U.S. Men 2020-21 season news & updates

[Sylvia]

Tom Zakrajsek recently shared 2 clips of Vincent Zhou "experimenting with new 4Lz entrances and techniques": https://www.instagram.com/p/CIoVm1wLVNP/

 

[Lacey]

Nathan recently talked about his first Olympic experience/mindset and what he learned in the Stars on Ice holiday chat starting here (with Kurt Browning, Meryl & Charlie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yFxwH2e1TY&t=57m26s

BTW, his quad Lutz is back! Nathan landed 4Lz as his opening jump in his SP performance in Great Park Ice's holiday show on Sunday, and here's a fan's IGTV video captured from the livestream: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CIwZIduJRDP/

I continue to be in love with Nathan's skating!

 

[layman]

Tom Zakrajsek recently shared 2 clips of Vincent Zhou "experimenting with new 4Lz entrances and techniques": https://www.instagram.com/p/CIoVm1wLVNP/

I don't know why they are toying with the 4 lutz, as that seems to be Vincent's best jump and he has really good timing in that jump and can make it into a big scoring combo quite easily. If it's not broke, why mess with it?

I think they should be focusing on the 4 salchow instead, where Vincent seems to delay the rotation so much, that he struggles to complete the jump before hitting the ice. I think he needs to improve the initial snap and pull in, so that he can start rotating a little earlier.

I would also like to see the 4 flip (has tried it in competition) and 4 loop (have not seen it in competition) from Vincent but he seems to have the same issues with those. He does not start the rotation quick enough. The timing seems off. That's where the team should work.

 

[jlai]

I don't know why they are toying with the 4 lutz, as that seems to be Vincent's best jump and he has really good timing in that jump and can make it into a big scoring combo quite easily. If it's not broke, why mess with it?

I think they should be focusing on the 4 salchow instead, where Vincent seems to delay the rotation so much, that he struggles to complete the jump before hitting the ice. I think he needs to improve the initial snap and pull in, so that he can start rotating a little earlier.

I would also like to see the 4 flip (has tried it in competition) and 4 loop (have not seen it in competition) from Vincent but he seems to have the same issues with those. He does not start the rotation quick enough. The timing seems off. That's where the team should work.

If they mess with it that means the coach knows something isn't working that may not be public information

 

[concorde]

Maybe Vincent is working on a quint lutz!
There are still a couple of weeks left in 2020 so anything is possible.

 

[Natanielle825]

They're probably trying to max points on it if he feels very confident, but Idk how someone can be that secure in a freakin quad lutz to try it in competition from a spread eagle.

 

[Cayuse]

11-year old Nathan and the spider.

Joel Dear choreographed a perfect piece for a young boy. So fun!

 

[Sylvia]

I'm NOT posting spoiler scores or standings here but the Nationals qualifying free skates can be watched by Peacock Premium subscribers for the following:

Senior Men Group A FS starting order (8 listed):
Joonsoo Kim
Jacob DeWolfe
Ryan Dunk
Lucas Altieri
Mitchell Friess
Ben Jalovick
Jun Hong Chen
Max Lake

Group B FS starting order (11 listed; 8 can be watched at this time):
Daniel Turchin
Joey Millet
Dinh Tran
Yaroslav Paniot
Eric Sjoberg
Peter Liu
Sebastien Payannet
Maxim Naumov
Videos are not there for the final 3 (waiting to hear if they competed/were scored):
Jordan Moeller
Emmanuel Savary
Paul Yeung

Junior Men FS currently is scheduled to be streamed on Peacock Premium on Dec. 23 (top 12 will qualify for Nationals).

ETA to the competition thread I've started in which I've posted the currently known scores behind a spoiler tag: 2021 USFS Championship Series (virtual qualifying competition for 2021 US Nationals)

 

[haribobo]

Thanks for posting! Does this mean Ilia Malinin's season is done since he wasn't a top 4 ISP score? Bummer, hope he is ok. Or maybe he is staying in juniors?

 

[Debbie S]

Thanks for posting! Does this mean Ilia Malinin's season is done since he wasn't a top 4 ISP score? Bummer, hope he is ok. Or maybe he is staying in juniors?

I assume he's staying Junior?

 

[Sylvia]

I wasn't planning to post until all the Nationals qualifiers are confirmed by USFS (tomorrow?), but I'm pretty sure Ilia Malinin registered to compete Senior in the qualifying season so, yes, it appears his season is over now and he will miss his second straight Nationals.

William Hubbart (12th in his senior debut at 2020 Nationals) also is missing from the Senior Men's qualifiers list (eta on 12/22 that he's listed as WD in the Group A results).
Sectional qualifiers last year in Senior not listed this year: Andrew Austin and Ryan VanDoren

 

[orbitz]

I don't know why they are toying with the 4 lutz, as that seems to be Vincent's best jump and he has really good timing in that jump and can make it into a big scoring combo quite easily. If it's not broke, why mess with it?

I don't think Tom is trying to fix Vincent's 4lz technique. It looks like they're just trying out different entrances into the jump. I like it, especially the second clip. If a skater always has to approach a jump the same way in every program then it limits him choreographically.

 

[Sylvia]

USFS published the list of 2021 Nationals qualifiers today (Malinin is not listed ) - copying out the men's names/clubs but NOT posting the qualifying competition results/scores here (using the competition thread in Kiss & Cry for that purpose).

Championship Men (18)
Jason Brown (Skokie Valley SC) Bye
Nathan Chen (Salt Lake Figure Skating) Bye
Ryan Dunk (Baltimore FSC)
Mitchell Friess (St. Paul FSC)
Tomoki Hiwatashi (DuPage FSC) Bye
Joseph Kang (University of Delaware FSC) Bye-ISP PC
Joonsoo Kim (Los Angeles FSC)
Alex Krasnozhon (The Skating Club of Boston) Bye-ISP PC
Peter Liu (The SC of Wilmington, Inc)
Jimmy Ma (The Skating Club of Boston) Bye-ISP PC
Jordan Moeller (Northern Ice SC)
Maxim Naumov (The Skating Club of Boston)
Yaroslav Paniot (All Year FSC)
Camden Pulkinen (Broadmoor SC, Inc.) Bye-ISP PC
Eric Sjoberg (Los Angeles FSC)
Andrew Torgashev (Broadmoor SC, Inc.) Bye
Dinh Tran (The Skating Club of San Francisco, Inc)
Vincent Zhou (The Skating Club of San Francisco, Inc) Bye

Junior Men (12)
Lucas Broussard (Highland SC)
Nicholas Hsieh (The SC of Wilmington, Inc)
Liam Kapeikis (Wenatchee FSC)
Joseph Klein (Skokie Valley SC)
Daniel Martynov (Great Lakes FSC)
Samuel Mindra (Portland ISC)
Matthew Nielsen (Winterhurst FSC)
Eric Prober (Panthers FSC, Inc.)
Jacob Sanchez (Hudson Valley FSC)
Michael Xie (All Year FSC)
Robert Yampolsky (North Jersey FSC Inc)
Maxim Zharkov (Dallas FSC, Inc.)

 

[Carolla5501]

I don't know why they are toying with the 4 lutz, as that seems to be Vincent's best jump and he has really good timing in that jump and can make it into a big scoring combo quite easily. If it's not broke, why mess with it?

I think they should be focusing on the 4 salchow instead, where Vincent seems to delay the rotation so much, that he struggles to complete the jump before hitting the ice. I think he needs to improve the initial snap and pull in, so that he can start rotating a little earlier.

I would also like to see the 4 flip (has tried it in competition) and 4 loop (have not seen it in competition) from Vincent but he seems to have the same issues with those. He does not start the rotation quick enough. The timing seems off. That's where the team should work.

LOL!
Maybe you should consider the strong possibility that the coach and skater are more knowledgeable on what he needs to do than you?

 

[concorde]

USFS published the list of 2021 Nationals qualifiers today (Malinin is not listed ) - copying out the men's names/clubs but NOT posting the qualifying competition results/scores here (using the competition thread in Kiss & Cry for that purpose).
I'll use a spoiler tag below in case anyone wants to watch the qualifying competitions unspoiled.

I don't think Ilia Malinin submitted a video. Wonder what happened between SA and when the videos were due.

 

[DreamSkates]

I'm NOT posting spoiler scores or standings here but the Nationals qualifying free skates can be watched by Peacock Premium subscribers for the following:

Senior Men Group A FS starting order (8 listed):
Joonsoo Kim
Jacob DeWolfe
Ryan Dunk
Lucas Altieri
Mitchell Friess
Ben Jalovick
Jun Hong Chen
Max Lake

Group B FS starting order (11 listed; 8 can be watched at this time):
Daniel Turchin
Joey Millet
Dinh Tran
Yaroslav Paniot
Eric Sjoberg
Peter Liu
Sebastien Payannet
Maxim Naumov
Videos are not there for the final 3 (waiting to hear if they competed/were scored):
Jordan Moeller
Emmanuel Savary
Paul Yeung

Junior Men FS currently is scheduled to be streamed on Peacock Premium on Dec. 23 (top 12 will qualify for Nationals).

ETA to the competition thread I've started in which I've posted the currently known scores behind a spoiler tag: 2021 USFS Championship Series (virtual qualifying competition for 2021 US Nationals)

What exactly is the title to search for in Peacock? I found Junior Mens Free Skate but never have found a schedule in Peacock so its easy to forget there is something to watch.

 

[Sylvia]

What exactly is the title to search for in Peacock?

I've bolded the search term I use here:

U.S. Figure skating streaming coverage will move to Peacock Premium starting in Fall 2020

Interesting... No Senior Dance? More info here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/usfs-qualifying-season-plans.107464/page-4#post-5896499

www.fsuniverse.net

 

[Sylvia]

ON HIS OWN IN TORONTO, JASON BROWN WORKS TOWARD VEGAS RETURN by Lynn Rutherford (Dec. 22, 2020): https://www.teamusa.org/News/2020/D...Toronto-Jason-Brown-Works-Toward-Vegas-Return
Excerpt:

That may change at the upcoming U.S. championships. Brown posted clips of two different quads, toe loop and salchow, on his Instagram, and plans to include the toe in his programs.
“I’m definitely more comfortable with the toe, I just have more mileage with it, and I have it in both programs,” Brown said. “Obviously, I work on both, trying to push forward and have that (competitive) mentality. I’m eyeing the 2021-22 Olympic season, as far as that end game. I really just train the programs in a different way, so I’ll be as prepared as possible when next season rolls around.”
Ward, who has worked with Brown since the skater was a youngster, has his own theory on why the quad has been slow in coming.
“There are some people who love jumping, love doing quads — I was like that,” Ward said. “For Jason, he would rather perform and sell and do what he does really, really well. He can do quads, and he is working on them, but his type of skating is a feeling. It’s storytelling. I think it requires way more physicality and mental (ability), than the other way.”

 

[Sylvia]

2 friendship articles...

Tomoki, Camden & Vincent by @clairecloutier:

Friendship Comes First for Colorado Springs Boys - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

2020 has been a tough year for figure skaters with the COVID-19 pandemic leading to rink closings and canceled competitions. For Tomoki Hiwatashi, Camden Pulkinen,

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Excerpts:

In addition to joking around at the rink, the guys also get together outside the arena. "It's hard right now, with the pandemic," Zhou said. "But there have been plenty of times when we've had boys' Friday nights or Saturday nights."
They generally gather at each other's houses. "Since we're out all day at the rink, we prefer to just stay home after a long day of training," Pulkinen noted. Playing Nintendo and other video games is their favorite activity, with Hiwatashi typically selecting the games.
Aside from skating, the trio shares another interest: All hope for future careers in business or investment banking.

In Las Vegas, the three friends will compete for medals and U.S. team slots. It's a familiar scenario--and one that doesn't faze them.
"If I were to lose a slot to someone, or fall short, I put that on myself," Pulkinen said. "Because, more than just being competitors, I think it's important to maintain those friendships. Honestly, this sport is really lonely. If I didn't have my fellow competitors with me, I probably wouldn't be able to make it. Yes, the medals and accomplishments mean so much, but I feel like friendships are what really lasts."

Alex Krasnozhon, Jimmy Ma & pair skater Misha Mitrofanov by Thomas Touchstone:

Krasnozhon, Ma and Mitrofanov: Cracking Jokes and Pulling Pranks in Boston - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

The friendship of Alex Krasnozhon, Jimmy Ma and Misha Mitrofanov goes well beyond skating. Their strong friendship off the ice strengthens their performances on

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Excerpts:

The three Team USA men moved to Boston after their coaches, Alexey Letov and Olga Ganicheva, were relocated to the new state-of-the-art facility at the Skating Club of Boston to prepare for the upcoming Olympics.
Krasnozhon said that it was scary to move away from where they were comfortable, but they get through it together.
"I think that living together and knowing each other's schedule and supporting each other is really fun," Krasnozhon said. "I think that on the ice we are friendly, and at home we are friendly. We try to support each other and influence each other to make smart decisions at home. That way we can be at our best on the ice."

According to Mitrofanov and Krasnozhon, Ma does most of the cooking and cleaning, because he is the only one who does it correctly. The pair went on to say that they know not to talk to Ma in the morning, because he is not a morning person and cannot deal with their energy that early.
Ma will take his own car to training, so he can listen to classical music, while Mitrofanov and Krasnozhon will drive separately and listen to rap.
After they are done with skating, the three want to stay close throughout life. Krasnozhon and Mitrofanov plan to move back to Texas and are trying to convince Ma to go with them.
"Misha and I plan on going back, because we love Texas," Krasnozhon said. "Jimmy loves Texas too, but he just won't admit it, because he is from New York."

 

[Sylvia]

Andrew Torgashev has withdrawn from 2021 Nationals - he has shared a short update via his official website:

Life update | Andrew Torgashev | Official Website

andrewtorgashev.figureskatersonline.com

ETA link to his Instagram post later on Wednesday ("... Nevertheless, I am healthy and I am training hard. See you next season "): https://www.instagram.com/p/CJuVXB0LKDE/

Alex Krasnozhon has a new SP for Nationals as listed in his Team USA bio: "Je Dors Sur Les Roses" performed by Mikelangelo Loconte (from the French musical Mozart, l'opéra rock), choreographed by Adam Blake in Boston.

Polina Edmunds' latest podcast episode features Vincent Zhou (about 30 mins. long) - she welcomes feedback here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJrK39mJnUY/

Chatting with Vincent Zhou

I talk with World Bronze Medalist and Olympian Vincent Zhou about his Olympic experience, his coaching team, the intense challenge of balancing school with skating at Brown University, and quads in men's skating!

art19.com

Misha Ge helping Yaroslav Paniot refine his Elvis Presley FS: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJsJQhMJUh-/

 

[Sylvia]

Nathan had a pre-Nationals media teleconference call yesterday - some highlights are transcribed here:

Account Suspended

ETA: I've posted 2 Twitter threads in his fan thread.

Here's Helene Elliott's column:

Column: Nathan Chen set to pursue fifth straight U.S. figure skating championship

Nathan Chen can be the first man since Dick Button to win five straight U.S. figure skating titles — if the coronavirus crisis doesn't get in the way.

www.latimes.com

Alternate link: https://news.yahoo.com/column-nathan-chen-set-pursue-163915652.html

 

[Sylvia]

Jason article by Phil Hersh:

His optimism challenged by 'life on repeat,' Jason Brown learns to take each day as it comes

Jason Brown’s usually boundless optimism finally hit its limits about a month ago. His intrinsic motivation to keep improving and his consummate love for figure skating had already been challenged several times

olympics.nbcsports.com

Excerpt:

He has been working on both a quadruple toe loop and a quadruple salchow, but recurrence of an old left foot injury limited his training on both. The injury is no longer an issue, Wilson said, and Brown said he wants to do quad in each program, most likely the toe loop.
“Whether that happens or not, there is definitely going to be one (attempt),” he said.
After nationals, he will spend about a week with his parents. At that point, if worlds has not been cancelled and he has made the team, Brown will go back to Canada, quarantine two weeks, then have six weeks more training before heading to the March 22-28 event in Stockholm. By the end of the spring semester, he will have finished two years of course work at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
“I feel the best skating of my life is yet to come,” he said.

 

[A.H.Black]

Good articles. I'm anxious to see Jason's programs. Nathan is always so well spoken.

 

[Sylvia]

I'm a Tomoki Hiwatashi uber. He just keeps being amazing. Apologies if I cursed him in the future.

"Listen in with Damon Allen during Tomoki Hiwatashi's short program at the 2020 Skate America": https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/1347329463130988544
Or IGTV video: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CJwzl-QAvU9/

 

[Sylvia]

Nathan article by Phil Hersh:

Nathan Chen digs into advanced statistics textbook while writing his own such numbers in U.S. skating record book

Chen vies for his fifth straight national title this week, which no man has achieved since Dick Button in the 1950s.

olympics.nbcsports.com

Vincent article by NickMcCarvel:

Vincent Zhou isn't shy about Olympic dream: 'I can win a medal'

Vincent Zhou is the 2019 world bronze medallist in figure skating, and the American says he can add Olympic hardware to his haul, too.

www.olympicchannel.com

 

[Yazmeen]

Question: Whatever happened to Tony Lu? Last I heard of him was 3rd at 2020 Sectionals but not at 2020 Nationals.

 

[olympic]

WOW. The top 3 after the SP are amaze balls. Honestly though, the award for biggest improvement goes to Zhou: His spins and carriage are vastly improved. Too bad for Pulkinen and Hiwatashi popping quads!

 

[Sylvia]

Question: Whatever happened to Tony Lu? Last I heard of him was 3rd at 2020 Sectionals but not at 2020 Nationals.

Tony Lu (3rd at Eastern Sectionals), Jun Hong Chen (4th at Easterns), Andrew Austin (2nd at Midwesterns) and Ben Jalovick (4th at Mids) did not earn the minimum combined TES of 92 (new rule last season) to be able to compete at 2020 Nationals, unfortunately.

Lu and Austin did not enter the Senior Men's FS qualifying event for 2021 Nationals and I don't know at this time if either plan to continue competing next season. Tony Lu's Instagram account (tonyluflops ) profile says he is attending UD [Delaware] and is the class of '22 and "UDFS" indicates he is a member of their collegiate figure skating team.

Mitchell Friess most likely would not have had the opportunity to make his Nationals debut (in his EIGHT attempt!) in Las Vegas had Ilia Malinin competed in the qualifying event and/or last season's minimum TES not been waived, but then I would not have had the chance to ask him to share some of his story:

Spotlight on Mitchell Friess, Senior Men’s competitor debuting at 2021 U.S. Nationals

On the outside, always looking in / Will I ever be more than I’ve always been? / ‘Cause I’m tap, tap, tapping on the glass / I’m waving through a window / I try to speak, bu…

unseenskaters.wordpress.com

I really, really hope Mitchell will perform his Dear Evan Hansen FS tomorrow (he drew #1 to skate) the way I have seen him skate it before and show people watching how much skating means to him!

 

[Sylvia]

WOW. The top 3 after the SP are amaze balls.

THIS!

 

[Spiralgraph]

Wow for the top 3. Nathan is superb Jason skates with his heart and soul and Vincent's improvement is wonderful. Ahh I hope they all skate well tomorrow, All 17 of them.