Skate Canada Men's Preview

Patrick Chan is the reigning World Champion although he struggled last season and nearly lost his title.  He had strong short programs and currently holds the World Record Short Program score but his free skates were often filled with errors.  He moved to Detroit at the end of the season to pursue a better training environment and has been settling well.  After splitting from Christy Krall, he is coached primarily by Kathy Johnson and his jumps took a bit of a hit.  After missing out on the podium in 2010, his sole focus has been on Sochi and he is gunning for Olympic gold.

Yuzuru Hanyu set two World Record short programs last season and had a huge breakout year.  He finished ahead of Patrick Chan at the Grand Prix Final but wasn't able to find his way back to the podium at the World Championships.  He has the quads as well as the artistry but he seemed to struggle with some of the nerves that comes along with being a front runner.

Nobunari Oda had a rough few seasons and only won medal on the Grand Prix last season.  It's also been two years since he made a World team and in a deep Japanese field, he's facing an uphill battle to claim one of the spots in Sochi.  He kicked off the season with an impressive victory at the Nebelhorn Trophy and proved that he is a contender going into this season.

Also in the mix are Takahito Mura who was the surprise winner at Trophee Eric Bompard last year and made the Japanese Worlds team along with Jeremy Abbott who's reprising his Exogenisis free skate after failing to qualify for Worlds last season.  Ross Miner is the reigning US Silver Medalist but had a slow start to his season this year.

World Junior Champion Joshua Farris is making his Grand Prix debut at this event.  He has quads and triple axels in his arsenal but struggled with his jumps at his senior debut at the US Figure Skating Classic.  He choreographs his own programs and admitted that he was more focused on the performance at that event and let the jumps get away from him.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Patrick Chan
Silver: Yuzuru Hanyu
Bronze: Nobunari Oda

Bios of the competitors:
Elladj Balde, CAN: He finished 18th at Four Continents.  He placed 7th at Skate Canada last season.  His personal best is 199.94.  He is 22 years old.

Patrick Chan, CAN: He is the reigning World Champion.  He won silver at Skate Canada and gold at Rostelecom Cup last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won bronze.  He is the 2011 and 2012 World Champion, 2009 and 2010 World silver medalist, 2009 and 2012 Four Continents Champion and 2007 World Junior silver medalist.  His personal best is 280.98.  He is 22 years old.  

Andrei Rogozine, CAN: He finished 13th at Worlds and 10th at Four Continents.  He placed 9th at NHK Trophy last season.  He is the 2011 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 216.60.  He is 20 years old.

Michal Brezina, CZE: He placed 10th at Worlds and is the reigning European Bronze Medalist.  He placed 6th at Skate America and won bronze at Rostelecom Cup last season.  He is the 2009 World Junior Silver Medalist.  His personal best is 243.52.  He is 23 years old.  

Yuzuru Hanyu, JPN: He placed 4th at Worlds and is the reigning Four Continents silver medalist.  He won silver at Skate America and gold at NHK Trophy last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won silver.  He is the 2012 World Bronze Medalist, 2011 Four Continents Silver Medalist and 2010 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 264.29.  He is 18 years old.  

Takahito Mura, JPN: He placed 8th at Worlds and 8th at Four Continents.  He finished 8th at Skate Canada and won gold at Trophee Eric Bompard last season.  His personal best is 234.18.  He is 22 years old.

Nobunari Oda, JPN: He won bronze at Skate Canada and placed 5th at Rostelecom Cup.  He is the 2006 Four Continents Champion and 2005 Junior World Champion.  His personal best is 262.98.  He is 26 years old.

Jeremy Abbott, USA: He placed 5th at Skate Canada and won silver at Trophee Eric Bompard last season.  He is the 2007 and 2011 Four Continents Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 238.82.  He is 28 years old.

Joshua Farris, USA: He is the reigning World Junior Champion.  He won gold at JGP USA and gold at JGP Slovenia last season to qualify for the JGP Final where he won silver.  He is the 2012 World Junior Silver Medalist.  His personal best is 228.32.  He is 18 years old.  

Ross Miner, USA: He placed 14th at Worlds and 9th at Four Continents.  He placed 5th at Skate Canada and won bronze at NHK Trophy last season.  He is the 2012 Four Continents Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 235.37.  He is 22 years old.

World Championships Men's Preview

For the past several years Patrick Chan has dominated the men's field and entered Worlds as the heavy favorite.  After parting with his coach Christy Krall last season, he's struggled and has failed to win several events this season as the rest of the field has caught up to him.  To medal at this event, the skaters will need to combine multiple quads with clean programs and artistic expression.  Most of the top men have three or four quads planned in the competition along with triple axels and missing one of these elements or not attempting them could leave them off the podium.

Chan is going for the three-peat and has home field advantage.  However, this comes with additional pressure and he did lose to Fernandez in Canada already this season.  He dropped to bronze at the Grand Prix Final as well.  He defended his Canadian title and declined to compete at Four Continents so he hasn't competed internationally since December.  He has some of the best performance qualities in the world and his edge quality and choreography is top of the field.  However, his jumps have escaped him this season as he no longer has a technical coach.  He has a quad planned in his short program in combination along with two quads in his free skate.  

Yuzuru Hanyu holds the world record for a short program and this young phenom is looking to improve on his bronze medal performance from last season.  He hasn't necessarily struggled with his free skate but hasn't been able to skate completely clean and hold on to his short program lead.  He won the silver medal at Four Continents despite putting up one of his lowest scores of the season.  He also won the silver medal at the Grand Prix Final.  He also has a great style and feel for his music and has a quad in his short program as well as two in his free skate.

Javier Fernandez won his first European title in January and has impressed with his three quad free skate this season.  In fact, his best free skate score is 9 points higher than the next skater.  He's also received acclaim for his performance and choreography in his Charlie Chaplin program.  He's had errors in his short programs this season that have left him making up ground in his free skate and in this field, he can't afford to be playing catch up.  He trains with Hanyu in Canada and they seem to be pushing each other to have their best seasons.

Daisuke Takahashi has long been known for his artistry and can drive a crowd wild with his step sequences full of fluid edges and interesting movement.  He's been adding the quads to his programs but they are not always as clean as the other top men and it's still a bit of a risk element for him.  He won his first Grand Prix Final title this season but lost his national title to Hanyu.  He also dropped to a disappointing 7th at Four Continents, his worst international result since the 2006 Olympics where he finished 8th.

Max Aaron won the US Junior title in 2011 and debuted as a senior in 2012.  He placed 8th and wasn't happy with his finish.  After working in the off season, he came back and claimed his first senior title this season.  He's never competed in a Grand Prix event and competed in his first major senior international at Four Continents where he finished 4th.  He has a backloaded free program with two triple axels in the bonus along with a triple + triple combination.  He also has two quads in his free skate.  He knows that program components are his weakness and has been working to improve his second mark.  He also doesn't have much international experience and will be competing early in the event which could also lower his second mark.

Florent Amodio won the silver medal at Europeans, the third year in a row he has stood on the European podium.  He has been including the quad in his programs but has struggled with his free program this season.  He's admitted that it is difficult for him to do the same program for a whole season and he gets bored.  His free program seems a little disjointed and has the characteristic Morozov stopping and posing which hurt his program components scores.  

Maxim Kovtun had a great junior season this year winning a gold medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final.  He was given a controversial trip to the European Championships where he finished 5th.  He needs a top 10 finish at Worlds to secure two spots for the men at Sochi next year and has a lot of pressure riding on his shoulders.  He has quads planned in his programs.

Brian Joubert has struggled over the last few seasons with injury and illness and can't seem to quite find the form that won him a World title.  He had a solid season last year finishing 4th at Worlds.  He placed 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard and withdrew from his second Grand Prix and French Nationals.  He placed 4th at Europeans and will be looking to improve from last year's finish if he can hold everything together.  He's long been known for the difficulty and consistency of his jumps but as the other skaters have mastered the jumps along with the spins, steps, transitions and choreography he's been left behind.

Ross Miner has been up and down this season, finishing 5th at Skate Canada but then hitting a quad in his free skate to capture the bronze medal at NHK Trophy.  After winning the bronze medal at Four Continents last year, he placed a disappointing 9th this season.  He was able to win the silver medal at nationals with two clean skates and earn a trip back to the World Championships where his prior international experience will give him a better draw then his teammate Aaron.  While neither US men are likely contenders for the podium, they'll be looking for the magic number of 13 to earn the US a 3rd spot in Sochi.

Michal Brezina has steadily been improving all season and claimed the bronze medal at Europeans.  He is not the most consistent skater but he might be flying under the radar enough that he can sneak on to the podium.  Last season he has a solid short program at Worlds that put him in medal contention but he couldn't handle the pressure and dropped to 6th place.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Javier Fernandez
Silver: Patrick Chan
Bronze: Yuzuru Hanyu

Viktor Pfeifer, AUT: He placed 22nd at Worlds last season.  He finished 8th at Europeans.  His personal best is 194.77.  He is 25 years old.

Pavel Ignatenko, BLR: He placed 13th at Europeans and 14th at Junior Worlds.  He finished 7th at JGP Turkey and 11th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 171.18.  He is 17 years old.

Jorik Hendrickx, BEL: His personal best is 204.63.  He is 20 years old.

Patrick Chan, CAN: He is the reigning World Champion.  He won silver at Skate Canada and gold at Rostelecom Cup to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won bronze.  He is the 2011 World Champion, 2009 and 2010 World silver medalist, 2009 and 2012 Four Continents Champion and 2007 World Junior silver medalist.  His personal best is 280.98.  He is 22 years old.  He has the 4th best short program, 4th best free skate and 4th best total scores of the season.

Kevin Reynolds, CAN: He finished 12th at Worlds last season.  He is the reigning Four Continents Champion.  He placed 5th at Cup of China and 6th at NHK Trophy.  He is the 2010 Four Continents bronze medalist.  His personal best is 250.55.  He is 22 years old.  He has the 6th best total score.

Andrei Rogozine, CAN: He finished 10th at Four Continents.  He placed 9th at NHK Trophy.  He is the 2011 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 201.99.  He is 20 years old.

Nan Song, CHN: He placed 14th at Worlds last season.  He finished 6th at Four Continents.   He placed 5th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  He is the 2010 World Junior silver medalist.  His personal best is 228.46.  He is 22 years old.

Michal Brezina, CZE: He placed 6th at Worlds last season.  He is the reigning European Bronze Medalist.  He placed 6th at Skate America and won bronze at Rostelecom Cup.  He is the 2009 World Junior Silver Medalist.  His personal best is 243.52.  He is 22 years old.  He has the 7th best free skate and 8th best total scores of the season.

Tomas Verner, CZE: He placed 16th at Worlds last season.  He finished 11th at Europeans.  He placed 8th at Skate America and 8th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  He is the 2008 European Champion, 2007 European Silver Medalist and 2011 European Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 232.67.  He is 26 years old.

Justus Strid, DEN: He placed 30th at Worlds last season.  He finished 21st at Europeans.  His personal best is 160.08.  He is 25 years old.

Viktor Romanenkov, EST: He placed 17th at Europeans.  He finished 10th at JGP Austria and 9th at JGP Slovenia.  His personal best is 167.98.  He is 19 years old.

Florent Amodio, FRA: He placed 5th at Worlds last season.  He is the reigning European Silver Medalist.  He finished 4th at Skate Canada and won bronze at Trophee Eric Bompard.  He is the 2011 European Champion and 2012 European Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 250.53.  He is 22 years old.  He has the 3rd best short program, 10th best free skate  and 7th best total scores of the season.  

Brian Joubert, FRA: He finished 4th at Worlds last season last season.  He placed 4th at Europeans.  He placed 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  He is the 2007 World Champion, 2006 and 2008 World Silver Medalist, 2009 and 2010 World Bronze Medalist; 2004, 2007 and 2009 European Champion; 2003, 2005 and 2011 European Silver Medalist; and 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2010 European Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 244.58.  He is 28 years old.  He has the 8th best short program.

Peter Liebers, GER: He placed 20th at Worlds last season.  He finished 10th at Europeans.  His personal best is 205.59.  He is 24 years old.

Ronald Lam, HKG: His personal best is 157.87.  He is 22 years old.

Alexei Bychenko, ISR: He placed 29th at Worlds last season.  He finished 14th at Europeans.  His personal best is 171.12.  He is 25 years old.

Paolo Bacchini, ITA: He placed 24th at Europeans.  His personal best is 183.13.  He is 27 years old.

Paul Bonifacio Parkinson, ITA: He placed 29th at Europeans.  He is 22 years old.

Yuzuru Hanyu, JPN: He is the reigning World Bronze Medalist and Four Continents silver medalist.  He won silver at Skate America and gold at NHK Trophy to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won silver.  He is the 2011 Four Continents Silver Medalist and 2010 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 264.29.  He is 18 years old.  He has the best short program, 2nd best free skate and 3rd best total scores of the season.

Takahito Mura, JPN: He placed 8th at Four Continents.  He finished 8th at Skate Canada and won gold at Trophee Eric Bomopard.  His personal best is 230.68.  He is 22 years old.

Daisuke Takahashi, JPN: He is the reigning Worlds Silver Medalist.  He finished 7th at Four Continents.  He won silver at Cup of China and NHK Trophy to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won gold.  He qualified for the Grand Prix Final last season and won silver.  He is the 2010 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 2010 World Champion, 2007 World Silver Medalist, 2008 and 2011 Four Continents Champion, 2012 Four Continents Silver Medalist, 2005 Four Continents Bronze Medalist and 2002 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 276.72.  He is 26 years old.  He has the 2nd best short program, 3rd best free skate and 2nd best total scores of the season.

Abzal Rakimgaliev, KAZ: He placed 15th at Four Continents.  His personal best is 185.81.  He is 20 years old.

Denis Ten, KAZ: He finished 7th at Worlds last season.  He placed 12th at Four Continents.  He placed 6th at Skate America and 9th at Rostelecom Cup.  His personal best is 229.70.  He is 19 years old.

Kim Lucine, MON: He placed 23rd at Worlds last season.  He finished 12th at Europeans.  His personal best is 181.37.  He is 24 years old.

Christopher Caluza, PHI: He placed 21st at Worlds last season.  He finished 14th at Four Continents.  His personal best is 186.79.  He is 22 years old.

Maciej Cieplucha, POL: He finished 25th at Worlds last season.  He finished 19th at Europeans.  His personal best is 167.29.  He is 24 years old.

Jin Seo Kim, KOR: He placed 19th at Four Continents.  He won bronze at JGP Austria and placed 4th at JGP Croatia.  His personal best is 176.43.  He is 16 years old.

Zoltan Kelemen, ROU: He placed 14th in the preliminary round at Worlds last season.  He finished 18th at Europeans.  His personal best is 178.02.  He is 26 years old.

Maxim Kovtun, RUS: He placed 5th at Europeans.  He won gold at JGP Croatia and JGP Germany to qualify for the JGPF where he won gold.  His personal best is 226.57.  He is 17 years old.

Javier Fernandez, ESP: He finished 9th at Worlds last season.  He is the reigning European Champion.    He won gold at Skate Canada and finished 4th at NHK Trophy to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he finished 4th.  His personal best is 274.87.  He is 21 years old.  He has the 5th best short program, best free skate and best total scores of the season.  

Alexander Majorov, SWE: He finished 26th at Worlds last season.  He placed 6th at Europeans.  He placed 10th at Skate America.  He is the 2011 World Junior Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 211.88.  He is 21 years old.

Yakov Godorozha, UKR: He placed 15th at Europeans.  His personal best is 170.29.  He is 19 years old.

Max Aaron, USA: He placed 4th at Four Continents.  His personal best is 234.65.  He is 21 years old.  He has the 8th best free skate.

Ross Miner, USA: He placed 9th at Four Continents.  He placed 5th at Skate Canada and won bronze at NHK Trophy.  He is the 2012 Four Continents Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 235.37.  He is 22 years old.  He has the 9th best free skate.

Misha Ge, UZB: He finished 19th at Worlds last season.  He finished 11th at Europeans.  His personal best is 201.71.  He is 21 years old.

US Nationals Senior Men's Free Skate

Group 1
Armin Mahbanoozadeh: 63.28 TES + 67.64 PCS -1.00 = 129.92 Total: 192.77

• Good opening triple toe--was listed as a quad but didn't look like a pop, must have changed his mind going into the jump
• Big triple axel but a little sideways in the air and can't hang on to the landing
• Triple lutz + double toe with a slight hesitation between jumps
• Good triple loop
• Very quiet step sequence with good quality of motion and flow across the ice
• Little forward on the triple axel but hangs on and tacks on the double toe
• Popped lutz
• Good triple flip
• Double axle + double toe + double loop
• Good speed and positions in the combination spin with nice flexibility

Harrison Choate: 63.87 TES + 65.58 PCS = 129.45 Total: 187.11 and into 2nd place

• Good double axel + triple toe
• Nice triple lutz
• I feel like he could commit to the step sequence a bit more
• Triple lutz + double toe really fighting for the landing
• Nice triple loop + double toe + double toe
• Step out of that triple there
• Nice spread eagles and connection with the music in the choreographic step sequence
• Good speed in the final spin

Stephen Carriere: 71.61 TES + 67.92 PCS -1.00 = 138.53 Total: 201.30 and into 1st place

• Good triple salchow
• Triple axel turnout triple toe
• Big quad toe but just can't hold on to the landing and runs out of it
• A little trouble on his camel spin and can't quite get the position change and has no speed by the end
• A little trouble with speed after the position change in the 2nd jump as well
• Good quality of movement in the step sequence but he could have more power and speed across the ice
• Triple lutz
• Big triple axel but can't hang on to it 
• Nice triple flip
• Triple lutz + double toe (one arm up) + double loop (both arms up)
• Triple loop
• Nice timing with the music on his final combo spin with good speed

Wesley Campbell: 62.17 TES + 72.34 PCS = 134.51 Total: 191.75 and into 3rd place

• Good opening triple loop
• Nice triple flip + triple toe
• Nice double axel with good flow out of it
• Good speed through the combo spin but he could be lower in some of the sit positions
• Nice triple lutz
• Good stretched free leg and toe point in the sit spin
• Nice ease in this step seqeuence but I would like for him to loop up a big more
• Triple lutz + double toe + double loop
• Triple salchow + double toe
• Nice triple flip
• So far everything about this program has been light, elegant and easy
• Good final camel spin
• Great skate for him and very enjoyable to watch

William Brewster: 49.07 TES + 62.44 PCS = 111.51 Total: 170.13 and into 5th place

• Triple salchow + triple toe two footed
• Triple lutz
• Nice ease to the double axel
• Really slow in the camel spin though the change of foot
• Nice Irish touches to the step sequence
• Doubled the flip and two foots the landing
• Triple flip flip out but recovers nicely into a spread eagle
• He could have a bit more stretch through the free leg in his sit spin
• Popped the loop
• I'd like to see him let go a bit in the choreographic step sequence and really go for the movement
• Good double axel
• Triple salchow + double toe + double toe
• Not enough speed in his final sit spin

Group 2
Douglas Razzano: 63.96 TES + 65.72 PCS = 129.68 Total: 192.99 and into 2nd place

• Quad toe a bit of a two footed squat on the landing
• Popped his first axel
• Triple axel + double toe
• Double lutz
• Good positions in the sit spin but a little bit of a loss of speed after the change of position
• Nice camel spin positions and good maintained speed
• Triple toe + triple toe
• Great spread eagle into a triple salchow
• Good triple loop
• Nice double axel + double toe + double loop
• A little bit of trouble in his final spin with no speed by the end

Alexander Johnson: 81.35 TES + 77.94 PCS = 159.29 Total: 224.49 and into 1st place

• Beautiful triple axel + double toe
• Really holds on to the second triple axel 
• Triple lutz + half loop + triple flip really nicely done
• Not a lot of speed in the camel spin but maintained throughout
• Nice spread eagle into a good triple loop
• Good use of his upper body and timing with the music on the step sequence but some of the edge changes weren't clean
• Spiral into a double axel + double toe
• Triple lutz hangs on to it
• Nice triple salchow
• Flying sit spin with good stretch in his free leg and maintaining speed through the back tuck position
• Great choreography through the choreographic step seqeuence and great flow to his movement
• Really nice double axel with good flow out of it
• Decent illusion spins and good speed in the sit spin 

Sean Rabbitt: 58.87 TES + 61.92 PCS -2.00 = 118.79 Total: 181.66 and into 7th place

• Nice opening triple salchow
• Off in the air and falls on the triple lutz
• Tight on the triple loop but hangs on
• Needs a bit more speed and to stretch through his upper body in the sit spin
• Nice musicality in his step sequence but he could have more power and speed to get across the ice
• Good triple flip
• Triple salchow + triple toe
• Good double axel
• Fall on the triple flip
• Could have a bit more speed in the camel spin
• Good ice coverage on the double axel + double toe + double loop
• Good positions in the final combo spin

Grant Hochstein: 59.39 TES + 64.50 PCS -1.00 = 122.89 Total: 188.57 and into 6th place

• Really nice triple axel + double toe to open the program
• Good triple flip
• Triple loop off from the get go and a fall
• Good speed through the sit spin
• Nice triple lutz + double toe with both arms up on the 2nd jump
• Popped the 2nd axel
• Really difficult entry into the triple salchow from a lunge position and nicely done
• Good donut position and picking up speed through the catchfoot
• Nice musicality in the step sequence but he could have a bit more power to play better with the music
• Triple flip + double toe + double toe
• Popped lutz out of a spread eagle
• He had some really great moments in this free skate including the nice triple axel + double toe and just needs to hit the whole program
• Good speed in the final spin

Keegan Messing: 63.70 TES + 60.58 PCS = 123.28 Total: 187.34 and into 7th place

• Sits down on his opening triple axel and falls
• Great quad toe--super fast rotation and he makes them look easy
• Nice triple lutz + triple toe
• Losing speed through his camel spin but the positions were good
• Nice triple loop
• What I really appreciate about him is that he embraces who he is as a skater and packages himself in a way that shows off all of his best qualities and masks his weak points
• Nice step sequence with good flow and variety of movement
• Bobbles into the triple axel, took another turn to try and get into it again but pops it
• Triple salchow + double toe
• Step out and hands down on a triple flip
• Split jump into a triple loop very difficult
• Great low sit position with lightning fast speed

Group 3
Philip Warren: 57.77 TES + 60.02 PCS = 116.79 Total: 183.27 and into 9th place

• Nice triple lutz
• Triple axel down on his side, puts his hand down and then his body slides out from under him
• Good triple flip
• Traveling a bit and not a lot of speed through the sit spin
• A little slow through the footwork, he could really push more through this element
• Triple axel nice in the air flip out and hand down
• Popped his lutz but adds on a double toe
• Hand down on the triple loop
• A little slow through the camel spin and an awkward jump in the middle with no change of foot or position
• Good triple loop
• Triple toe + double toe

Brandon Mroz: 69.44 TES + 67.92 PCS = 136.36 Total: 202.42 and into 2nd place

• Good quad toe
• Triple axel + triple toe nicely done
• Triple flip + double toe
• A little rough in the transitions in his first spin stepping right into a camel spin with maintained speed on both legs but he could have a much better catchfoot
• Triple loop
• Sits down on his triple axel
• Triple lutz + double toe
• Triple loop hand down
• Awkward music cut in the middle of his spin
• Triple lutz
• Ended after his music

Adam Rippon: 75.08 TES + 78.14 PCS = 153.22 Total: 229.87 and into 1st place

• He hit the boards in warmup and cut his hand and had to be treated by the medics when he came off the ice
• Triple axel off in the air but he lands it and adds the double toe
• Rippon triple lutz
• Double axel
• I feel like this costumes is a whole lot less Mad Men and a whole lot more Incredibles
• Good speed in the twisted sit spin losing a little bit of speed in the back tuck position
• Triple axel has to put the back foot down
• Triple flip + triple toe
• Triple lutz down on the side but pulls off the half loop triple salchow
• Popped his loop
• Double axel
• Leg a little too far forward in the twisted camel spin but ending with a nice layback

Jonathan Cassar: 58.90 TES + PCS = 129.46 Total: 196.49 and into 4th place

• Triple lutz + double toe
• Double axel flip out
• Triple flip two footed
• Good camel positions but could have more speed
• Some difficult one foot sections in his step sequence but not all of the turns were clean
• Nice triple loop + double toe
• Triple lutz
• Triple salchow forward on the landing but he hangs on to it
• Double axel + double toe + double loop
• Losing speed through the sit spin
• Nice toe point in the triple loop
• Beautiful spread eagles in the choreographic step sequence
• Good positions in the final spin but finished a beat behind his music

Jason Brown: 72.40 TES + 78.84 PCS = 149.24 Total: 223.29 and into 3rd place

• Good double axel
• Triple axel (two footed) + triple toe
• Spiral into triple lutz and just sites down on the landing
• Good positions in the camel spin with a really nice catchfoot picking up speed
• Good triple loop
• Triple axel two foots it and falls
• Great spin combination with a nice arched catchfoot and great speed
• Ina Bauer into a triple lutz half loop triple salchow
• Good one foot sequence in his steps
• Triple toe + double toe just squeaked that one out
• Nice double axel
• Losing speed through the change of foot in the final combo spin but interesting positions

Group 4
Max Aaron: 96.39 TES + 79.48 PCS = 175.87 Total: 255.00

• Nice quad salchow + double toe
• Nice quad salchow--great way to start his program
• Sit spin into a scratch spin
• Nice character in the step sequence, very laid back 
• Decent camel spin position into an A-frame and a back tuck with speed maintained throughout
• Insane how he's backloading this program with so many jumps
• Huge triple axel turns out of it and tacks on the double toe
• Nice triple lutz
• Nice triple axel right on the music
• A little slow on the sit spin
• Triple toe half loop triple salchow
• Triple flip
• This is a really smart program for him as it suits his personality and really showcases his skating
• Triple loop
• Standing ovation for that stellar performance

Richard Dornbush: TES + PCS = 151.15 Total: 228.81 and into 3rd place

• Hand down and almost sitting on the ice on the quad toe but managed to save it from being a fall
• Another quad toe same problem on the landing as before
• Popped the axel
• Good camel spin into a really nice sit spin grabbing his leg
• He's such a great character skater and is a wonderful performer no matter the style
• Double lutz + double toe with both arms overhead on both jumps (intended to be a triple on both jumps)
• Nice triple axel + double toe + double loop
• Triple loop
• Interesting entry to the sit spin but doesn't seem to have enough speed going into it
• Triple flip
• Triple lutz
• Camel spin into a good donut and picking up speed through the sit spin

Ross Miner: 86.08 TES + PCS = 170.30 Total: 251.29 and into 2nd place

• Nice quad salchow
• Good triple axel + double toe
• Singles the axel
• A little slow on the change of position in the sit spin
• He has such speed and power across the ice it's rare to see him miss a jump
• Triple lutz + triple toe tight but he hangs on to it
• There is a nice gentleness to his step sequences and they really blend into the program as a whole
• Triple lutz + half loop + triple salchow
• Good positions in the combination spin with nice toe point in his sit position
• Triple loop
• Triple flip
• Great to see him let lose in this final step sequence
• Spread eagle into a double axel
• Good changes of position in the final spin but losing centering through the scratch spin

Jeremy Abbott: 78.03 TES + 88.20 PCS = 165.23 Total: 249.33 and into 3rd place

• Quad toe and a fall
• Triple lutz
• Great back cross upright spin into a nice upright catch foot spin right on the music
• Triple axel + double toe with a slight hesitation in between
• There is just so much in his skating and he uses every muscle in his body to tell a story
• Nice transition in that spin from the sitting position to the upright with good positions and maintained speed throughout
• Big triple axel right on the music
• Triple flip nice stepping right up into a flying sit spin with a good twisted variation
• Triple lutz + triple toe 
• Doubled the loop but added a double toe
• Popped the salchow
• The choreography and transitions in this program are just exquisite, shame about the jumps

Joshua Farris: TES + PCS = 165.04 Total: 244.82 and into 4th place

• Really nice triple axel + triple toe
• Quad toe toe footed landing and a fall
• Triple lutz + double toe
• Difficult entry to the sit spin but he could use a bit more speed 
• Flying camel spin with a catchfoot nicely done
• Really great height and nice landing on the triple axel
• Great choreography in his step sequence and nice quality of movement but I'd like to see a bit more facial expression from him to really carry off the feeling of the program
• Triple flip
• Triple loop
• Triple flip + double toe + double loop nicely done
• Triple salchow nicely done
• Good camel spin position into a nice sit spin and catchfoot upright spin

Place	Start No.	Name	Short Program		Free Skate		Total Score
			Place	Score	Place	Score
1	16	Max Aaron, Broadmoor SC	4	79.13	1	175.87	255.00
2	18	Ross Miner, SC Of Boston	2	80.99	2	170.30	251.29
3	19	Jeremy Abbott, Detroit SC	1	84.10	3	165.23	249.33
4	20	Joshua Farris, Broadmoor SC	3	79.78	4	165.04	244.82
5	13	Adam Rippon, SC of New York	6	76.65	6	153.22	229.87
6	17	Richard Dornbush, All Year FSC	5	77.66	7	151.15	228.81
7	7	Alexander Johnson, Broadmoor SC	12	65.20	5	159.29	224.49
8	15	Jason Brown, Skokie Valley SC	7	74.05	8	149.24	223.29
9	12	Brandon Mroz, Broadmoor SC	10	66.06	10	136.36	202.42
10	3	Stephen Carriere, SC Of Boston	17	62.77	9	138.53	201.30
11	14	Jonathan Cassar, All Year FSC	8	67.03	14	129.46	196.49
12	6	Douglas Razzano, Coyotes SC of Arizona	14	63.31	13	129.68	192.99
13	1	Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Washington FSC	16	62.85	12	129.92	192.77
14	4	Wesley Campbell, Colonial FSC	20	57.24	11	134.51	191.75
15	9	Grant Hochstein, SC of New York	11	65.68	17	122.89	188.57
16	10	Keegan Messing, Alaska Assoc of Figure Skaters	13	64.06	16	123.28	187.34
17	2	Harrison Choate, SC Of Boston	19	57.66	15	129.45	187.11
18	11	Philip Warren, All Year FSC	9	66.48	19	116.79	183.27
19	8	Sean Rabbitt, Glacier Falls FSC	15	62.87	18	118.79	181.66
20	5	William Brewster, Detroit SC	18	58.62	20	111.51	170.13
EW		Evan Lysacek, DuPage FSC

US Nationals Senior Men's Short Program

Group 1
Max Aaron: 45.49 TES + 33.64 PCS = 79.13

• They started the wrong music for him so he took a few seconds to reset while they found the correct music
• Really big quad salchow + triple toe--so much ice coverage he almost hit the boards with his free leg at the end of the second jump
• Big triple lutz with tons of height and flow
• Nice camel spin into a decent camel
• Big triple axel in the bonus, slightly forward on the landing but hangs on
• He could be a bit faster in some of his sit spin positions
• Starting to relax a bit in the step sequence, the crowd is really liking the choreography
• Good speed in the final combo spin but getting a bit wild and losing his edge on one of the changes of position--might cost him a Level but overall very solid

Joshua Farris: 44.07 TES + 35.71 PCS = 79.78 and into 1st place

• Huge, gorgeous triple axel
• Triple lutz very forward on the landing but manages to get the triple toe out
• Good speed in the camel spin with a good catchfoot position
• Difficult lunge into a triple flip
• Good speed and flow through the sit spin
• Nice camel position, decent A frame, good sit spin and nice upright spin 
• What I love about him is that he has the difficult jumps but is also a very expressive, lyrical skater and can get the PCS marks as well as evidenced by this nice step sequence

Richard Dornbush: 40.10 TES + 37.56 PCS = 77.66 and into 3rd place

• A little down on the left side but otherwise a nice quad toe
• Two footed and a hand down on the triple axel
• Gorgeous sit spin position
• Triple lutz + triple toe big and he fought for both landings
• I really love the expressiveness of this free skate and seeing him let go and almost skate with a bit of abandon; the musicality and the edges are nice as well
• Great camel position into a decent catchfoot maintaining speed
• Good speed through the combination spin but a little wild on the flying change of foot

Jason Brown: 38.52 TES + 36.53 PCS -1.00 = 74.05 and into 4th place

• Two footed and falls on the triple axel; under-rotated as well
• Big triple lutz + triple toe
• Great flying entry to the camel spin with a great catchfoot position picking up speed
• Stepping right into a nice sit spin
• Good triple flip
• Lots of unique elements in his step sequence, good ice coverage and musicality
• Really nice twisted camel spin and great speed throughout the change of foot combo spin

Alexander Johnson: 32.91 TES + 33.29 PCS -1.00 = 65.20 and into 5th place

• Fall on his opening triple axel but it seemed to be rotated
• Triple lutz + triple toe and he ekes out the free leg
• Nice triple flip
• Really nice illusion spins and good speed throughout the combo spin
• Really good camel position but a little wild on the change of foot and losing speed through the position change
• Nice ease and flow to the step sequence with a good variety of steps, use of his whole body, and good timing with the music
• Nice outside spread eagle into a sit spin, but he could be a tad bit lower in his position

Group 2
Harrison Choate: 27.52 TES + 30.14 PCS = 57.66 and into 6th place

• Triple lutz turn out + double toe--that's going to really hurt him points wise
• Triple flip barely holds on to the landing
• Camel spin a little slow
• Spread eagle and a big hike into the double axel
• Super fun start to his step sequence and he's really turning on the personality
• He's made a few mistakes here but he has a habit of rebounding in the free skate and he's looking for a score higher than Shotaro Omori's set in the junior men's event if he wants to go to Junior Worlds

Stephen Carriere: 28.80 TES + 33.97 PCS = 62.77 and into 6th place

• Nice toe point in the triple axel and good height--odd landing where he kind of bounced and looked like he was going to fall but managed to land back on his feet
• Triple loop
• Wild on the flying change of foot camel spin and it almost gets away from him
• Triple lutz + double toe with both arms up and no flow out
• I don't feel his connection to the audience in this step sequence and he has a couple of bobbles
• This just seems to be an off day for him and he's making lots of little mistakes that are really going to add up
• Nice headless scratch spin to end his short program

Jonathan Cassar: 31.67 TES + 35.36 PCS = 67.03 and into 5th place

• Really nice triple lutz + triple toe
• Gorgeous spread eagle into a double axel
• Nice stretch through his sit spin but losing speed through the tuck position
• Really nice toe point and a great ride out on the triple loop
• Beautiful edge work in his step sequence, great flow and power across the ice and nice use of his arms and upper body to complete the picture
• Outstanding inside spread eagle 
• Nice broken leg camel spin but might have ended slightly after his music
• Partial standing ovation

Wesley Campbell: 25.57 TES + 31.67 PCS = 57.24 and into 9th place

• Good triple lutz
• Step out on the triple flip but adds a double toe
• Decent positions in his combo spin but a little slow
• Good double axel
• I feel like he's holding back on this step sequence and could be a little less cautious and really go for it; he also could do more with his arms to finish off the movement
• Decent camel spin into a catchfoot but slow throughout

Philip Warren: 35.37 TES + 31.11 PCS = 66.48 and into 6th place

• Triple flip + triple toe good
• Really big triple axel
• A little off on the triple lutz and has to step out and put a hand down
• He never quite gets centered on the camel spin
• Good choreography in his step sequence but I feel like he could give it a bit more to really give it the suave factor the music calls for

Group 3
Armin Mahbanoozadeh: 30.84 TES + 33.01 PCS -1.00 = 62.85 and into 8th place

• Fall on the opening quad toe
• Nice triple axel right on the music--really fights for the landing though and hangs on to it
• Good camel spin position and speed with a nice catchfoot
• Triple lutz + triple toe, really tight and scratchy and falls out
• Losing speed in the sit spin
• He has some really nice choreographic elements in the step sequence but I think the jump errors have sapped his performance and he's not skating this to the best of his ability
• Nice positions in the combo spin with good speed and good flexibility

Adam Rippon: 39.97 TES + 37.68 PCS -1.00 = 76.65 and into 4th place

• Really nice triple axel
• Triple flip + triple toe and he can't hold on to the second jump and falls
• Gorgeous Rippon lutz with great ride out
• Nice camel spin position with a good catchfoot and picking up speed
• Beautiful step sequence with good changes of edge
• Nice layback spin with great arms on a musical highlight
• This is one of those programs that seems to fly by and you just want it to keep going

Sean Rabbitt: 31.54 TES + 31.33 PCS = 62.87 and into 9th place

• Triple lutz fall out and no combo
• Triple salchow + triple toe nicely done
• Losing speed through the back tuck position in the sit spin
• Nice double axel in the bonus which makes up some of the points
• Good catch foot camel spin and really nice camel position but I'm not crazy about his hands in the spin
• He has some really nice lines in the step sequence and really stretches through his arms and leg to create nice pictures
• Good speed in the camel to start off his final combo spin

Keegan Messing: 32.53 TES + 32.53 PCS -1.00 = 64.06 and into 9th place

• Triple axel was huge, turned out of it but kept his free leg up
• Hard fall on the quad toe
• Neat spread eagle, kick jump into a sit spin with a nice low position
• Tons of energy in this step sequence with lots of edges and personality
• Good camel position but losing speed through the catchfoot
• Triple lutz + triple toe--in the bonus and not sure how he held on to those landings but he did
• Good speed on the final spin and finished just a hair after his music

Douglas Razzano: 31.89 TES + 32.42 PCS -1.00 = 63.31 and into 10th place

• Doesn't really get a good take off on the triple axel and took a really rough fall 
• Triple loop a little off in the air and held onto the landing even though he turned out of it
• Nice triple toe + triple toe
• Nice camel spin position and picking up speed through the catchfoot
• That fall seemed to throw his whole program off and really just took all the performance out of it

Group 4
William Brewster: 30.04 TES + 28.58 PCS = 58.62 and into 14th place

• Triple salchow + triple toe, a bit of a step out on the second jump
• Nice double axel with good ride out
• Slow and not a lot of flexibility on the camel spin
• Triple lutz flip out
• Interesting variations in the combo spin but losing his centering
• Nice musicality in the step sequence and good stretch through his arms and legs but I think he could play up the quirky theme of the program a bit more
• Sit spin right into the ending pose

Brandon Mroz: 31.42 TES + 34.64 PCS = 66.06 and into 8th place

• I really like his opening choreography but I feel like he just needs to sell it a bit more
• Quad toe and barely hangs on
• Triple axel step out
• Nice camel spin position and good change of foot with a good catch foot
• Triple lutz + double toe--can't quite get the 3rd rotation and no flow out
• This is a really well choreographed program and I'd love to see him just go for it because I think he has the capability to get good PCS scores if he just relaxed and let the program happen
• Nice a frame into a broken leg sit spin and ending with a scratch spin

Jeremy Abbott: 42.92 TES + 41.18 PCS = 84.10 and into 1st place

• Triple flip + triple toe nicely done
• I really love this program for Jeremy and think it really contrasts well with his lyrical free skate
• Nice triple lutz
• Nice sit spin position with a great toe point and nice flow out of the spin
• Hit the triple axel
• Now that the jumps are landed he's in his element and there is so much interesting choreography in this step sequence and Benji Schwimmer really did a great job bringing this character to life for Jeremy
• Nice speed and position in the camel spin but losing a little speed through the change of foot--great scratch spin right into the ending pose

Ross Miner: 42.10 TES + 38.89 PCS = 80.99 and into 2nd place

• Quad salchow maybe a little two footed but nicely done
• Big takeoff into the triple axel
• Interesting spin variations with nice speed
• Triple lutz + triple toe lands it in the bonus with an arm flourish and good flow out of it
• Good camel spin with a flying change of foot and a decent catch foot position
• He is having the skate of his life and loving it out there on the ice tonight!
• I love his speed across the ice and he has really snappy feet in this step sequence
• Good speed in the sit spin with a good tuck position
• Ross really came to challenge this year!

Grant Hochstein: 34.35 TES + 32.33 PCS -1.00 = 65.68 and into 11th place

• Nice triple axel with an arm flourish on the landing
• Fall on the triple lutz--leaning back a bit on the takeoff and he can't tack on the intended combo
• Good tuck position in the sit spin
• Great outside, inside edge spread eagle across the rink into a triple flip + double toe
• Nice camel spin and a good catchfoot after the change of foot
• Nice movement in the step sequence, very fluid across the ice and good use of his whole body
• Lots of speed in the final combo spin through the change of foot and position

Place	Start No.	Name	Score
1	18	Jeremy Abbott, Detroit SC	84.10
2	19	Ross Miner, SC Of Boston	80.99
3	2	Joshua Farris, Broadmoor SC	79.78
4	1	Max Aaron, Broadmoor SC	79.13
5	3	Richard Dornbush, All Year FSC	77.66
6	12	Adam Rippon, SC of New York	76.65
7	4	Jason Brown, Skokie Valley SC	74.05
8	8	Jonathan Cassar, All Year FSC	67.03
9	10	Philip Warren, All Year FSC	66.48
10	17	Brandon Mroz, Broadmoor SC	66.06
11	20	Grant Hochstein, SC of New York	65.68
12	5	Alexander Johnson, Broadmoor SC	65.20
13	14	Keegan Messing, Alaska Assoc of Figure Skaters	64.06
14	15	Douglas Razzano, Coyotes SC of Arizona	63.31
15	13	Sean Rabbitt, Glacier Falls FSC	62.87
16	11	Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Washington FSC	62.85
17	7	Stephen Carriere, SC Of Boston	62.77
18	16	William Brewster, Detroit SC	58.62
19	6	Harrison Choate, SC Of Boston	57.66
20	9	Wesley Campbell, Colonial FSC	57.24
EW		Evan Lysacek, DuPage FSC