U.S. Men 2021-22 season news & updates

[Tavi]

I think the 4CC points are higher than the Jr Worlds points for ranking next season. But, having said that, there is no reason he can't do both. Jr Worlds is the 2nd week of March - 6 weeks after 4CCs.

Does placement at Jr worlds impact how many JGP spots we have for next season? If so I’d guess they’d probably want him to do it, even if he also does 4CCs.

 

[Karen-W]

Does placement at Jr worlds impact how many JGP spots we have for next season? If so I’d guess they’d probably want him to do it, even if he also does 4CCs.

Yes, it does. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him do both Jr Worlds and either 4CCs or the Olympics, wherever he places at Nats.

 

[Tavi]

Yes, it does. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him do both Jr Worlds and either 4CCs or the Olympics, wherever he places at Nats.

Agreed.

 

[Polaris]

Tbh with Jason Brown I sometimes wonder if Brian Orser was the best coach for him. I appreciate Brian pushing more jump content with Jason, but Brian tends to do better with skaters who already have their technique on lock. Hanyu, Yuna Kim, Javier Fernandez, etc.

Which coach doesn't do better with skaters who have their jump technique on lock?

 

[canbelto]

Which coach doesn't do better with skaters who have their jump technique on lock?

Oddly, Frank Carroll.

 

[AxelAnnie]

I guess I’m assuming that a CBC sports commentator would not be listening to or repeating TSL gossip and would have heard the information directly from a reputable source. I’m also assuming that Kurt Browning or TCC would have questioned or called her out / corrected her or asked her to correct the facts if she misspoke. I could be wrong, but that was my assumption and why I posted it.

I don’t see the fact that Jason only acknowledged having a slight injury as necessarily meaningful. He strikes me as quite private, and I think a lot of skaters minimize injury. If you think about the back injury that forced him to withdraw from NHK (back in 2016?), the fracture in his landing foot that derailed him not too long after, and most recently, the concussion in 2019, he didn’t say much for a long time, and it was only gradually that details emerged.

Anyway, the important thing is that he’s looking better, and despite the unsuccessful quad attempt in the FS, Kurt Browning mentioned twice that the takeoff was beautiful. So fingers crossed that he’s well on the road to recovery

I think Jason's jumps are tighter and stronger since going to the Cricket Club.

As were Javier's and Medvedeva's

 

[Sylvia]

"Skate America men's champion Vincent Zhou joins Ice Talk's Tara Wellman Nichols to share his perspective on the Olympic season so far" - link to listen to the latest episode (Nov. 3) - Vincent's segment runs from ~31:30 to 47:30: https://icetalk.libsyn.com/from-canada-to-italy

ETA: Also, Jimmy Ma chatted with Tara in last week's episode (Oct. 27) from ~31:00-44:30: https://icetalk.libsyn.com/what-happens-in-vegas

 

[missing]

Granted, it's early to speculate but based on today's short program results I think Jason has a real shot at the GPF.

 

[Willin]

@missing Yeah, looking at the field at IdF, he difinitely could make that podium. I think his best shot is if he leaves out the quad attempt and skates clean.

 

[Karen-W]

@missing Yeah, looking at the field at IdF, he difinitely could make that podium. I think his best shot is if he leaves out the quad attempt and skates clean.

You thought he wouldn't medal on first blush at that field? I think he has a real shot at winning, TBH.

 

[olympic]

BTW, as of today, US men hold the top 2 international scores for the season, Jason is #8 and Ilia Malinin is #15 -

1. Nathan Chen - 307.18
2. Vincent Zhou - 295.56

8. Jason Brown - 262.52


15. Ilia Malinin - 245.35

 

[canbelto]

Vincent is totally peaking at the right time.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

LMAO that anyone can argue at this point in the season that Vincent and Nathan don't have the top 2 Olympic spots. I am going to withhold a 100% certainty because you never know what is going to happen injury wise. Knock on wood.

 

[Karen-W]

BTW, as of today, US men hold the top 2 international scores for the season, Jason is #8 and Ilia Malinin is #15 -

1. Nathan Chen - 307.18
2. Vincent Zhou - 295.56

8. Jason Brown - 262.52


15. Ilia Malinin - 245.35

Can't wait to see how Ilia does this week at Cup Of Austria!

 

[skateboy]

Assuming the US Men's Olympic Team is Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou and Jason Brown, who would you put in the team competition? You can split two disciplines and ideally for me that would be the pairs and ice dance so more people can get medals. So I'm thinking, does Nathan really need to be on the teaot let Vincent do both programs? And if they want to split the SP/LP between the men, I'd rather see Jason Brown do the SP than Nathan too. I know that leaves Nathan off the TeamEvent, but does he really need another team medal? Vincent and Jason don't have one. Spread the love and the medals to as many skaters as possible, is my feeling.

Nathan is such an upstanding guy, I've often wondered if he feels almost bad for the team bronze... he was the Jeremy Abbott of Team USA for that one. He may want to redeem himself... I don't know, just speculation.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

U.S. Men are strong enough thus far where Nathan could skip the team event. Vincent and Jason could skate the team event. Jason could do the short and score mid-90s, and Vincent is close to 200 in the LP. But, the key is staying ahead of JPN in the team event, too. So IDK

Nathan's going to be in the team event. He's already said he wants to be. I highly doubt that Jason will get the nod over Vincent too.

 

[Sylvia]

Here's @clairecloutier's Fan Zone article on Tomoki Hiwatashi before he competes at NHK Trophy:

Tomoki Hiwatashi: Pushing to Reach His Potential - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Tomoki Hiwatashi has a clear goal this season: regaining consistency with his jumps. The 21-year-old skater's career highlights include winning the 2019 World Junior

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Excerpt:

Hiwatashi is looking forward to skating at NHK Trophy in Japan. "It's very enjoyable skating in front of all those crowds that love figure skating," he said. There, he will continue his quest for consistency.
"I would love to perform a clean program," Hiwatashi said of his goals at NHK Trophy. "Consistency is something that I've been working on, and I want that result to come out."
Hiwatashi wants to skate clean not only for competitive reasons, but also for his fans and supporters. "I really appreciate the people who support me--the fans, my parents, my coaches, and my club," the skater said. "I appreciate people for just watching me skate in general."

 

[Sylvia]

Byes to 2022 Nationals (top 5 last year): Chen, Zhou, Brown, Paniot, Naumov

Projected international byes to Nationals (4):
Tomoki Hiwatashi & Camden Pulkinen - both are at NHK Trophy this week & have at least 3 internationals (2 GPs+at least 1 Challenger)
Ilia Malinin, Washington FSC 274.11 (won VA) [E; has a projected bye to Nationals] - CS Cup of Austria this week & JGP Final in Dec.
Jimmy Ma - Warsaw Cup next week (if assigned to Golden Spin in Dec. that would give him 3 internationals & a bye)

Qualifying via USFS' Championship Series (current top 10 total scores after 5 competitions with 3 to go; 9 will qualify for Nationals):
Eric Sjoberg, Los Angeles FSC 227.12 (NV) [P-1] - ISU Challenger debut at Warsaw Cup next week
Liam Kapeikis, Wenatchee FSC 194.21 (NV) [P-2] - Spokane, WA
Sebastien Payannet, Los Angeles FSC 193.12 (NV) [P-3]
Ryan Dunk, Baltimore FSC 190.33 (VA) [E-1] - Norwood, MA this week
Artur Dmitriev, Individual Member 189.24 (VA) [E-2] - Alpharetta, GA
Paul Yeung, All Year FSC 185.79 (IN) [P-4]
William Hubbart, Champions Edge SC 184.60 (TX) [E-3] - Alpharetta, GA
Mitchell Friess, St. Paul FSC 182.03 (NV) [M-1] - Spokane, WA
Jordan Moeller, Northern Ice SC 171.82 (NV) [M-2]
Emmanuel Savary, University of Delaware FSC 169.80 (VA) [E-4] - Alpharetta, GA

Andrew Torgashev & 2021 junior champ Eric Prober are registered for Alpharetta, GA; Spokane, WA entries not all known yet.

GSD thread containing Artur Dmitriev Jr.'s interview about switching to compete in/for the USA: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/interview-with-artur-dmitriev-jr-on-switching-to-the-usa-“in-russia-they-didn’t-see-me-as-a-promising-athlete-”.108893/

 

[Barbara Manatee]

Nathan is such an upstanding guy, I've often wondered if he feels almost bad for the team bronze...

No reason he should - even if Nathan had been first in the SP, the US still would have finished a point behind the OAR.

 

[skateboy]

No reason he should - even if Nathan had been first in the SP, the US still would have finished a point behind the OAR.

True. I just meant that he might feel a bit strange that he has an Olympic medal from one of his worst ever performances and score... perhaps he feels the need to redeem himself. Or maybe not, I have no idea.

 

[skatingguy]

True. I just meant that he might feel a bit strange that he has an Olympic medal from one of his worst ever performances and score... perhaps he feels the need to redeem himself. Or maybe not, I have no idea.

I think he wants to redeem himself for the short programs he skated - hence using the same music again - but I don't think it's directly redemption for the Team Event that he's looking for.

 

[missing]

I saw this tweet this morning and no one here seems to have posted about it:

IFS Magazine
@ifsmagazine
·
8h

Nathan Chen and his coach Rafael Arutyunyan expressed their desire to take part in Russia's Channel One Cup next year, saying that such exciting tournaments are the future of world figure skating. Channel One is considering the proposal.

Here's what seems to be the original article:

Первый канал рассмотрит вопрос участия фигуристов из США на своем Кубке

Трехкратный чемпион мира по фигурному катанию Натан Чен и его тренер Рафаэл Арутюнян изъявили желание выступить на Кубке Первого канала 2022 года, телеканал... РИА Новости Спорт, 11.11.2021

rsport.ria.ru

Earlier, the American coach Harutyunyan said in an interview with RIA Novosti that he has a proposal "to the First channel to organize jumping competitions between two teams - Russian girls and American guys."

 

[Karen-W]

I saw this tweet this morning and no one here seems to have posted about it:

IFS Magazine
@ifsmagazine
·
8h

Nathan Chen and his coach Rafael Arutyunyan expressed their desire to take part in Russia's Channel One Cup next year, saying that such exciting tournaments are the future of world figure skating. Channel One is considering the proposal.

Here's what seems to be the original article:

Первый канал рассмотрит вопрос участия фигуристов из США на своем Кубке

Трехкратный чемпион мира по фигурному катанию Натан Чен и его тренер Рафаэл Арутюнян изъявили желание выступить на Кубке Первого канала 2022 года, телеканал... РИА Новости Спорт, 11.11.2021

rsport.ria.ru

Earlier, the American coach Harutyunyan said in an interview with RIA Novosti that he has a proposal "to the First channel to organize jumping competitions between two teams - Russian girls and American guys."

Heck yeah... I'd be all up for either of these things happening.

 

[meer]

Sasha will be pleased! Surprised it took this long for them to come up with the idea. Like their own WTT or Japan Open with a twist. It would be nice to have a fun competition after this stressful season. Russian Fed is also the absolute best at making events accessible to foreign audience. Not even sure anyone could even watch Japan Open this year.

 

[Sylvia]

I've posted all the Nathan-specific (machine translated) excerpts from Arutunian's latest Russian interview in this GSD thread here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...r-the-tutberidze-skaters.108909/#post-6106630

Not the official senior international debut Ilia Malinin was hoping for in Graz earlier today - in 13th place (67.58) of 28 men and his jumps were called 4Lz< fall, 4T<+3T & 3Aq (step out). Two L4 spins but L2 on steps & final spin.
33.78 TES means he got the SP minimum for 4CC/Olys but just missed the 34 SP minimum for Worlds.
He will skate last #16 in group 3 (of 5 FS groups) tomorrow.

 

[Carolla5501]

Vincent is totally peaking at the right time.

Or not

LMAO that anyone can argue at this point in the season that Vincent and Nathan don't have the top 2 Olympic spots. I am going to withhold a 100% certainty because you never know what is going to happen injury wise. Knock on wood.

Yeah because Vincent is consistently reliable he will be in the Grand Prix final after his two events


so much for that narrative

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

How is Vincent out of the Grand Prix? He has a gold and silver which will get him there. I believe it's already said that Nathan is a lock and he only had gold and bronze. Vincent would be going if Nathan is because he has more points.

It’s mathematically impossible for a 1st and 3rd not to make the final. There are only 6 first places available. A 1st and 3rd cannot be beaten by anyone without a 1st place. Therefore a maximum of 5 skaters/teams (the 5 other first places if they were all different) could beat a 1st and a 3rd.

No need to check past results. There just is no way to be out with a 1st and 3rd.

(2nd and 2nd could be out only if all 1st places earned 2nd or 3rd in their other events or if most did and there were multiple 2nd/2nd finishers which resulted in the one with the lowest score being bumped. The probability is incredibly low but it is technically possible.)

Kagiyama is the only one that can earn 30 points right now. Uno and Zhou have 28 points. Brown and Kolyada can get max 28 points if they win their events in France and Russia. Nathan has 26 points and the only one that can match him is Semenenko but he has to win in Russia to do it and Nathan will still beat him on the tie break.

I still expect our Olympic team to be 1) Nathan 2) Vincent and 3) Jason

 

[olympic]

Damn Vincent. Not a great LP at NHK, but I'm not in a million depressions over it, because it didn't affect his trajectory and he will make it to the GPF. Better to have that kind of skate now than later. He has a month to shake it off.

 

[Carolla5501]

Yeah I was wrong.

He’ll make Grand Prix Final

But…..consistency is still a concern imho. His “guaranteed” Olympic spot is not a hard lock imho

 

[sheetz]

Vincent still seems a sure bet for the Olympic team, IMO. Based on the USFS Olympic team selection criteria he's satisfied the Group 2 single score criterion, so as long he makes top 5 at Nats I can't see 3 other guys pushing him off the team.