadians.

Would be like a Netty Kim (1995) 2.0.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

I looked it up. The last time Canada only had one man at Worlds was 1980. I hope that whoever gets the nod is able to handle the pressure of ensuring the Olympic spot.

 

[Sylvia]

I looked it up. The last time Canada only had one man at Worlds was 1980.

Not counting 2020 & 2024.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Not counting 2020 & 2024.

I'm sure I saw 2 Canadian men when I was at last year's Worlds.

 

[Sylvia]

I'm sure I saw 2 Canadian men when I was at last year's Worlds.

Oops. Well I do remember all the "drama" surrounding the men's selection in 2020 {{Nam Nguyen; also felt badly for Emily Bausback & Alicia Pineault that they never got their one chance to compete}}.

 

[HaNguyen]

Circelli is probably smacking his head right about now

After he moved to Canada, I felt that Circelli did NOT want to be the Country's Only Hope for Men's Figure Skating. Then, when he moved to Italy which had 3 male stars, I was sure of it. I'm quite positive that Circelli is in the exact position where he wants to be - no pressure, no negativity on the lack of his skating prowess, and he can have fun.

 

[Sylvia]

I'm quite positive that Circelli is in the exact position where he wants to be - no pressure, no negativity on the lack of his skating prowess, and he can have fun.

I think this is quite plausible. This is what he posted after he finished 5th at Italian Nationals last month: https://www.instagram.com/p/DD77iKixJq-/

As deeply disappointed in myself and my performances here in Varese, it is always an honour to skate on Italian ice in front of such a passionate crowd, especially here in this special city for my family. I have immense respect for the outstandingly talented men in this event and appreciate all the support. I look forward for the opportunity to compete on home ice again in Torino for the 2025 FISU Winter Universiade, with renewed determination and commitment.

 

[jägerbomb]

Gotcha. I just think that rooting for Anthony to win, in general, is not really rooting for a healthy future for Canadian men's skating. That's what I was driving at. A win in Laval & he'd be sent to Jr Worlds again. I can't see how he's the best choice for that spot either, if you're concerned about Canada having more than just its Skate Canada host spots on the GP circuit.

I fail to understand this line of thinking. If Aleksa Rakic wins nationals with a "clean" skate (ie several jumps under or on the quarter), I hardly think that would necessarily any better for the future of Canadian mens skating.

Embrace the chaos and let folks root for who they want to root for.