JGP Poland Men's Preview

He Zhang took home the silver medal last week from JGP Slovakia.  He rebounded from a 5th place short program and won the free skate.  His score was just shy of his personal best.  He is competing in back to back events, but both were in Europe so he didn't have to deal with any significant travel or jetlag.  He doesn't have much time to make any adjustments between events but he stands a good chance of winning here if he can repeat his free skate and clean up his short program.

Adian Pitkeev also has a silver medal from this season in Latvia.  He also had a 5th place short program and won the free skate at his event.  He set personal bests in all segments of competition in Latvia.  He also has a good shot at the gold if he can clean up his short program.  Both of these men can qualify with the Final with a gold medal while a silver and a bronze will keep them in contention.

Nam Nguyen just missed out on the podium at JGP Mexico, but he did set a personal best total score.  He has won one medal on the JGP and will be looking to claim his 2nd medal here.  He had a growth spurt over the summer and is readjusting to his new height but seems to be coping fairly well.

Wenbo Zang competed last week in Slovakia and finished 6th in his JGP debut.  He significantly improved his personal best in his first international competition since 2010.

Alexander Petrov is making his competitive debut this season after winning a silver medal on the JGP last season.  He started off slow at his first JGP assignment last season but scored nearly 20 points higher in his 2nd outing.  He'll need a personal best to contend for the podium, but it's well within his grasp.

Also in the mix are Sei Kawahara who placed 7th in Mexico and Deniss Vasiljevs who placed 7th in Latvia.

My podium predictions:
Gold: He Zhang
Silver: Adian Pitkeev
Bronze: Nam Nguyen

Bios of the competitors:
Slavik Hayrapetyan, ARM: He placed 21st at Junior Worlds.  His personal best is 143.48.  He is 17 years old.

David Kranjec, AUS: He placed 23rd at Four Continents and 24th at Junior Worlds.  He finished 12th at JGP Slovenia and 10th at JGP Croatia last season.  His personal best is 150.20.  He is 16 years old.

Larry Loupolover, AZE: This is his international debut.  He is 14 years old.

Ivo Gatovski, BUL: He finished 22nd at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 115.84.  He is 15 years old.

Nam Nguyen, CAN: He placed 12th at Junior Worlds.  He finished 4th at JGP Mexico.  His personal best is 181.04.  He is 15 years old.

Wenbo Zang, CHN: He placed 6th at JGP Slovakia.  His personal best is 177.61.  He is 17 years old.

He Zhang, CHN: He finished 9th at Junior Worlds.  He won silver at JGP Slovakia.  His personal best is 193.97.  He is 16 years old.

Chih-I Tsao, TPE: He placed 23rd at Junior Worlds.  He finished 11th at JGP USA and 9th at JGP Croatia last season.  His personal best is 155.30.  He is 15 years old.

Tomas Kupka, CZE: He placed 14th at JGP Turkey last season.  His personal best is 126.12.  He is 18 years old.

Juho Pirinen, FIN: He placed 20th at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 123.96.  He is 17 years old.

Adrien Tesson, FRA: This is his JGP debut.  He is 16 years old.

Armen Agaian, GEO: He finished 19th at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 124.51.  He is 17 years old.

Panagiotis Polizoakis, GER: He placed 11th at JGP France and 14th at JGP Croatia last season.  His personal best is 135.58.  He is 18 years old.

Niko Ulanovsky, GER: He placed 11th at JGP Croatia last season.  His personal best is 158.47.  He is 16 years old.

Wayne Wing Yin Chung, HKG: He placed 24th at JGP Turkey last season.  His personal best is 99.44.  He is 17 years old.

Sei Kawahara, JPN: He placed 7th at JGP Mexico.  His personal best is 170.41.  He is 17 years old.

Shu Nakamura, JPN: He placed 6th at JGP Turkey and 8th at JGP Germany last season.  His personal best is 161.69.  He is 17 years old.

Deniss Vasiljevs, LAT: He placed 7th at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 161.94.  He is 14 years old.

Julian Zhi Jie Yee, MAS: He finished 24th at Junior Worlds.  He placed 21st at JGP Slovenia.  His personal best is 112.93.  He is 16 years old.

Sondre Oddvoll Boe, NOR: He finished 26th at Junior Worlds.  He placed 23rd at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 134.88.  He is 15 years old.

Kamil Dymowski, POL: He finished 27th at Junior Worlds last season.  He finished 12th at JGP Turkey last season.  His personal best is 128.77.  He is 18 years old.

Krzysztof Gala, POL: He placed 18th at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 128.49.  He is 17 years old.

Dong-Won Lee, KOR: He placed 15th at JGP Slovakia.  His personal best is 166.93.  He is 16 years old.

Alexander Petrov, RUS: He finished 5th at JGP France and won silver at JGP Turkey last season.  His personal best is 174.45.  He is 14 years old.

Adian Pitkeev, RUS: He won silver at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 187.19.  He is 15 years old.

Marco Klepoch, SVK: He placed 36th at Junior Worlds.  He placed 21st at JGP Slovakia.  His personal best is 114.13.  He is 15 years old.

Johann Wilkinson, RSA: This is his JGP debut.  He is 18 years old.

Hector Alonso Serrano, ESP: This is his JGP debut.  He is 15 years old.

Igor Reznichenko, UKR: He placed 12th at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 150.05.  He is 18 years old.

Brian Krentz, USA: This is his international debut.  He is 18 years old.

Jordan Moeller, USA: He placed 9th at JGP Latvia.  His personal best is 158.74.  He is 18 years old.

JGP Mexico Men's Results

Short Program

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Nathan CHEN	USA	74.22	40.48		33.74	6.46	6.71	6.89	6.86	6.82	0.00	#19
2	Ryuju HINO	JPN	67.30	38.48		28.82	6.07	5.54	5.82	5.93	5.46	0.00	#3
3	Andrei LAZUKIN	RUS	66.28	35.74		30.54	6.32	5.86	5.96	6.29	6.11	0.00	#15
4	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	64.38	34.88		29.50	5.82	5.71	6.04	5.93	6.00	0.00	#14
5	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	62.27	34.02		28.25	5.93	5.46	5.75	5.57	5.54	0.00	#13
6	Daniel SAMOHIN	ISR	59.36	30.47		28.89	5.57	5.61	5.86	5.96	5.89	0.00	#12
7	Sei KAWAHARA	JPN	57.64	30.28		27.36	5.54	5.21	5.61	5.46	5.54	0.00	#5
8	Charles TETAR	FRA	53.24	28.53		24.71	5.14	4.57	5.04	4.96	5.00	0.00	#9
9	Alexei GENIA	RUS	51.20	25.77		26.43	5.14	5.04	5.21	5.43	5.61	1.00	#6
10	Graham NEWBERRY	GBR	49.48	26.31		24.17	4.89	4.68	4.89	5.00	4.71	1.00	#16
11	Vincent CUEREL	SUI	43.13	22.14		20.99	4.46	3.96	4.25	4.21	4.11	0.00	#10
12	Meng Ju LEE	TPE	37.54	17.81		20.73	4.61	4.04	4.04	4.11	3.93	1.00	#2
13	Ancio VAN TONDER	RSA	34.96	14.20		21.76	4.43	4.07	4.29	4.36	4.61	1.00	#11
14	John-Olof HALLMAN	SWE	32.72	14.33		18.39	3.96	3.61	3.46	3.82	3.54	0.00	#1
15	Donavan CARRILLO	MEX	31.52	14.51		19.01	3.43	3.50	4.04	3.93	4.11	2.00	#7
16	Zhen Feng CHAN	MAS	27.70	12.89		15.81	3.46	2.96	3.14	3.29	2.96	1.00	#17
17	Lap Kan YUEN	HKG	27.38	9.86		18.52	4.46	3.39	3.50	3.71	3.46	1.00	#18
18	Eduardo LUNA	MEX	21.12	8.45		12.67	2.57	2.29	2.46	2.71	2.64	0.00	#4
WD	Tomoki HIWATASHI	USA											#8

Free Skate

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Nathan CHEN	USA	144.40	74.20		70.20	6.71	6.96	7.18	7.18	7.07	0.00	#18
2	Ryuju HINO	JPN	132.34	74.18		59.16	6.54	5.61	5.89	6.04	5.50	1.00	#14
3	Daniel SAMOHIN	ISR	123.53	60.51		63.02	6.11	6.04	6.54	6.36	6.46	0.00	#17
4	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	116.66	59.46		58.20	5.75	5.57	5.82	6.07	5.89	1.00	#13
5	Sei KAWAHARA	JPN	109.31	54.09		55.22	5.61	5.21	5.61	5.68	5.50	0.00	#7
6	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	108.12	49.78		58.34	6.07	5.71	5.64	6.00	5.75	0.00	#15
7	Andrei LAZUKIN	RUS	107.21	50.27		57.94	6.29	5.61	5.50	5.93	5.64	1.00	#16
8	Charles TETAR	FRA	106.76	57.32		50.44	5.36	4.68	5.25	5.04	4.89	1.00	#10
9	Graham NEWBERRY	GBR	105.80	56.74		49.06	4.82	4.64	5.00	5.07	5.00	0.00	#11
10	Alexei GENIA	RUS	104.34	51.34		54.00	5.36	5.00	5.54	5.39	5.71	1.00	#8
11	Vincent CUEREL	SUI	84.33	38.75		46.58	4.68	4.43	4.61	4.89	4.68	1.00	#12
12	Meng Ju LEE	TPE	77.37	34.01		45.36	5.11	4.39	4.29	4.57	4.32	2.00	#9
13	John-Olof HALLMAN	SWE	73.89	36.03		37.86	4.18	3.61	3.64	3.96	3.54	0.00	#2
14	Ancio VAN TONDER	RSA	61.88	23.44		39.44	4.11	3.64	3.86	4.07	4.04	1.00	#5
15	Zhen Feng CHAN	MAS	56.28	29.20		31.08	3.61	2.96	2.82	3.29	2.86	4.00	#3
16	Lap Kan YUEN	HKG	55.14	22.76		32.38	4.29	2.79	3.07	3.18	2.86	0.00	#4
17	Donavan CARRILLO	MEX	53.65	23.03		31.62	3.21	2.96	3.21	3.25	3.18	1.00	#1
18	Eduardo LUNA	MEX	35.35	11.77		23.58	2.61	2.11	2.39	2.43	2.25	0.00	#6

Total

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Nathan CHEN	USA	218.62	1	1
2	Ryuju HINO	JPN	199.64	2	2
3	Daniel SAMOHIN	ISR	182.89	6	3
4	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	181.04	4	4
5	Andrei LAZUKIN	RUS	173.49	3	7
6	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	170.39	5	6
7	Sei KAWAHARA	JPN	166.95	7	5
8	Charles TETAR	FRA	160.00	8	8
9	Alexei GENIA	RUS	155.54	9	10
10	Graham NEWBERRY	GBR	155.28	10	9
11	Vincent CUEREL	SUI	127.46	11	11
12	Meng Ju LEE	TPE	114.91	12	12
13	John-Olof HALLMAN	SWE	106.61	14	13
14	Ancio VAN TONDER	RSA	96.84	13	14
15	Donavan CARRILLO	MEX	85.17	15	17
16	Zhen Feng CHAN	MAS	83.98	16	15
17	Lap Kan YUEN	HKG	82.52	17	16
18	Eduardo LUNA	MEX	56.47	18	18
WD	Tomoki HIWATASHI	USA

JGP Mexico Men's Preview

This is an inexperienced field of skaters with six making their international debut and an additional five making their JGP debut.  Of the remaining 9 skaters, only three have won medals on the JGP circuit.  

Nathan Chen has had a storied career already at the young age of 14.  He has won three national titles and medaled at nationals over six consecutive seasons in four levels.  He made his much anticipated JGP debut last season and won gold at his first event with a score that was still in the top 24 season's best by the end of the season.  However, he had to withdraw from his 2nd event due to injury after the short program and struggled for the rest of the season and even failed to defend his junior national title.  Still, he has a 20 point advantage over this field and can afford to make a few mistakes and still land on top of the podium.  He had been working on a triple axel prior to his injuries and if he includes that here it could give him a huge edge.

Challenging him for the top spot will be Ryuju Hino of Japan.  He won two medals on the JGP circuit last season and went on to medal at the JGPF.  His score at the Final was impressive, nearly topping the 200 point mark, but he scored nearly 30 points lower at Junior Worlds and managed only a 10th place finish.  

Nam Nguyen is training with Brian Orser alongside some of the top skaters in the world, including Javier Fernandez and Yuzuru Hanyu.  He's long been touted as one of Canada's up and coming talents but hasn't quite lived up to the hype yet.  He had trouble getting started last season but rebounded to win a bronze medal at his second JGP event.  He did show some improvement at Junior Worlds, but still managed only a 12th place finish.  

Other skaters to watch for are Andrei Lazukin who finished 7th in Austria last season and Sei Kawahara who placed 5th and 8th at his two assignments.

Tomoki Hiwatshi could make a run for the podium here.  He has won three US national titles at three different levels and at just 13, is eligible for international competition for the first time.  When he won the novice men's title last year, he completed four triple jumps in his free skate but only attempted triple toes and salchows.  He'll need a bigger arsenal to compete with the top talent here but his artistry might keep him in the mix.  Another young name to keep an eye on is Daniel Samohin who won the pewter medal at US Nationals as a novice but is now competing for Israel.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Nathan Chen
Silver: Ryuju Hino
Bronze: Nam Nguyen

Bios of the competitors:
Nam Nguyen, CAN: He placed 12th at Junior Worlds.  He finished 9th at JGP France and won bronze at JGP Turkey last season.  His personal best is 172.58.  He is 15 years old.

Meng Ju Lee, TPE: This is his JGP debut.  He is 17 years old.

Charles Tetar, FRA: He placed 7th at JGP France and 7th at JGP Slovenia last season.  His personal best is 156.43.  He is 18 years old.

Graham Newberry, GBR: This is his JGP debut.  He is 15 years old.

Lap Kan Yuen, HKG: He placed 20th at JGP Croatia last season.  His personal best is 84.93.  He is 17 years old.

Daniel Samohin, ISR: This is his international debut.  He is 15 years old.

Ryuju Hino, JPN: He placed 10th at Junior Worlds.  He won bronze at JGP France and silver at JGP Austria last season to qualify for the JGP Final where he won bronze.  His personal best is 198.92.  He is 18 years old.  

Sei Kawahara, JPN: He placed 5th at JGP Austria and 8th at JGP Croatia last season.  His personal best is 170.41.  He is 17 years old.

Zhen Feng Chan, MAS: This is his JGP debut.  He is 18 years old.

David Bosquez, MEX: This is his international debut.  He is 18 years old.

Donavan Carillo, MEX: This is his international debut.  He is 13 years old.

Eduardo Luna, MEX: This is his international debut.  He is 18 years old.

June Hyoung Lee, KOR: He finished 17th at Four Continents and 13th at Junior Worlds.  He placed 5th at JGP USA and 9th at JGP Turkey last season.  His personal best is 176.48.  He is 16 years old.

Alexei Genia, RUS: This is his international debut.  He is 13 years old.

Andrei Lazukin, RUS: He placed 7th at JGP Austria last season.  His personal best is 163.27.  He is 15 years old.

Ancio Van Tonder, RSA: This is his JGP debut.  He is 15 years old.

John-Olof Hallman, SWE: This is his JGP debut.  His personal best is 120.12.  He is 16 years old.

Vincent Cuerel, SUI: He placed 20th at JGP France last season.  His personal best is 102.15.  He is 17 years old.

Nathan Chen, USA: He won gold at JGP Austria last season.  His personal best is 222.00.  He is 14 years old.

Tomoki Hiwatshi, USA: This is his international debut.  He is 13 years old.

JGP Turkey Men's Free Skate Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Jason BROWN	USA	132.21	63.35		68.86	6.86	6.54	6.96	7.00	7.07	0.00	#21
2	Alexander PETROV	RUS	114.17	58.33		56.84	5.82	5.39	5.79	5.71	5.71	1.00	#19
3	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	112.47	55.69		56.78	5.71	5.46	5.79	5.68	5.75	0.00	#24
4	Andrei ZUBER	RUS	112.36	59.24		53.12	5.32	5.07	5.39	5.32	5.46	0.00	#23
5	Shu NAKAMURA	JPN	111.05	57.05		54.00	5.50	5.11	5.39	5.46	5.54	0.00	#17
6	Shotaro OMORI	USA	110.81	52.95		57.86	5.89	5.54	5.82	5.82	5.86	0.00	#22
7	Pavel IGNATENKO	BLR	102.83	52.75		50.08	5.29	4.75	5.00	5.00	5.00	0.00	#15
8	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	102.05	52.47		51.58	5.46	5.00	5.04	5.11	5.18	2.00	#18
9	Iassen PETKOV	BUL	94.82	50.74		44.08	4.54	4.18	4.39	4.54	4.39	0.00	#9
10	Ivan PAVLOV	UKR	93.33	42.73		52.60	5.39	5.04	5.29	5.29	5.29	2.00	#20
11	Taichi HONDA	JPN	88.59	40.37		48.22	5.00	4.50	4.89	4.86	4.86	0.00	#14
12	Tomas KUPKA	CZE	87.45	47.89		39.56	4.39	3.71	3.86	3.96	3.86	0.00	#6
13	Kamil DYMOWSKI	POL	85.01	39.71		46.30	4.93	4.36	4.64	4.54	4.68	1.00	#16
14	Osman AKGUEN	TUR	82.94	41.30		42.64	4.54	4.00	4.25	4.21	4.32	1.00	#13
15	Carlo ROETHLISBERGER	SUI	79.84	40.92		39.92	4.14	3.68	3.96	4.04	4.14	1.00	#7
16	Giray SENOL	TUR	78.26	40.20		38.06	3.93	3.50	3.96	3.82	3.82	0.00	#10
17	Burak DEMIRBOGA	TUR	77.68	37.54		41.14	4.29	3.96	4.04	4.14	4.14	1.00	#12
18	Charlie PARRY-EVANS	GBR	76.77	38.41		39.36	4.18	3.79	3.82	4.00	3.89	1.00	#8
19	Marcus BJORK	SWE	76.67	37.09		41.58	4.43	3.89	4.00	4.29	4.18	2.00	#11
20	Armen AGAIAN	GEO	75.53	40.61		35.92	3.96	3.36	3.64	3.50	3.50	1.00	#1
21	Cameron HEMMERT	AUS	74.83	36.47		38.36	4.11	3.64	3.68	4.04	3.71	0.00	#5
22	Catalin DIMITRESCU	ROU	71.78	37.86		33.92	3.64	3.25	3.39	3.39	3.29	0.00	#2
23	Ryan Zhi Jwen YEE	MAS	59.27	25.69		33.58	3.61	3.11	3.29	3.46	3.32	0.00	#3
24	Wayne Wing Yin CHUNG	HKG	57.78	27.58		31.20	3.46	2.82	3.07	3.25	3.00	1.00	#4

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Jason BROWN	USA	198.16	1	1
2	Alexander PETROV	RUS	174.45	2	2
3	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	171.56	3	3
4	Shotaro OMORI	USA	166.09	4	6
5	Andrei ZUBER	RUS	165.47	6	4
6	Shu NAKAMURA	JPN	161.69	9	5
7	Pavel IGNATENKO	BLR	155.08	7	7
8	Ivan PAVLOV	UKR	146.96	5	10
9	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	146.09	11	8
10	Taichi HONDA	JPN	140.37	8	11
11	Iassen PETKOV	BUL	136.61	13	9
12	Kamil DYMOWSKI	POL	128.77	12	13
13	Osman AKGUEN	TUR	127.47	10	14
14	Tomas KUPKA	CZE	126.12	19	12
15	Carlo ROETHLISBERGER	SUI	119.34	18	15
16	Giray SENOL	TUR	118.66	15	16
17	Charlie PARRY-EVANS	GBR	118.44	14	18
18	Burak DEMIRBOGA	TUR	118.06	16	17
19	Marcus BJORK	SWE	116.63	17	19
20	Armen AGAIAN	GEO	112.81	20	20
21	Cameron HEMMERT	AUS	109.21	21	21
22	Catalin DIMITRESCU	ROU	101.33	24	22
23	Ryan Zhi Jwen YEE	MAS	92.51	22	23
24	Wayne Wing Yin CHUNG	HKG	87.96	23	24
WD	Andrew FERNANDES	IND

JGP Turkey Men's Short Program Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Jason BROWN	USA	65.95	33.27		32.68	6.46	6.36	6.57	6.54	6.75	0.00	#15
2	Alexander PETROV	RUS	60.28	33.28		27.00	5.57	5.14	5.54	5.36	5.39	0.00	#18
3	Nam NGUYEN	CAN	59.09	32.80		26.29	5.29	4.89	5.36	5.32	5.43	0.00	#2
4	Shotaro OMORI	USA	55.28	27.40		27.88	5.64	5.39	5.64	5.50	5.71	0.00	#10
5	Ivan PAVLOV	UKR	53.63	28.70		24.93	5.18	4.68	5.07	4.89	5.11	0.00	#5
6	Andrei ZUBER	RUS	53.11	29.17		24.94	5.04	4.89	5.04	4.93	5.04	1.00	#1
7	Pavel IGNATENKO	BLR	52.25	28.82		23.43	5.04	4.46	4.68	4.71	4.54	0.00	#9
8	Taichi HONDA	JPN	51.78	26.81		25.97	5.32	4.93	5.18	5.18	5.36	1.00	#7
9	Shu NAKAMURA	JPN	50.64	26.18		24.46	5.18	4.71	4.89	4.89	4.79	0.00	#14
10	Osman AKGUEN	TUR	44.53	24.31		20.22	4.39	3.86	4.04	4.00	3.93	0.00	#22
11	June Hyoung LEE	KOR	44.04	22.25		23.79	5.11	4.61	4.64	4.79	4.64	2.00	#8
12	Kamil DYMOWSKI	POL	43.76	22.45		22.31	4.64	4.21	4.46	4.46	4.54	1.00	#20
13	Iassen PETKOV	BUL	41.79	21.50		21.29	4.50	4.07	4.25	4.29	4.18	1.00	#25
14	Charlie PARRY-EVANS	GBR	41.67	21.31		20.36	4.32	3.79	4.11	4.14	4.00	0.00	#3
15	Giray SENOL	TUR	40.40	22.33		18.07	3.89	3.36	3.57	3.71	3.54	0.00	#6
16	Burak DEMIRBOGA	TUR	40.38	19.99		20.39	4.18	3.75	4.14	4.18	4.14	0.00	#16
17	Marcus BJORK	SWE	39.96	19.35		21.61	4.50	4.07	4.43	4.29	4.32	1.00	#24
18	Carlo ROETHLISBERGER	SUI	39.50	19.50		21.00	4.39	4.00	4.18	4.25	4.18	1.00	#23
19	Tomas KUPKA	CZE	38.67	19.09		20.58	4.43	3.93	4.11	4.18	3.93	1.00	#11
20	Armen AGAIAN	GEO	37.28	18.50		19.78	4.14	3.75	3.96	4.04	3.89	1.00	#19
21	Cameron HEMMERT	AUS	34.38	15.67		19.71	4.25	3.75	3.93	3.96	3.82	1.00	#17
22	Ryan Zhi Jwen YEE	MAS	33.24	16.42		17.82	3.82	3.43	3.61	3.50	3.46	1.00	#12
23	Wayne Wing Yin CHUNG	HKG	30.18	12.03		18.15	3.89	3.54	3.54	3.68	3.50	0.00	#4
24	Catalin DIMITRESCU	ROU	29.55	12.36		18.19	3.82	3.43	3.54	3.79	3.61	1.00	#13
WD	Andrew FERNANDES	IND											#21