Canada has 3 spots at 4 Continents and 2 spots at the World Championships.
Moore-Towers and Moscovitch are the favorites in this event, having won two medals on the Grand Prix circuit and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. I love their carefree style and they have a ton of sparkle and personality on the ice. They are only in their second season as a team and I see big things for them in the future. Their position on the top of the podium should be relatively safe, barring any major catastrophes.
Brodeur/Mattatall should secure a podium spot here. They had personal best scores in their 6th place finish at NHK Trophy and although they finished 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard, it was a weak field and they let a medal slip away when she didn't seem to have her feet underneath her the entire competition. They'll need to step it up here if they want to win silver or have a shot at the top of the podium.
Lawrence/Swiegers are another young team that won their first Grand Prix medal this season and are looking for their first national medal. They'll be challenged by Duhamel and Radford who are a new team this season but had a good start at Skate Canada with a 5th place finish. They blew away the field at Challenge, winning by almost 40 points. With more training time and another competition on their belt, they have a good shot at the podium here.
Three young teams are competing here but I don't see them really challenging the top 4. They'll likely be fighting for spots on the Junior Worlds team.
The teams in reverse qualification order:
Gelinas/Struthers: They qualified with a 6th place finish at Challenge.
Godin/Evans: They qualified with a 4th place finish at Challenge. They finished 11th at nationals last season.
Arseneault/Cote: They qualified with a 3rd place finish at Challenge.
Purdy/Marinaro: They finished 8th at the World Junior Championships with personal best scores across the board. They finished 10th at JGP J. Curry Memorial and 9th at Czech Skate. They qualified with a 2nd place finish at Challenge. They are the reigning junior national champions.
Duhamel/Radford: They finished 5th at Skate Canada. They qualified with a 1st place finish at Challenge.
Jones/Gaskell: They placed 7th at the World Junior Championships. They finished 6th at the Junior Grand Prix Final after placing 6th at Cup of Austria and 4th at Pokal der Blauen. They are the 2009 national junior champions. They finished 9th at nationals last season.
Hole/Johnson: They finished 10th at the World Junior Championships. They finished 8th at Cup of China with personal best scores across the board. They qualified with a 5th place finish at Challenge. They finished 7th at nationals last season.
Lawrence/Swiegers: They finished 4th at World Juniors in 2009. They won bronze at Skate Canada with personal best scores across the board and finished 5th at Cup of Russia. They finished 6th at nationals last season.
Moore-Towers/Moscovitch: They placed 9th at Four Continents. They finished 6th at the Grand Prix Final after winning silver at Skate Canada with personal best scores across the board and silver at Skate America with personal best short program and total scores. They finished 5th at nationals last season.
Brodeur/Mattatall: They finished 7th at Four Continents with a personal best short program. They finished 6th at NHK Trophy with a personal best total score and 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard. They are the 2009 national bronze medalists. They finished 4th at nationals last season.
Note: Dube/Davison are out for the season due to an injury. Dube is skating in singles.
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