Canadian Nationals Men's Results

Senior Men

Rank	Competitor(s)	Section	SP	FP	Points
1	Patrick Chan	CO	101.33	200.81	302.14
2	Kevin Reynolds	BC/YT	80.81	158.63	239.44
3	Jeremy Ten	BC/YT	70.81	136.69	207.50
4	Elladj Balde	QC	68.32	138.21	206.53
5	Andrei Rogozine	CO	60.82	127.82	188.64
6	Liam Firus	BC/YT	66.34	121.44	187.78
7	Nam Nguyen	BC/YT	57.32	121.96	179.28
8	Raphael Yacobi-Harris	CO	56.19	113.63	169.82
9	Samuel Morais	QC	59.19	106.89	166.08
10	Maxime-Billy Fortin	QC	52.17	104.54	156.71
11	Dave Ferland	QC	51.18	103.87	155.05
12	Charles Dion	QC	50.70	99.40	150.10
13	Sasha Alcoloumbre	QC	47.51	102.54	150.05
14	Shaquille Davis	CO	48.93	95.27	144.20
15	Dominic Rondeau	QC	48.53	83.30	131.83
16	Benjamin Tidy	QC	46.38	84.08	130.46
17	David Struthers	QC	45.46	82.63	128.09
18	Benjamin Guthrie	NO	48.83	73.65	122.48

Rostelecom Cup Men's Free Skate Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Javier FERNANDEZ	ESP	163.13	81.77		81.36	8.07	7.79	8.25	8.39	8.18	0.00	#6
2	Yuzuru HANYU	JPN	158.88	82.50		78.38	8.00	7.68	7.79	7.86	7.86	2.00	#8
3	Michal BREZINA	CZE	147.34	70.92		76.42	7.82	7.46	7.61	7.71	7.61	0.00	#7
4	Artur GACHINSKI	RUS	146.70	72.50		75.20	7.64	7.21	7.54	7.57	7.64	1.00	#5
5	Jeremy ABBOTT	USA	145.54	64.10		83.44	8.32	8.11	8.29	8.50	8.50	2.00	#9
6	Sergei VORONOV	RUS	136.04	68.20		67.84	6.89	6.36	6.96	6.89	6.82	0.00	#2
7	Andrei ROGOZINE	CAN	132.74	67.18		65.56	6.71	6.25	6.64	6.57	6.61	0.00	#3
8	Konstantin MENSHOV	RUS	131.77	65.37		66.40	6.96	6.21	6.71	6.64	6.68	0.00	#1
9	Brandon MROZ	USA	116.14	50.36		65.78	6.68	6.43	6.50	6.71	6.57	0.00	#4

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Yuzuru HANYU	JPN	241.66	2	2
2	Javier FERNANDEZ	ESP	241.63	4	1
3	Jeremy ABBOTT	USA	229.08	1	5
4	Michal BREZINA	CZE	226.35	3	3
5	Artur GACHINSKI	RUS	221.43	5	4
6	Andrei ROGOZINE	CAN	197.85	7	7
7	Sergei VORONOV	RUS	197.19	8	6
8	Konstantin MENSHOV	RUS	192.68	9	8
9	Brandon MROZ	USA	185.49	6	9

Skate Canada Men's Short Program Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Javier FERNANDEZ	ESP	84.71	45.60		39.11	7.68	7.57	7.93	7.89	8.04	0.00	#5
2	Daisuke TAKAHASHI	JPN	84.66	42.41		42.25	8.43	8.18	8.57	8.46	8.61	0.00	#10
3	Patrick CHAN	CAN	83.28	40.38		42.90	8.93	8.36	8.39	8.68	8.54	0.00	#9
4	Adam RIPPON	USA	72.89	36.61		36.28	7.50	6.71	7.50	7.14	7.43	0.00	#7
5	Denis TEN	KAZ	71.40	38.94		33.46	6.93	6.32	6.71	6.82	6.68	1.00	#3
6	Andrei ROGOZINE	CAN	67.28	35.68		31.60	6.50	5.96	6.50	6.25	6.39	0.00	#4
7	Alexander MAJOROV	SWE	65.14	33.36		31.78	6.29	6.07	6.39	6.39	6.64	0.00	#6
8	Kevin VAN DER PERREN	BEL	64.01	31.86		32.15	6.57	6.29	6.54	6.50	6.25	0.00	#8
9	Ross MINER	USA	60.83	29.62		31.21	6.43	5.96	6.21	6.43	6.18	0.00	#2
10	Elladj BALDE	CAN	55.99	28.82		28.17	5.82	5.32	5.64	5.57	5.82	1.00	#1

Skate Canada Men's Preview

Patrick Chan is the reigning World Champion and he starts his season off on home soil.  He really pushed the boundaries of the sport last season by showcasing that it's possible to go for all the technical elements but still have all the artistic elements.  His quads are beautifully done and he put three quads in his program last season.  His programs are brilliantly choreographed by Lori Nichol and the elements are almost invisible as his transitions are so seamless.  He holds three world records for the best short, free skate and total score.  His elements are so good, that he showed last season that he can have falls and still take home the gold.  It will be tough to beat him here. 


Daisuke Takahashi from Japan took home the World title in 2010.  He also has quads in his arsenal and is know for his ability to wow a crowd.  He struggled last season and never quite lived up to his potential due to injury.  He had knee surgery in the off season and this will be his first chance to show that when healthy, he can be a skater that contends for World titles.  


Adam Rippon battled with his triple axel last season and it cost him a spot on the U.S. World team.  He switched coaches in the off season and is now coached by Jason Dungjen and Yuka Sato who's expressive lyrical style has drawn skaters like Jeremy Abbott and Alissa Czisny to their rink to turn their careers around. His signature jump is his Rippon Lutz, performed with both arms above his head.  He has been working on quad lutzes, and if he can land it here, he'll be the first athlete to land the jump in an ISU competition.


Ross Miner went home after last season's Grand Prix determined to improve and showed up at U.S. nationals with a new mindset.  He took home the bronze medal and earned a spot on the Worlds team.  He edged out Jeremy Abbott for that spot by hundredths of a point and there were many that questioned that decision.  He'll have to show that his result wasn't a fluke and that he is a force to be reckoned with among the U.S. men.  


Kevin van der Perren is also in the hunt after taking the silver medal last week at Skate America.  He has impressive jumps including solid quads but lacks some of the artistry of the other skaters.  That puts him at a disadvantage if the other skaters who have the whole package skate clean, but he showed that his jumps are always on and he's able to climb on to the other podium if other skaters make mistakes.


Two young skaters making their debuts here are Junior World Champion Andrei Rogozine and Junior World bronze medalist Alexander Majorov.  


My podium predictions:
Gold: Patrick Chan
Silver: Daisuke Takahashi
Bronze: Adam Rippon


Bios of the competitors:
Kevin van der Perren, BEL: He finished 17th at Worlds and 4th at Europeans.  He won silver at Skate America.  He is the 2007 and 2009 European bronze medalist.  His personal best is 219.36.  He is 29 years old.

Elladj Balde, CAN: This is his Grand Prix debut.  His personal best is 184.89.  He is 20 years old.

Patrick Chan, CAN: He is the reigning World Champion.  He won gold at Skate Canada and silver at Cup of Russia last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won gold.  He is the 2009 and 2010 World silver medalist, 2009 Four Continents Champion and 2007 World Junior silver medalist.  His personal best is 280.98.  He is 20 years old.

Andrei Rogozine, CAN: He is the reigning World Junior Champion.  He won gold at JGP France and Japan last season to qualify for the JGPF  where he won bronze.  His personal best is 200.13.  He is 18 years old.

Daisuke Takahashi, JPN: He finished 5th at Worlds and is the reigning Four Continents Champion.  He won gold at NHK Trophy and Skate Canada last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he finished 4th. He is the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, 2010 World Champion, 2007 World silver medalist, 2008 Four Continents Champion, 2005 Four Continents bronze medalist and 2002 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 264.41.  He is 25 years old.

Denis Ten, KAZ: He finished 14th at the World Championships.  He placed 5^th at Skate America.  His personal best is 211.43.  He is 18 years old.

Javier Fernandez, ESP: He placed 10th at Worlds and 9th at Europeans.  He finished 5th at Skate Canada and 9th at Cup of Russia last season.  His personal best is 218.26.  He is 20 years old.

Alexander Majorov, SWE: He finished 28th at Worlds ans is the reigning Junior World bronze medalist.  This is his Grand Prix debut.  He finished 5th at JGP Japan and won bronze at JGP Czech Republic last season.  His personal best is 195.71.  He is 20 years old.

Ross Miner, USA: He finished 11th at Worlds.  He placed 9th at NHK Trophy and 7th at Cup of China last season.  His personal best is 217.93.  He is 20 years old.

Adam Rippon, USA: He finished 5th at Four Continents.  He won bronze at Skate Canada and finished 4th at Skate America last season.  He is the 2010 Four Continents Champion and 2008 and 2009 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 233.04.  He is 21 years old.

Junior Worlds: Recap

Men: 
After a disastrous Canadian nationals, Andrei Rogozine was able to put together two strong programs here.  Although he didn't win either segment, his scores were good enough to give him the gold medal.  His opening triple axel + triple toe and solo triple axel in his free skate both received positive GOEs and really racked up the technical points for him.  He'll need to work on the quality and difficulty of his spins if he wants to make a splash at the senior level.  He hasn't aged out of juniors and can compete here again next season but young phenom Nan Nguyen who recently won the Canadian Junior title, will be aging in next season and could put up a big fight.

Keiji Tanaka won the free skate and the silver medal.  He had a nice GOE on his triple axel in the free skate and had Level 3s and 4s on his spins.  He could work on amping up his jump difficulty, but he is also eligible to compete as a junior next season.

Alexander Majorov became the first Swedish man to medal at the Junior World Championships with his bronze medal finish.  He has two triple + triple combos in his arsenal that give him a big technical bonus but his GOEs are barely in the positive range.  He'll be able to see how his scores compare with the best in the world when he competes at the World Championships in a few weeks.  This was his final season of junior eligibility.

Keegan Messing fell from 1st to 4th after a rough free skate in which he popped an axel and received no credit for a loop.  His short program showed off his jump arsenal and he does have a quad under his belt.  He'll be aging out of Juniors and looking to put his quad against the top men next season.

Max Aaron, who finished 5th is the only other top ten finisher who is aging out of juniors.

I had 0/3 exact predictions and picked 1/3 medal winners (Andrei Rogozine).

Ladies:
Russia's tiny phenoms proved just how good they are by finishing 1-2 at this event.  Adelina Sotnikova put together Triple Lutz + Triple Loop and Double Axel + Triple Toe combinations with positive GOEs en route to a technical victory.  She could work on the level of her steps and layback spin, but overall this young lady looks ready for an impressive debut on the Senior Grand Prix next season.  She won't be old enough for senior worlds next season, but will be looking to defend her title.

She'll be challenged by Elizaveta Tuktamisheva who took the silver medal here.  Elizaveta lacked some of the jump difficulty of Adelina, but is equal to most of the senior ladies out there.  Her step sequence is one area she could work on difficulty.  She'll likely be on the Senior Grand Prix next season as well.

Agnes Zawadzki came from behind to claim her second Junior Worlds medal.  Her normally strong jumps were judged under-rotated in some cases by a tough technical panel, but she did put out a seasons best free skate.  This is only her 4th international competition, and I've seen her confidence improve at each outing.  I wouldn't be surprised to see her take home her first Grand Prix medal next season.

Christina Gao dropped to 4th after having her double axel deemed under-rotated and in this deep field, not showing a triple-triple in her free skate cost her important technical points.  She's undergone some growth spurts this season that have caused her to adjust her jumps, but her style is more like Yuna Kim everyday.  As she gets her feet back under her again, I think she'll really start to rack up points and medals next season.

I had 3/3 exact predictions.

Pairs:
Discounting a fall on the side by side jumps at the beginning of their free skate, Sui and Han were perfect to claim their second Junior World title.  Their throw quad was slightly two-footed, but they've got closer to a clean landing at each competition and I expect they'll have it down by next season.  They are already one of the top senior teams in the World and can do elements that no one else in the world is doing.  If they can escape the age scandal, I expect them to continue their success as seniors next season and make a run for the World podium.

Stolbova and Klimov were able to move up a spot and claim the silver medal.  They have a lot of nice elements but are only doing double twists which will cost them a lot of points next season as seniors if they don't start executing triple twists.  They'll be on the Grand Prix next season, but they've aged out of juniors and with a very deep Russian field, they may have trouble breaking through and claiming spots at Europeans and Senior Worlds.

Takahashi and Tran took home the bronze medal.  Their free skate had several errors, including no credit on their spirals and problems on their side by side jumps.  I think the strain of so many events at the end of the season at two different levels is starting to show.  As they age out of juniors and transition solely to seniors, they'll be able to really polish their programs and perhaps repeat the success they had as seniors this season.

Cain and Reagan placed 4th with several nice elements.  She is very tall with long limbs and while this makes some of the elements harder, it also makes their lifts look fantastic.  They only execute a double twist and will need to up that element to compete with the seniors.  The US have several good pairs teams, but Cain and Reagan seem to be improving quickly and could make a mark next season at the senior level.

Other teams in the top 10 aging out are Purich and Schultz, Jones and Gaskell, Andrews and LeDuc, Gillespie and Dematte.

I had 3/3 exact predictions.

Dance:
Monko and Khaliavan won both segments to take home the gold medal.  They have a very nice style and nice lines while on the ice, but twizzles are one of their weaker elements.  They are aging out of juniors and will be in a good but young dance field in Russia.

Countrymates Pushkash and Guerreiro won the silver medal and will also be facing a tough field at home as they age out of juniors.  Their step sequences in their free dance only gained Level 2s but the rest of their elements were well executed and they had several high GOEs.

Lichtman and Copely took home the bronze medal to cap off a breakout season for this team to cap their junior careers.  They had all Level 3 and 4 elements except for the midline step sequence.  I expect them to continue to develop their technique under the watchful eye of Zoueva and Shpilband.  They'll do well as seniors next season, but the US dance field is so deep and almost all the top teams train with their same coaches.  These teams are also very young and not likely to retire any time soon, so it could be an uphill battle to get to Senior Worlds.

Zahorski and Miart finished a surprise 2nd in the free dance and 4th overall.  They had all Level 3 and 4 elements in their free skate and nice GOEs.  They can still compete as juniors next season and it will be interesting to see if they choose to take this momentum to the senior level or make a run for the Junior Grand Prix Final and Junior World Champion titles.

I had 3/3 exact predictions.

Overall: I had 9/12 exact predictions and picked 10/12 of the medal winners.

Junior World Championships: Mens Free Skate

1. Andrei Rogozine, CAN: 70.52 TES + 62.34 PCS = 132.86 Total: 200.13
2. Keiji Tanaka, JPN: 72.50 TES + 60.42 PCS = 132.92 Total: 196.98
3. Alexander Majorov, SWE: 68.51 TES + 60.08 PCS = 128.59 Total: 195.71
4. Keegan Messing, USA: 60.91 TES + 62.58 PCS -1.00 = 122.49 Total: 195.07
5. Max Aaron, USA: 67.70 TES + 60.26 PCS -1.00 = 126.96 Total: 193.92
6. Han Yan, CHN: 65.52 TES + 61.08 PCS = 126.60 Total: 187.49
7. Jason Brown, USA: 61.72 TES + 61.08 PCS = 122.80 Total: 185.44
8. Artur Dmitriev, RUS: 55.36 TES + 57.92 PCS -1.00= 112.28 Total: 181.19
9. Gordei Gorshkov, RUS: 64.53 TES + 56.44 PCS = 120.97 Total: 177.34
10. Ryuichi Kihara, JPN: 60.73 TES + 56.24 PCS = 116.97 Total: 175.72
11. Zhan Bush, RUS: 60.92 TES + 56.42 PCS -2.00 = 115.34 Total: 174.92
12. Abzal Rakimgaliev, KAZ: 55.12 TES + 54.22 PCS -1.00 = 108.34 Total: 168.82
13. Jorik Hendrickx, BEL: 53.98 TES + 54.66 PCS = 108.64 Total: 166.53
14. Kento Nakamura, JPN: 48.86 TES + 55.94 PCS -2.00 = 102.80 Total: 158.13
15. Stanislav Pertsov, UKR: 43.69 TES + 52.00 PCS = 95.69 Total: 154.48
16. Jiaxing Liu, CHN: 47.98 TES + 52.70 PCS -2.00 = 98.68 Total: 153.56
17. Romain Ponsart, FRA: 48.82 TES + 50.26 PCS = 99.08 Total: 150.00
18. Viktor Romanenkov, EST: 46.60 TES + 48.64 PCS = 95.24 Total: 144.87
19. Petr Coufal, CZE: 43.27 TES + 49.06 PCS -1.00 = 91.33 Total: 144.03
20. Liam Firus, CAN: 46.08 TES + 51.28 PCS -1.00 = 96.36 Total: 143.26
21. Denis Wieczorek, GER: 48.48 TES + 46.78 PCS -2.00 = 93.26 Total: 142.01
22. Bela Papp, FIN: 44.36 TES + 44.50 PCS = 88.86 Total: 138.63
23. Vitali Luchanok, BLR: 42.56 TES + 45.44 PCS -1.00 = 87.00 Total: 138.27
24. Kamil Bialas, POL: 47.11 TES + 42.40 PCS -3.00 = 86.51 Total: 133.44

Junior World Championships: Mens Short Program

1. Keegan Messing, USA: 41.07 TES + 31.51 PCS = 72.58
2. Artur Dmitriev, RUS: 38.90 TES + 30.01 PCS = 68.91
3. Andrei Rogozine, CAN: 37.59 TES + 29.68 PCS = 67.27
4. Alexander Majorov, SWE: 37.83 TES + 29.29 PCS = 67.12
5. Max Aaron, USA: 38.07 TES + 28.89 PCS = 66.96
6. Keiji Tanaka, JPN: 35.81 TES + 28.25 PCS = 64.06
7. Jason Brown, USA: 34.07 TES + 28.57 PCS = 62.64
8. Han Yan, CHN: 31.96 TESS + 28.93 PCS = 60.89
9. Abzal Rakimgaliev, KAZ: 33.65 TES + 26.83 PCS = 60.48
10. Zhan Bush, RUS: 31.40 TES + 28.18 PCS = 59.58
11. Stanislav Pertsov, UKR: 32.66 TES + 26.13 PCS = 58.79
12. Riyuichi Kihara, JPN: 30.96 TES + 27.79 PCS = 58.75
13. Jorik Hendrickx, BEL: 30.74 TES + 27.15 PCS = 57.89
14. Gordei Gorshkov, RUS 27.65 TES + 29.72 PCS -1.00 = 56.37
15. Kento Nakamura, JPN: 27.12 TES + 29.21 PCS -1.00 = 55.33
16. Jiaxing Liu, CHN: 27.49 TES + 27.39 PCS = 54.88
17. Petr Coufal, CZE: 27.67 TES + 25.03 PCS = 52.70
18. Vitalki Luchanok, BLR: 29.44 TES + 21.83 PCS = 51.27
19. Romain Ponsart, FRA: 25.91 TES + 26.01 PCS -1.00 = 50.92
20. Bela Papp, FIN: 27.06 TES + 22.71 PCS = 49.77
21. Viktor Romanenkov, EST: 26.55 TES + 23.08 PCS = 49.63
22. Denis Wieczorek, GER: 24.00 TES + 24.75 = 48.75
23. Kamil Bialas, POL: 23.93 TES + 23.00 PCS = 46.93
24. Liam Firus, CAN: 21.47 TES + 26.43 PCS -1.00 = 46.90
25. Tomi Pulkkinen, SUI: 23.67 TES + 23.15 PCS = 46.82
26. Saverio Giacomelli, ITA: 24.26 TES + 22.39 PCS = 46.65
27. Ondrej Spiegl, SWE: 21.94 TES + 22.89 PCS = 44.83
28. Jordan Ju, TPE: 23.06 TES + 20.89 PCS = 43.95
29. Francesc Palau, ESP: 21.64 TES + 21.85 PCS = 43.49
30. Dong-Won Lee, KOR: 20.43 TES + 21.82 PCS = 42.25

The top 24 men (bolded) have qualified for the free skate.

Junior World Championships: Mens Preview

This should be a very competitive field with several of the JGP Final contestants here as well as medal winners from the JGP.  Notably absent is JGP Final Champion, Richard Dornbush, who skated well enough at U.S. Nationals to qualify for the World team.  Joshua Farris also qualified for the JGPF but broke his leg at nationals and won't be competing here.

I see eight competitors really fighting for the podium title.  Artur Dmitriev just missed qualifying for the JGPF.  He then went on to beat out his compatriots at the Russian Junior Nationals.  He'll have to earn a spot in the short program by competing at the qualifying round, while many of the other competitors won't and the extra day of competition could affect his final score.

Andrei Rogozine had good scores at his two JGP assignments and qualified for the Final in first position.  He had problems at the Final and posted his lowest score of the season.  He had a disastrous performance at nationals, scoring over 30 points below his season's best.  If this downward trend continues, he could have a problem medaling in this competitive field.

Gordei Gorshkov's scores are almost a virtual tie with Dmitriev's and both were very consistent over the season.  He had the lowest score at the JGPF, however, and will be looking to rebound with a better score here.

Han Yan of China won the silver medal at the JGPF and has posted the highest junior international score of this field.  His JGPF score gives him a 5 point advantage, but he won't be able to make any mistakes if he wants the Junior World title.

Keegan Messing has put up good scores all season, but his international scores were on a downward trend.  He had a solid nationals performance as a senior.  If he can put out programs like he did there he should have a good shot at a medal.  He is not the most artistic skater and his strength is really in his jumping abilities which could be a factor.  If all the skaters go clean, he doesn't have the artistic points to keep him on pace with everyone else.  He finished 4th at this competition last season and is the highest placed returning competitor.

Max Aaron's scores have been trending upward all season, with minor improvements between each competition.  He won the junior title at nationals but his score was no where near that of Messing, even taking into account the higher points possible in a senior program.  He went for the triple axel in both of his programs at nationals but struggled.  If he lands them, this could give him a big boost technically, but could put him out of contention if the rest of the field is clean.

Zhan Bush's scores have also been slightly trending upward over the season.  His scores though are at the lower end of the top skaters.  He kept pace with the Russians at their nationals and it will be interesting to see if the international judges do the same.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Han Yan
Silver: Artur Dmitriev
Bronze: Keegan Messing

The competitors (note: D indicates a direct entry into the short program):


Slavik Hayrapetyan, ARM: He finished 17th at JGP Czech Republic.  He placed 34th at World Juniors last season.

Brendan Kerry, AUS: He finished 14th and 20th at his two JGP assignments this season.  He placed 18th at Four Continents with personal best scores across the board.

Vitali Luchanok, BLR:

Jorik Hendrickx, BEL (D): He placed 16th at Europeans with a personal best free skate and total score.  He finished 7th and 6th at his two JGP assignments this season.  He finished 15th at World Juniors last season.

Manol Atanassov, BUL: He finished 40th at World Juniors last season.

Liam Firus, CAN: He finished 5th at the JGP Brasov Cup and won bronze at J. Curry Memorial.

Andrei Rogozine, CAN (D): He won bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Final after winning gold at both JGP Courchevel and SBC Cup.  He placed 6th at the World Junior Championships last season. 

Jiaxing Liu, CHN (D): He finished 10th at JGP Poland and 5th at JGP Czech Republic.  He placed 14th at World Juniors last season.

Han Yan, CHN (D):Yan won JGP Cup of Austria and Czech Skate to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he won silver.

Jordan Ju, TPE: He finished 13th at both his Junior Grand Prix assignments this season.  He placed 17th at Four Continents with personal best scores across the board.

Petr Coufal, CZE: He finished 8th at JGP Austria and 7th at JGP Czech Republic.  He placed 21st at World Juniors last season.

Keiran Araza, DEN: He finished 19th at JGP Austria and 24th at JGP Germany.

Viktor Romanenkov, EST: He finished 36th at the World Championships last season.  He finished 8th and 11th at his two JGP assignments this season.  He placed 26th at World Juniors last season.

Bela Papp, FIN: He finished 14th at JGP Romania and 16th at JGP Germany.  He placed 24th at World Juniors last season.

Romain Ponsart, FRA (D): He finished 5th at both his JGP assignments this season.

Armen Agaian, GEO:

Denis Wieczorek, GER (D): He placed 20th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board.  He finished 5th and 15th at his two JGP assignments this season.

Harry Mattick, GBR: He finished 11th at JGP France and 9th at JGP Great Britain.  He placed 39th at World Juniors last season.

Harry Hau Yin Lee, HKG: He finished 22nd at JGP Japan.  He placed 43rd at World Juniors last season.

Saverio Giacomelli, ITA: He finished 27th at World Juniors last season.

Ryuichi Kihara, JPN: He finished 10th at JGP Austria and won bronze at JGP Germany.

Kento Nakamura, JPN (D): He finished 9th at JGP Japan and 8th at JGP Czech Republic.

Keiji Tanaka, JPN: He finished 10th at JGP Great Britain.

Abzal Rakimgaliev, KAZ (D): He finished 26th at the Olympics and 21st at Worlds last season.He placed 13th at Four Continents with a personal best free skate and total score.  He won bronze at his first JGP assignment this season and placed 8th at his second assignment.  He placed 11th at World Juniors last year.

Girts Jekabsons, LAT: He placed 46th at the World Championships last season.  He finished 19th at JGP Czech Republic.  He placed 38th at World Juniors last season.

Saulius Ambrulevicius, LTU: He finished 38th at the World Championships with a personal best short program last season. He finished 13th and 16th at his two JGP assignments this season.  He placed 32nd at World Juniors last season.

Ryan Zhi Jwen Yee, MAS: He finished 16th at JGP France and 21st at JGP Japan.

Boyito Mulder, NED: He finished 45th at the World Junior Championships last season.

Kamil Bialas, POL (D): He finished 18th at JGP Austria and 11th at JGP Czech Republic.

Dong-Won Lee, KOR: He finished 4th at JGP Romania and 11th at JGP Japan.

Vlad Ionescu, ROU: He finished 18th at JGP Romania and 12th at JGP Great Britain.

Zhan Bush, RUS (D): He won bronze at JGP Cup of Austria and silver at J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he finished 7th.

Artur Dmitriev, RUS: He finished 4th at JGP Germany and won silver at JGP Czech Republic.  He placed 7th at World Juniors last season.

Gordei Gorshkov, RUS (D): Gorshkov finished 4th at JGP SBC Cup and won silver at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he finished 8th. 

Francesc Palau, ESP (D): He finished 16th at JGP Great Britain.

Alexander Majorov, SWE (D): He finished 5th at JGP Japan and won bronze at JGP Czech Republic.  He placed 8th at World Juniors last season.

Ondrej Spiegel, SWE: He finished 9th at JGP Romania and 10th at JGP Great Britain.

Tomi Pulkkinen, SUI: He finished 15th at JGP Japan and 14th at JGP Germany.

Suchet Kongchim, THA: He finished 17th at JGP France.

Engin Ali Artan, TUR: He finished 16th at JGP Romania and 23th at JGP Germany.

Stanislav Pertsov, UKR: He finished 13th at JGP Austria and 6th at JGP Czech Republic.  He placed 29th at World Juniors last season.

Max Aaron, USA (D): Aaron won bronze at JGP Courcheval and silver at SBC Cup to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where he finished 4th.

Jason Brown, USA (D): He won silver at JGP Courcheval and finished 6th in Japan. 

Keegan Messing, USA (D): He won gold at JGP Brasov Cup and placed 4th at Czech Skate to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he placed 5th.  Messing finished 4th at the World Junior Championships last season.

Canadian Nationals: Mens Preview

Canada has 3 spots for both the 4 Continents Championships and the World Championships.

This is Patrick Chan's competition to lose.  He is the Grand Prix Final Champion and two-time World Silver Medalist.  He has added quads to his arsenal this season and his free skate is one of the best put together and beautifully choreographed routines I have seen.  He has recently announced that he is has been practicing two quads in his free skate and might try it at nationals.  He's had trouble staying on his feet this season, but his program components are consistently through the roof and I think he can fall here and still be safe. 

Kevin Reynolds has two 4th place finishes on the Grand Prix and has some high power jumps, including two quads in his short program.  He seems to have problems landing them consistently and without the program components to back them up, he needs to stay on his feet but should have no problem making the podium. 

Shawn Sawyer had a respectable Grand Prix season and his Alice in Wonderland free skate is full of nuances and is extremely enjoyable to watch.  He has great artistry and flexibility but doesn't have the jump content to push him higher on the world stage.

Rogozine is also looking to make a splash in his second season as a senior nationally.  He was the top qualifier to the Junior Grand Prix Final but struggled with his short program and was only able to take home the bronze from the competition.  He should put the greatest pressure on Sawyer for the third podium spot and is looking to make his first senior worlds team.

Ian Martinez and Marc-Andre Craig were neck and neck to go 1-2 at Challenge.  This was the first year that Eastern and Western Challenge were combined, so I expect to see a little movement as skaters perform better or worse but the placements should stay relatively the same and these two had a lead over the rest of the field.  One of them could challenge for a podium spot if there are lots of mistakes upon the top 4.

Liam Firus and Samuel Morais lead the young skaters competing on the senior level for the first time.  They went 3-4 at Challenge and may be looking to move up a position or two and secure their Junior World Championships slots.

The skaters in reverse qualification order:

Charles Dion: He qualified with a 14th place finish at Challenge.  He finished 10th at nationals at the junior level last season.

Patrick Wong: He qualified with a 13th place finish at Challenge.  He finished 14th at nationals last season.

Raphael Yacobi-Harris: He qualified with a 12th place finish at Challenge.  He finished 6th at nationals at the junior level last season.

Andrew Lum: Lum finished 14th at his last international appearance on the JGP circuit in 2008.  He qualified with an 11th place finish at Challenge.  He finished 17th at nationals last season.

Ronald Lam: He finished 20th at the World Junior Championships last season with a personal best short program.  He qualified with a 10th place finish at Challenge.  He finished 9th at nationals last season. 

Dave Ferland: Ferland finished 12th at his last international appearance on the JGP circuit in 2008.  He qualified with a 9th place finish at Challenge.  He finished 15th at nationals last season.

Maxime-Billy Fortin:  He qualified with an 8th place finish at Challenge. 

Patrick Myzyk: He qualified with a 7th place finish at Challenge.  He finished 15th at nationals at the junior level last season.

Elladj Balde: He finished 8th at Junior Worlds in 2009.  He is the 2008 junior national champion.  He qualified with a 6th place finish at Challenge.  He last appeared at nationals in 2009 when he finished 10th.

Samuel Morais: Morais finished 6th at JGP Cup of Austria and 7th at Pokal der Blauen.  He qualified with a 5th place finish at Challenge.  He is the reigning junior national silver medalist.

Liam Firus: He finished 5th at the JGP Brasov Cup and won bronze at J. Curry Memorial.  He qualified with a 4th place finish at Challenge.  He is the reigning junior national champion. 

Joey Russell: Russell finished 11th at Four Continents last season with personal best free skate and total scores.  He is the 2006 national junior champion.  He qualified with a 3rd place finish at Challenge.  He had his best finish at nationals last season when he placed 5th.   

Marc-Andre Craig: He finished 11th at his last international competition, NHK Trophy 2006.  He qualified with a 2nd place finish at Challenge.  He finished 10th at nationals last season.

Ian Martinez: Martinez finished 10th at his last international competition, Skate America 2008.  He qualified with a 1st place finish at Challenge.  He had his best finish at nationals last season, placing 6th.

Andrei Rogozine: He placed 6th at the World Junior Championships last season.  He won bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Final after winning gold at both JGP Courchevel and SBC Cup.  He is the 2009 national junior champion and placed 11th in seniors last season. 

Shawn Sawyer: Sawyer placed 7th at Four Continents with a personal best score in the free skate.  He placed 8th at his first Grand Prix assignment last season before winning silver at Skate America.  He finished 5th at the NHK Trophy and 8th at Skate America.  He finished 4th at nationals last season, and he is a three time national bronze medalist.

Kevin Reynolds: Reynolds finished 11th at Worlds with a personal best free skate score and won bronze at Four Continents with a personal best short program.  He finished 4th at Skate Canada with a personal best total score and 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  His highest finish at nationals was last season when he won bronze.

Patrick Chan: Chan finished 5th at the Olympics and won silver at worlds.  He is the 2009 Four Continents Champion and World Silver Medalist.  He is the 2007 World Junior Silver Medalist.  He won the Grand Prix Final with a personal best free skate and total score after winning gold at Skate Canada and silver at Rostelecom Cup.  He is going for his 4th consecutive national title.

Note: Jeremy Ten has withdrawn due to surgery.