Friday, December 10, 2010

Grand Prix Final--Mens Short Program

Florent Amodio, FRA
  • 3A--he pops his opening triple axel into a single.  With this strong of a field that mistake is going to cost him.
  • 3Lz+3T--nice triple triple combination to recover and it was done very well
  • 3F--he's received an edge call on this element at both his events, but it was landed nicely here
  • Flying camel spin--His camel position is not one of my favorites and I'd like to see him have more speed, stretch and flexibility
  • Circular step sequence--He hasn't received the best level for this step sequence in the past but I'm very fond of it and think it shows off a lot of moves and is well done to the music.  He's also one of the few men to use a circular step sequence
  • Combination spin--This spin is one of his stronger elements and it looked fine here
  • Sit spin--he has a nice low sit spin position with nice stretch
  • I think Amodio didn't have the same attack in this program that he had at TEB
28.38 TES + 33.26 PCS = 61.64 and into 1st place

Nobunari Oda, JPN
  • 3A--Great height and flow in his triple axel
  • 4T+3T--He opened with his quad triple combination which was nicely done. He changed his program order around to add the quad here and that should really give him an edge.
  • Flying camel spin--His spins are one of his strengths as he's received mostly 4s and some 3s for these in his short program in the past.
  • I love how low Oda gets into his knees even when he's just skating into an element
  • 3Lz--He received an edge call on this element at one of his events.  He didn't get a ton of height in this jump but it was still nicely done
  • Combination spin--great speed in this spin sequence and he has a sit spin position to die for
  • Straight line step sequence--I don't like that his music gets quieter for the step sequence.  I like this to be a climatic part of the program.  I'd also like to see him smooth out these elements and really fly across the ice.
  • Sit spin--I love that his spins still have so much speed here at the end of the program.
  • Solid program for Oda and he should score well.
48.06 TES + 38.53 PCS = 86.59 seasons best and into 1st place

Tomas Verner, CZE
  • This is one of my favorite short programs this season and I love his total commitment to the character of the piece.  I love how long he uses his umbrella at the beginning of the program
  • 3Lz+3T--nicely done combination to open the program.  Great flow and it looked so easy.
  • 3A--he pops open his axel as Amodio did.  He can't afford to leave these points on the table if he wants to compete for a medal.
  • 3F--he's received an edge call on this in the past.  It was landed nicely.
  • Flying camel spin--This is one of his weaker elements and it doesn't have the speed or nice positions of some of the other skaters.
  • Straight line step sequence --He hasn't received great levels on this in the past either and there isn't a ton of whole body movement but it choreographically works very well.
  • Combination spin--I'd love to see more stretch in some of these positions but otherwise nicely done.
  • Sit spin--Nice low sit spin position and great speed in his last two position changes.
28.76 TES + 36.61 PCS = 65.37 and into 2nd place

Patrick Chan, CAN
  • 4T--he has a slightly off landing on his opening combination and can't tack on the triple to the end of his quad.
  • 3A--Nice triple axel to recover with good height and flow.
  • Combination spin--Great speed and positions through his combination spin and this is one of his stronger elements.
  • 3F+3--he tacks on the combination here for a triple triple.  He landed all his jumps for the first time in the short program but he'll likely be behind Oda with only a triple triple.
  • Flying sit spin--some more great spins for Chan and his levels have been great on these elements all season.
  • Camel spin--I don't love his camel position as much as some of his others but it's still good.
  • Straight line step sequence--This seems slow here today and I would like to see him have more movement but it's nicely done.
  • I like that Chan shows more of a playful side in this program in contrast to his free skate.
43.77 TES + 41.82 PCS = 85.59 new seasons best and into 2nd place

Daisuke Takahashi, JPN
  • 3F+3T--he's received an edge call on this in the past.  It has great height, flow and ease to it here.
  • 3A--Great triple axel and he's got the crowd screaming.
  • Upright Spin--This is by far his weakest element with only Levels 1 and 2 this season.  I don't enjoy his entry into it as it looks like a mistake from the flying entry.
  • 3Lz--well done, looked like a slight bobble on the ending
  • Sit spin--Nice low positions, but I'd like to see him get more speed.
  • Straight line step sequence--Here's where he gets all the points as he gets to show off his personality while performing this footwork.  I don't think he performed as well here as at Skate America but his personality outshines almost all the skaters here.
  • Combination spin--This is one of his strongest elements and I like most of his positions here.  The spin lost some of its centering at the end but it had great speed.
40.57 TES + 42.00 PCS = 82.57 new seasons best and into 3rd place

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN
  • 3Lz+3T--great speed going into this first combination but he has no speed coming out of the second jump and has to hang on to the landing
  • 3A--a little forward on this landing, but he holds on to it.  These little mistakes are really going to cost him in this field.
  • Flying sit spin--his spins are one of his greatest strengths as he's received all Level 4s this season.
  • 3F--nicely done but I'd like to see his free leg a little higher on the landing.
  • Camel spin--I'm not crazy about the bent leg position in his camel spin and it could use more speed.
  • Straight line step sequence--I like the different elements he includes in this and it really goes with his music.  He crashes into the wall at the end of his step sequence trying to play to the camera.
  • Combination spin--Nice positions with good strech and flexibility but he could use more speed.
  • A mark of his consistency is he received the exact same Level for all his elements in both Grand Prixes.  Not sure what happened today with all the little bobbles.  Looks like his focus may have been off.
39.43 TES + 38.47 PCS = 77.90 new seasons best and into 4th place

Top 3:
1) Oda
2) Chan
3) Takahashi

Top TES: Oda
Top PCS: Takahashi

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