U.S. Men 2026-27 Discussion - Of Ice and Men

[Sylvia]

Here's Jacob's "Summer Training Week Two!" video in Lake Placid (11 mins.) in which Lucius K. can been seen on the ice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f11eoU3z1q8
He says he knows what his first international is but can't say yet.

 

[Sylvia]

Jimmy Ma & Kaitlyn Weaver at the Skating Club of Boston:

Jimmy Ma on Instagram: "WEAVER X MA Sometimes you just have to learn to be Humble. 📸: @forgrantedphotograph @zachjgrant"

213 likes, 3 comments - jimmy_mf_ma on July 21, 2026: "WEAVER X MA Sometimes you just have to learn to be Humble. 📸: @forgrantedphotograph @zachjgrant".

www.instagram.com

ETA that Jimmy's caption has since been edited to add "From training mates to this… we are so excited to show you what we cooked up."

 

[Debbie S]

Lucius appeared to be in Ilia's most recent vid, most of which took place at his home rink (breaking in new skates) in mid to late June.

 

[Sylvia]

A Japanese fan account of Andrew Torgashev's has shared some of Andrew's Instastories from earlier this month:

With Shae-Lynn Bourne in Irvine, CA on July 11:

team.andrewtorg.jp on Instagram: "#repost andrewtorg IGS"

49 likes, 0 comments - team_andrew_torgashev.jp on July 11, 2026: "#repost andrewtorg IGS".

www.instagram.com

3A-Euler-backflip: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Da4NyD8R4E3/

He was coaching in Mexico for a few days recently (reason he may not have attended Camp 2030 in CO Springs?): https://www.instagram.com/p/Da9Xh6_xPiT/

ETA - I missed seeing that Torgashev was tagged in Randi Strong's Camp 2030 video (VERY quick glimpse in the shade heading towards the camera - right after Bratti/Somerville & Strong sitting in the stands): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbBhTsgOKXb/

(BTW: Not a dancer, but Torgashev is one of the men in Randi Strong's camp video.)

 

[BittyBug]

Jimmy Ma & Kaitlyn Weaver at the Skating Club of Boston:

Jimmy Ma on Instagram: "WEAVER X MA Sometimes you just have to learn to be Humble. 📸: @forgrantedphotograph @zachjgrant"

213 likes, 3 comments - jimmy_mf_ma on July 21, 2026: "WEAVER X MA Sometimes you just have to learn to be Humble. 📸: @forgrantedphotograph @zachjgrant".

www.instagram.com

Jimmy Ma is second to none in the use of his hands. They are so expressive.

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

Lucius appeared to be in Ilia's most recent vid, most of which took place at his home rink (breaking in new skates) in mid to late June.

Yeah. Him going to Lake Placid for camp doesn't mean anything. And him skating at SkateQuest also doesn't mean anything since it's the near where he lives. Him getting spotted in Newburgh doesn't mean anything either. Skaters travel around in the off season for camps and 3rd-party tune ups and new choreography at a rink near the choreographer. If he did change his primary coaches to something some distance from his home, you'd still see him skating at SkateQuest if he was doing partial weeks far away. I'm not gonna lie, speculation is fun. But none of of it really adds up to anything at the moment.

 

[Debbie S]

Yeah. Him going to Lake Placid for camp doesn't mean anything. And him skating at SkateQuest also doesn't mean anything since it's the near where he lives. Him getting spotted in Newburgh doesn't mean anything either. Skaters travel around in the off season for camps and 3rd-party tune ups and new choreography at a rink near the choreographer. If he did change his primary coaches to something some distance from his home, you'd still see him skating at SkateQuest if he was doing partial weeks far away. I'm not gonna lie, speculation is fun. But none of of it really adds up to anything at the moment.

Lucius is originally from NJ, before he switched to Malinina/Skorniakov. Not sure if NoVA is "home" for him.

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

Lucius is originally from NJ, before he switched to Malinina/Skorniakov. Not sure if NoVA is "home" for him.

USFS currently lists his hometown as Bethesda, MD (30 minute drive on a good day to Reston, VA). But who knows for sure, USFS/ISU bio details are known to be quite stale at times.

 

[Debbie S]

USFS currently lists his hometown as Bethesda, MD (30 minute drive on a good day to Reston, VA). But who knows for sure, USFS/ISU bio details are known to be quite stale at times.

Some skaters list their current residence as their "hometown" and some list where they grew up before they moved for more advanced coaching/training.

 

[skateboy]

Jimmy Ma is second to none in the use of his hands. They are so expressive.

He really does have great hands and arms.

 

[Sylvia]

Jacob's Summer Training Week 3 (uploaded July 24) was filmed before the World Cup Final: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy8dArNFsjU
After the 8-min. mark he talks positively about the first Champs Camp (Camp 2030) experience in Colorado Springs and teases that he still can't tell us his first international assignment but he's excited about it (so not Cranberry Cup this year ). He has one more training week left in Lake Placid.

ETA: Oona & Gage Brown skated by before the 3-min. mark. I assume Michael Khavin and Daniel Koppell are 2 of the other men training alongside Jacob.

 

[ndyelimbs]

Jacob's Summer Training Week 3 (uploaded July 24) was filmed before the World Cup Final: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy8dArNFsjU
After the 8-min. mark he talks positively about the first Champs Camp (Camp 2030) experience in Colorado Springs and teases that he still can't tell us his first international assignment but he's excited about it (so not Cranberry Cup this year ). He has one more training week left in Lake Placid.

Jacob is a gem. Curious about “Camp 2030.” Is that the official purpose of the recent champs camp or just the term used here?

 

[Sylvia]

Just checked and 5 of the 14 U.S. Junior Men listed for JGP Xi'an (Patrick Blackwell & LoPinto assigned + 12 subs) now have updated ISU bios.

Caleb Farrington: https://isu-skating.com/figure-skating/skaters/caleb-farrington/
Coaches: Priscilla Hill, Roland Burghart
Former Coaches: Oleg Makarov, Larisa Selezneva
Choreographers: Katherine Hill, Johnny Weir
Music Short Program as of season 2026/2027
Paxi Ni Ngongo by Bonga / Magalenha by Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown / Fanfarra by Cabua-Le-Le, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown
Music Free Skating / Free Dance as of season 2026/2027
The Strange One by Abel Korzeniowski / Angels & Demons by Hans Zimmer / November by Max Richter

Zachary LoPinto (JGP debut in Xi'an with training mate Patrick): https://isu-skating.com/figure-skating/skaters/zachary-lopinto/
Coaches: Alexei Letov, Olga Ganicheva, Sergei Minaev, Boyko Alexiev
Choreographer: Benoit Richaud
Music Short Program as of season 2026/2027
Papaoutai by Stromae
Music Free Skating / Free Dance as of season 2026/2027
Prophecies by Philip Glass / Soldiers by Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein / Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) by Journey, Steve Perry

Daniel Koppell: https://isu-skating.com/figure-skating/skaters/daniel-koppell/
Coaches: Oleg Makarov, Larisa Selezneva, Patch David
Choreographer: [still blank]
Music Short Program as of season 2026/2027
Aroul by Taalbi Brothers / Uccen by Taalbi Brothers
Music Free Skating / Free Dance as of season 2026/2027
Clair De Lune by Claude Debussy / Photograph by Cody Fry

Louis Mallane: https://isu-skating.com/figure-skating/skaters/louis-mallane/
Coaches: Amy Evidente, Jonathan Cassar
Choreographers: Derrick Delmore, Cindy Stuart
Music Short Program as of season 2026/2027
Orange Colored Sky by Michael Bublé, Milton Delugg, Willie Stein
Music Free Skating / Free Dance as of season 2026/2027
Waving Through a Window & You Will be Found (from "Dear Evan Hansen") by Ben Platt, Alex Lacamoire

Hitonari Tani: https://isu-skating.com/figure-skating/skaters/hitonari-tani/
Coach: Peter Johansson
Choreographers: Jeffrey Buttle, Lori Nichol (FS)
Music Short Program as of season 2026/2027
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: XII. Variation No. 23 by Sergei Rachmaninov
Music Free Skating / Free Dance as of season 2026/2027
The Power of the Spirit by Christopher Tin / Sogno di Volare (“The Dream of Flight”) by Christopher Tin - he debuted this program at 2026 U.S. Nationals

The other 8 JGP subs listed in alphabetical order (USFS submitted names of the top 14 finishers at the U.S. Junior Team Cup in Milwaukee):
Ryan William AZADPOUR
Isaac FULTON
Henry GAO
Kirk HAUGETO
Evan NEUHAUS
Marlo ROSEN
Ryedin RUDE-DENMAN
Vaclav VASQUEZ

 

[Sylvia]

Jacob is a gem. Curious about “Camp 2030.” Is that the official purpose of the recent champs camp or just the term used here?

USFS called it Camp 2030 in their photos last week (Jason & Jacob are the 2 men featured here):

U.S. Figure Skating on Instagram: "Some behind-the-scenes moments from Camp 2030! Athletes are prepping on and off the ice for the upcoming season and quad 🌟"

16K likes, 47 comments - usfigureskating on July 17, 2026: "Some behind-the-scenes moments from Camp 2030! Athletes are prepping on and off the ice for the upcoming season and quad 🌟".

www.instagram.com

However, many skaters are using "Champs Camp" in their social media posts (confusing to fans because Champs Camp usually takes place in August and will again this year).

Andrew also attended:

ETA - I missed seeing that Torgashev was tagged in Randi Strong's Camp 2030 video (VERY quick glimpse in the shade heading towards the camera - right after Bratti/Somerville & Strong sitting in the stands): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbBhTsgOKXb/

As mentioned in other threads here, Ilia may have been at Camp 2030 when he filmed his part of this Skate America promo:

U.S. Figure Skating on Instagram: "IMPORTANT @saatva SKATE AMERICA ANNOUNCEMENT ‼️🗣️ Link in bio to secure your seats."

36K likes, 138 comments - usfigureskating on July 16, 2026: "IMPORTANT @saatva SKATE AMERICA ANNOUNCEMENT ‼️🗣️ Link in bio to secure your seats.".

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

Competed at U.S. Junior Team Cup in Milwaukee (20; final placement included below along with last season's domestic results):
Ryan Azadpour [JTC-14; J10] - landed 1st (IIRC) clean 3A in his JTC FS
...
Evan Neuhaus [JTC-13; M-J9] - landed clean 3A in comp. for 1st time last month & in his JTC SP

Azadpour's 3A clip was shared today:

Figure skating - Men's Discipline on Instagram: "Floaty 3A 🥳 @ryanaskater 🇺🇸👏🏻👏🏻 📍 2026 US Junior Team Cup 🇺🇸 Gorgeous!!!! Music: “He Lives In You” and “Music from the Lion King soundtrack” by Lebo M Choreographer: @mari.malama Costume: @atelier

113 likes, 1 comments - men_of_fs on July 25, 2026: "Floaty 3A 🥳 @ryanaskater 🇺🇸👏🏻👏🏻 📍 2026 US Junior Team Cup 🇺🇸 Gorgeous!!!! Music: “He Lives In You” and “Music from the Lion King soundtrack” by Lebo M Choreographer: @mari.malama Costume: @atelier_dreamwing #axel #skating #lionking...

www.instagram.com

Neuhaus' 3A clip:

Figure skating - Men's Discipline on Instagram: "Triple Axel 🎉🎉 Gorgeous axel from @evann_skates08 🇺🇸🥳 📍 2026 Junior Team Cup 🇺🇲 +0.46 #axel #3a #figureskating"

327 likes, 9 comments - men_of_fs on July 16, 2026: "Triple Axel 🎉🎉 Gorgeous axel from @evann_skates08 🇺🇸🥳 📍 2026 Junior Team Cup 🇺🇲 +0.46 #axel #3a #figureskating".

www.instagram.com

 

[Allskate]

The Cranberry Cup International entrants are up. It's Kai Kovar and Daniel Martynov for the American men.

https://scboston.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Cranberry-Cup-Competitors.pdf

I still haven't found the competitors for the Cranberry NQS.

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

The Cranberry Cup International entrants are up. It's Kai Kovar and Daniel Martynov for the American men.

https://scboston.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Cranberry-Cup-Competitors.pdf

I still haven't found the competitors for the Cranberry NQS.

Yikes, the Junior Men's competition is dangerously close to not earning any points if either the Israeli or Mexican skater witdhraws.

 

[Sylvia]

I still haven't found the competitors for the Cranberry NQS.

We usually have to wait until the week of/1-2 days before the competition for the starting orders to be posted (NQS dates are Tue.-Fri., Aug. 4-7 and 4 Senior men & 10 Junior men are noted on the tentative schedule).
I've created 2 separate Cranberry competition threads (Challenger Series & Junior/Adv. International) in the Kiss & Cry section.

Cranberry Cup International U.S. Junior Men (6) - Sectionals/Nationals/Junior Team Cup placements included below:
8 CENTERS Matthew USA [PC-N4]
9 FULTON Isaac USA [M-J6/JTC-11; J14 at 2025 Nationals]
10 GAO Henry USA [E-J5/J9/JTC-12]
11 ROSEN Marlo USA [M-J5/JTC-8]
12 RUDE-DENMAN Ryedin USA [J13/JTC-10]
13 VASQUEZ Vaclav USA [PC-J5/JTC-9]

Adv. Novice Men (3):
6 BAN Leon USA [PC-Int1]
7 SHI Noah USA [PC-Juv4]
8 YEON Milo USA [E-Int4]

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

[Deleted]

 

[haribobo]

SENIOR MEN (over 150) - Summer 2026
Taira Shinohara 229.69 MIDS - ISP
Liam Kapeikis 227.02 PACS- ISP
Vaclav Vasquez 173.83 PACS - ISP
Anthony Mugg 171.18 MIDS
Joseph Klein 163.12 MIDS
Goku Endo 162.33 PACS - ISP
Antonio Monaco 155.50 MIDS

Will Annis (E) and Ryan William Azadpour (P) will be at Cranberry this coming week along with Kai Kovar (M) and Daniel Martynov (M)

Byes to Nationals- Ilia Malinin, Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev, Jacob Sanchez, and possibly Liam Kapeikis, Lucius Kazanecki, and Jimmy Ma

Yet to compete as senior- Patrick Blackwell (E) (if moving up), Caleb Farrington (E) (if moving up), Beck Strommer (M) (wd after SP at GF), along with all of the Cranberry Cup crew above

 

[spin2win]

congrats to Shinohara for winning glacier falls and for Kapeikis attempting his first ever quad

 

[Karen-W]

congrats to Shinohara for winning glacier falls and for Kapeikis attempting his first ever quad

Liam has attempted plenty of quads over the years.

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

Liam has attempted plenty of quads over the years.

Indeed, I'm seeing at least 20 attempts of 4T and 4S over the years, with just two clean 4S in '22 and '23. Taira on the other hand... the 4T in both the SP and FS are his first two regular season attempts and he nailed them both. Kudos to him.

 

[Sylvia]

Taira shared his first 2 4T attempts in competition on his Insta (and YT channel):
All Year FSC Open FS in late May: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZrUFW9ojXQ/
SoCal Interclub SP in June - first clean 3A in comp.: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbQ8wJcondD/

Jan. 25, 2026 in the previous U.S. Men's thread - 2022 CS in Graz Austria:

Liam once landed a clean 4S internationally but it was a while ago: https://x.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1591554656890949633

 

[Sylvia]

Copying over some highlights from the Glacier Falls Summer Classic NQS & Asian Open FS Trophy comp. threads in Kiss & Cry...

Top 3 U.S. Men at Glacier Falls:
1 Taira Shinohara, Chicago FSC 77.06 (2) 152.63 (1) 229.69
SP to "A Night in Tunisia" by Dizzy Gillespie: (4T, 3A turnout, 3Lz+2T): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVgzpNWkSgk
FS to music from Studio Ghibli (opened with 4T & 3A+2T; 2nd half 3Lz+Eu+3S+2A+SEQ got 15.56 pts): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcTq1E0xlkA
2 Liam Kapeikis, Wenatchee FSC 87.69 (1) 139.33 (2) 227.02
SP (3F, 3A, 3Lz+3T): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqcYuzfVKTk
He debuted this SP to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet at the BC/YT High Performance comp. on June 13.
FS (opening 4T fall; music is Pompeii by Bastille acc. to @Amy L): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5QbLtaKeio
6 Vaclav Vasquez, Glacier Falls FSC 63.60 (7) 110.23 (6) 173.83 - SP was to an orchestral rendition of a famous Italian opera(?) piece and FS to a familar Spanish piece/passionate female vocal

Beck Strommer, who started pairs this season, debuted a SP (69.67 5th place) to The Night We Met by Lord Huron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcgrLBJeH_g

Junior Men top 4:
1 Louis Mallane, Broadmoor SC 69.10 (1) 122.82 (1) 191.92 (his music is listed in post #103 above)
SP (2A, 3F+3T, 3Lz): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24W6VYDTnxA
FS (landed 5 of 6 planned triples): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bB64otyWgg

2 Ryan William Azadpour, Carousel FSC 61.53 (2) 116.07 (2) 177.60
Ryan landed 3A in his FS (2nd one clean since U.S. Team Cup FS): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcA7wjyRKtw
He will make his Senior international debut at CS Cranberry Cup next week!

3 Ryedin Rudedenman, Glacier Falls FSC 59.56 (3) 111.90 (3) 171.46
Ryedin's FS filmed from the stands (Battle Cry by Imagine Dragons; opening 3A<<): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wHFqEPRoes

4 Nicholas Brooks, All Year FSC 59.39 (4) 106.70 (5) 166.09 - since he WD from U.S. Junior Team Cup it's likely he is coming back from an injury of some sort

At the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy overnight in Jakarta, Indonesia:
Goku Endo is in 5th place after the SP: 64.78 [29.02 35.76] 7.17 7.08 7.17 0.00 #8 (jumps: 3A+, 2Lz+2T*, 3F!q)
Eric Lei won the Adv. Novice Men's gold medal in his international debut with a total score of 122.77 (43.29 1st in SP with 2A, 3T+2T & 3Lz; 79.48 in FS with opening 3Aq fall).

 

[Allskate]

Lucas Broussard just posted a clip of himself doing a quad toe in Seattle and saying "I've still got it." But, he says nothing about whether he has any plans to compete.

Lucas on Instagram: "I’ve still got it🤞 #figureskating #quadtoeloop"

331 likes, 33 comments - lucas._.broussard on August 4, 2026: "I’ve still got it🤞 #figureskating #quadtoeloop".

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

^^^ Broussard is trolling us!

Re-posting what I shared in another thread yesterday about Lucas:
... I saw some videos of him last week demonstrating skating skills with a hockey coach at his previous training rink in Seattle:

Miles Berg on Instagram: "Building Effective And Fluid 3 Turns Tip 1: Being able to rotate the body with the upper body, there’s a push pull method in the upper body that makes the upper body look quiet. Yet it’s super effective which makes it look

207 likes, 1 comments - coach.bergy on July 29, 2026: "Building Effective And Fluid 3 Turns Tip 1: Being able to rotate the body with the upper body, there’s a push pull method in the upper body that makes the upper body look quiet. Yet it’s super effective which makes it look fluid Tip 2...

www.instagram.com

Miles Berg on Instagram: "Building Stable Edges This was a new drill I haven’t done but does a great job emphasizing holding and loading the inside edge while staying inline with the circle!"

105 likes, 3 comments - coach.bergy on July 28, 2026: "Building Stable Edges This was a new drill I haven’t done but does a great job emphasizing holding and loading the inside edge while staying inline with the circle!".

www.instagram.com

We'll have to wait and see if he decides to focus on his freshman year at Stanford rather than continue to train/compete.

 

[Allskate]

Broussard is trolling us!

I wonder if he's also trolling USFS. For over two months now, he's been posting clips of himself doing things like quad toe and triple axle/triple toe.

i had really hoped to see him at Cranberry, but he's not listed for either the Challenger or NQS.

 

[Jayar]

Have we completely given up on the possibility that he is planning to compete for Luxembourg?

 

[Capt. DeSoto]

4 Nicholas Brooks, All Year FSC 59.39 (4) 106.70 (5) 166.09 - since he WD from U.S. Junior Team Cup it's likely he is coming back from an injury of some sort

Poor guy, he's been hurt a lot this past year. He hobbled off the ice at sectionals last year, then did poorly in Hungary shortly afterwards while presumably still recovering from that injury. Then the WD and this score. I hope he finds his way back, he's got talent.

Have we completely given up on the possibility that he is planning to compete for Luxembourg?

That's a good point, I keep forgetting that he's a dual citizen. Now is certainly the time since he had to stay off the ice last year and is presumably free to leave USFS having served a year off.