2018-19 Thoughts on skating, programs, and skaters!

[hoodie axel]

What are your thoughts on the 2018-19 season? Which skater is most improved? Which program did you like the most? What would you like to see next season?

 

I realized halfway through that the post-Olympic season is always a mess, and I should disentangle myself from skating for a bit

 

Men:

 

I thought Boyang Jin improved his PCS quite a bit, and is an excellent skater now in his practices. He still needs to pull it all together in the competitions, though, but given what was happening this season, it's understandable. Hope next season is much better.

 

Shoma Uno didn't show huge improvements, but he did perform his SP different to what I associate with Loco, and I was right that he would be leaving his LP relatively "empty" to fill it with a more mature presence, which somewhat worked.

 

Nathan Chen continues to bore me.

 

I was unimpressed with Jun Hwan Cha this season, although I liked him very much at the Olympics.

 

Ladies:

 

Kaori Sakamoto, Rika Kihira are amazing talents.

 

Alena Kostornaia, I found quite overrated when it comes to people's praises for her. But, she was junior this season, and for that level her quality is great.

 

Pairs:

 

Sui and Han are the best skaters skating currently, and I would love to see what they do next.

 

I hope Boikova/Kozlovskii develop to their potential.

 

ID:

 

I enjoyed nothing and nobody this season, but P/C are great talents.

[yuzuangel]

Men:

Boyang Jin - I think Boyang HAS considerably improved his PCS side of things and a lot of his jumps are "out of nowhere" now with transitions. His expression has improved as he's clearly taking dance and acting seriously. His programs are too "normie" for me but I can see where he has been spending time -- perhaps to the detriment to his jumps. Hope he stays healthy for Beijing 2022.

 

Junhwan Cha - I think he has potential as he has good skating skills and beautiful long limbs but he still has a ways to go before being really polished and engaging as a performer. The R+J program is cute but cheesy, lol. He started the year off so well but kind of just burned out at the end.

 

Nathan Chen - I liked his FS music by itself but I think his programs are worse than last year's. Thought it was funny they played Nemesis as his encore for the Gala because it's like saying neither of his programs this year would really be a smash encore and they were right (IMO). Really glad they fixed the hair. 

 

Shoma Uno - sort of the same stuff as always. 

 

Kevin Aymoz - everyone is raving about him which is cool, since his programs are unique and very showman-like, and he has decent skating skills. I like the short ... but the free skate feels like too many moves that make me feel a bit unsafe/uncomfortable LOL.

 

Vincent Zhou - I find he tries hard to perform, but he lacks the finesse to not even stand out in a positive way, but to blend in among everyone else in terms of SS. Also he kind of comes off as trying to be Yuzu? Idk just a sense I get from his skating and his mannerisms on and off the ice XD

 

Ladies:

Rika Kihira - love both programs, ESPECIALLY beautiful storm. That music is perfect for her. It goes with her 3As so well and just builds. Dramatic stuff. Lovely costume and I like that she wears her hair down.

 

Kaori Sakamoto - She has some magic ability to make elevator music fit her really well despite being an athletic, energetic skater. But this year her polish and flow and SS have clearly improved.

 

Alina Zagitova - Unfortunately I don't like both programs. Her jumps are no longer look as effortless as they used to be. The music cuts are unpleasant and her movements are jerky and not aesthetically pleasing. 

 

Evgenia Medvedeva - I really love the new SP (Tosca). I love the step sequence although she could sell it a tad bit more. The FS is fine but not as engaging. Not as many aha moments as the short to me.

 

Elizabet Tursynbaeva - TBH I don't really have much of an impression of her programs. But 4S! Cool.

 

Eunsoo Lim - I don't like how they gave her a recycled Mariah program complete with "heart" choreography. That cutesy number doesn't look good in a free skate, either. It works way better as an SP. But Eunsoo has a lot of firepower in her skating.

 

Satoko Miyahara - She's polished and poised as ever but I find she doesn't have the power that really excites me. 

 

Bradie Tennell - It's cool to see her try a lot of things and go outside of her comfort zone with the dark and dramatic SP and FS and the -3Lo combo. Not very many American women like to shake things up so I commend her for that. But she didn't quite pull it off, there's just something sorta stiff and unnatural about her movements.

[anski]

Men:

I got very teary when Javi performed Malagueña and Man of La Mancha at Europeans. It was a beautiful rendition to his country and his career and an amazing goodbye to an amazing career.

 

Yuzuru’s programs this season were my favorite of his and I’m so sad about his injury. He keeps doing something different and he keeps being one of the most complete skaters ever.

 

Kolyada’s Carmen is one of my favorite Carmens but I get anxiety every time he skates it because it can go very good (Worlds) or very bad (Europeans).

 

Kevin was a surprise and a great future for Europe. Not my favorite skating style but I appreciate another European performer now that Uncle Majorov has retired.

 

Talking about Uncle, I adore his Hey Pachuco exhibition but his programs are too bizarre for me this season (I enjoy the sparkly tie, tho!). His brother surprised me with a very energetic short (THAT’s how you skate to guitar music) but I feel like he could have done more with his free skate (I adore the Addams music).

 

Shoma keeps being Shoma. I’m so sad about his performance at Worlds. Nothing has changed much choreography or style wise. He’s one of my favs.

 

Nathan’s jumps impress me but his programs are a bore.

 

Matteo and Daniel got me really excited about the future of European skating and I’m rooting for both of them. Matteo’s Ghostbusters exhibition is one of my favorites, as is his program to Queen.

[hoodie axel]

18 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Kevin Aymoz - everyone is raving about him which is cool, since his programs are unique and very showman-like, and he has decent skating skills. I like the short ... but the free skate feels like too many moves that make me feel a bit unsafe/uncomfortable LOL.

I think he is showing great skill, but I don't always feel engaged with him...

 

18 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Vincent Zhou - I find he tries hard to perform, but he lacks the finesse to not even stand out in a positive way, but to blend in among everyone else in terms of SS. Also he kind of comes off as trying to be Yuzu? Idk just a sense I get from his skating and his mannerisms on and off the ice XD 

I think he has an off-putting persona on the ice, and comes off as a try-hard. He's very young... but I didn't feel that about the others on your and my lists who've already passed that age. He's quite generic, agreed. Kind of weird they are going with him, because nothing stands out (except his UR technique).

 

18 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Alina Zagitova - Unfortunately I don't like both programs. Her jumps are no longer look as effortless as they used to be. The music cuts are unpleasant and her movements are jerky and not aesthetically pleasing. 

Agreed. She needs work, and I hope her coaching team take help from some Russian ID teams.

 

18 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Evgenia Medvedeva - I really love the new SP (Tosca). I love the step sequence although she could sell it a tad bit more. The FS is fine but not as engaging. Not as many aha moments as the short to me.

I like the short better than the previous one, and she became quite assured as the season closed. But her skills are still lacking, and I dislike the fact that she was propped up yet again.

 

18 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Elizabet Tursynbaeva - TBH I don't really have much of an impression of her programs. But 4S! Cool.

4S< But agreed, nothing stands out.

 

18 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Eunsoo Lim - I don't like how they gave her a recycled Mariah program complete with "heart" choreography. That cutesy number doesn't look good in a free skate, either. It works way better as an SP. But Eunsoo has a lot of firepower in her skating.

She's a great talent, and I hope her future is secure. I think she could be very versatile.

 

18 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Satoko Miyahara - She's polished and poised as ever but I find she doesn't have the power that really excites me. 

I think this unfortunatley stands out more with the LP, because that needed a great power and drama that she lacks for me.

 

18 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Bradie Tennell - It's cool to see her try a lot of things and go outside of her comfort zone with the dark and dramatic SP and FS and the -3Lo combo. Not very many American women like to shake things up so I commend her for that. But she didn't quite pull it off, there's just something sorta stiff and unnatural about her movements.

Quite gangly.

[yuzuangel]

8 hours ago, anski said:

Kolyada’s Carmen is one of my favorite Carmens but I get anxiety every time he skates it because it can go very good (Worlds) or very bad (Europeans).

 

Yeah Kolyada's Carmen is one of the best! Like, who knew you could make Carmen look good and not generic haha. I just hope he could get out of his head because when he skates well, it's really beautiful, but you could still tell he's in his head being all like "please DON'T fall." Wish he could channel that nervousness outward the way Yuzu does. Then he could really have strong performance qualities. 

 

I also liked Brezina's rock programs.

 

And excitd for Matteo's rise as well. 

 

I really liked Trusova's long program, or at least the first half of it. It works ridiculously well for her strengths (highlights her fearlessness). I love Anna Shcherbakova's SP (it's my favorite of all the 3A programs). Alena Kostornaia is, of course, a ballerina on ice with wonderful pure skating, but to me she looks really good when you watch a gif of a moment (she has many beautiful moments) but her choreography seems like a string of "beautiful moments" with no coherent "storyline" to me, if that makes sense? Like I think falling leaf and split jumps should be used sparingly (they're kind of like tanos -- too many and it becomes filler). But it's me being extremely picky though. Haha.

[anski]

17 minutes ago, yuzuangel said:

Yeah Kolyada's Carmen is one of the best! Like, who knew you could make Carmen look good and not generic haha. I just hope he could get out of his head because when he skates well, it's really beautiful, but you could still tell he's in his head being all like "please DON'T fall." Wish he could channel that nervousness outward the way Yuzu does. Then he could really have strong performance qualities. 

 

I also liked Brezina's rock programs.

 

And excitd for Matteo's rise as well. 

 

I really liked Trusova's long program, or at least the first half of it. It works ridiculously well for her strengths (highlights her fearlessness). I love Anna Shcherbakova's SP (it's my favorite of all the 3A programs). Alena Kostornaia is, of course, a ballerina on ice with wonderful pure skating, but to me she looks really good when you watch a gif of a moment (she has many beautiful moments) but her choreography seems like a string of "beautiful moments" with no coherent "storyline" to me, if that makes sense? Like I think falling leaf and split jumps should be used sparingly (they're kind of like tanos -- too many and it becomes filler). But it's me being extremely picky though. Haha.

Brezi’s rock programs are amazing!!! He’s the cool uncle of figure skating 

[Old Cat Lady]

Though I've been watching skating for 25 years, I'm a lapsed fan so I can't really judge improvement on anyone who didn't skate at 2018 Olympics and Worlds or was a top skater at major events before that.  With that in mind...

 

Men

Hard to pick most improved between Boyang and Nathan because they both made trade offs.  Boyang has improved so much in PCS and spins but jumps have degraded.  I also miss the playful joy from previous years. It was my favorite thing about him.  I'm hoping that next year it will be back along with quality jump landings. 

 

Nathan's jump landings and spins are better quality than last year but it's hard to look past the fact that judges once again rewarded him for stripping his programs of choreography.  I preferred both last year's programs over this year's.   Nathan gets most improved hair and skin over the course of the season.

 

Heck, maybe I'll give most improved to Yuzu.  He's the only one of the top men to upgrade his tech without sacrificing performance.

 

I'll give Kolyada the most improved program award.  It's too bad his results weren't better this year.  His Carmen deserves to be one of the iconic singles programs with that music. To think, I didn't like it when I first saw it but now I think this music was the perfect vehicle for him.  Huge step up from that horrendous Elvis medley.  

 

Shoma seems pretty much the same but less consistent.  I wonder if the pressure is getting to him now that he's expected to medal and there's been so much criticism over his silvers. I love his skating but I keep wondering how he'll fare in the coming years - he's always under rotated that 4sal by a quarter, his loop apparently required adjustment to his blade that doesn't work anymore, his flip is pretty much always under rotated to some degree, and for some reason, his 4t/3t is MIA this season. I guess he's never had much motive to correct his technique before but now that the rules have changed and he's developed a reputation, he's getting called and will have to fix at least one of his quads.  Can he?

 

In spite of the world medal, Vincent still seems about the same level as last year.  I'm also not as enamored of Cha as a lot of other people are.  His presentation still looks very juniorish to me and he's another one that chronically under rotates, except he doesn't even have higher point quads to under rotate.

 

My biggest hopes for next year: Kolyada strings together clean programs at worlds, Bubbly Boyang returns and gets rewarded for his improvements, and that Yuzu is injury free.  

 

Ladies

Since I didn't see Rika last year, I'd say Kaori is the most improved of the ladies.  Last year, my only thought when she was skating was about how boring she was.  This year, while she's still not the best performer, my first thoughts are about how powerful her skating is.

 

Tursynbaeva has also improved but not by nearly as much as her scores would indicate.  Her performance ability is non-existent.  Of all the ladies, I thought she was least deserving of her PCS scores.  

 

Alina Zagitova has probably regressed the most, both technically and artistically, which makes it even more impressive that she still ended up the top lady.  I admire her grit and am happy that she was able to get her world title.

 

Overall, the ladies programs were underwhelming but I love Satoko Miyahara's LP. She was by far the most beautiful skater.

 

Hopes for next year: Team Japan kicks David Wilson to the curb.  He choreographed so many snoozers this year.

 

Pairs

The only pair that I really loved were Sui/Han.  They emanate greatness as soon as they step onto the ice.

 

Grudging most improved is probably Zabiako/Enbert.  Their presentation went from insufferably boring to cheesy but at least they're trying and I actually find them entertaining this year.  Their elements are smoother this year and they're more polished.  Last year, I couldn't sit through a program but this year I'm able to pay attention long enough to notice the fine details like how pretty her feet are during their twist and how fast they spin on the sbs spins.  I doubt they'll ever be great performers but with time, maybe they can progress from an Elsova/Bushkov type to a Totmianina/Marinin type.

 

Best newcomers: Boikova/Kozlovskii.  Their skating is delightful and they're well matched.  I wonder if they'll ever be able to skate "big".  I think that's what it takes to get to the top these days.

 

Tarasova/Morozov same ol, same ol.  

 

Hopes for next year: T/M figure out their style and cater to their strengths rather than trying to force a style for the sake of versatility and that they're able to get their nerves under control.  That Sui/Han stay injury free.  And that Vanessa James works on being a more polished skater.

 

Dance

The one good thing about being a lapsed fan is that I haven't seen Papadakis/Cizeron often enough to be sick of them.  I can't remember when the lead ice team was so far ahead in quality from the rest of the field.  I am sick of generic ballads as a whole, but I still thought their skating was gorgeous.  The question is, will anybody improve enough to make it a competition by the time Beijing rolls around?

 

I'm not attached to any of the couples so I'm looking forward to seeing how things shake out next year.  I just want to see someone improve enough to conceivably challenge P/C

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hoodie axel]

3 hours ago, Old Cat Lady said:

[On Boyang] I also miss the playful joy from previous years. It was my favorite thing about him.

I get that this is a fan thing... But would you rather he did the same thing year after year or kept trying new things? I don't think his jumps have degraded fwiw, he's just less consistent this season. The 3A looks larger for instance. I think he was affected this season due to having more challenging programs than before and then also having to deal with the 30 second drop (and other issues). Although I do wonder what's happened to the 4S...

 

3 hours ago, Old Cat Lady said:

Heck, maybe I'll give most improved to Yuzu.  He's the only one of the top men to upgrade his tech without sacrificing performance.

His tech was the same as it was in 2017 worlds. But I'd give him Most Gritty. Well actually there was the new 4T+3A sequence, so that.

 

3 hours ago, Old Cat Lady said:

I guess he's never had much motive to correct his technique before but now that the rules have changed and he's developed a reputation, he's getting called and will have to fix at least one of his quads.  Can he?

He's being called more on his pre rotation too, I think. 

 

Also agreed on Cha.

 

3 hours ago, Old Cat Lady said:

Hopes for next year: Team Japan kicks David Wilson to the curb.  He choreographed so many snoozers this year.

3 hours ago, Old Cat Lady said:

The question is, will anybody improve enough to make it a competition by the time Beijing rolls around? [On p/c]

No

[Vulnavia]

Regarding Shoma, I remember reading last year that he was only able to make a very brief trip to Chicago to work on his jumps because he had committed to so many ice shows during the off season. He may need to rethink those priorities this year. 

[Old Cat Lady]

1 hour ago, Vulnavia said:

Regarding Shoma, I remember reading last year that he was only able to make a very brief trip to Chicago to work on his jumps because he had committed to so many ice shows during the off season. He may need to rethink those priorities this year. 

 

This makes me think that maybe a coaching change is in order.  Fixing jump technique seems like a full time job and his non-jump skating is already the best in the world.  If he needs to be sent to other coaches to fix his jumps then perhaps his coaches have taken him as far as they are able.

[Vulnavia]

16 minutes ago, Old Cat Lady said:

 

This makes me think that maybe a coaching change is in order.  Fixing jump technique seems like a full time job and his non-jump skating is already the best in the world.  If he needs to be sent to other coaches to fix his jumps then perhaps his coaches have taken him as far as they are able.

 

A coaching change would probably be best but it seems unlikely to me because Shoma has always been pretty adamant about staying with his current coaches, and about continuing to use Mihoko's choreography for all of his programs even though a lot of people have suggested that he branch out and work with other people. But at a bare minimum he should be thinking about spending as much time as possible working with Alex Ouriashev this summer. 

[Sombreuil]

Maybe Mihoko should be doing a bit of pushing, at least on the choreography front.  If he can use SLB for an ex he could try someone else for at least  the SP.  she should be encouraging him to expand his horizons a little.  Also he’s been injured and the number of competitions/shows that he seemed to thrive on a couple of seasons ago is probably aggravating that.

 

Deniss Vasiljevs has lost the momentum he had when he moved to seniors.  If a jump camp from Ghislain doesn’t do the trick maybe he ought to be thinking of a move too.

[Old Cat Lady]

On 3/29/2019 at 2:48 AM, Sombreuil said:

Maybe Mihoko should be doing a bit of pushing, at least on the choreography front.  If he can use SLB for an ex he could try someone else for at least  the SP.  she should be encouraging him to expand his horizons a little.  Also he’s been injured and the number of competitions/shows that he seemed to thrive on a couple of seasons ago is probably aggravating that.

 

Deniss Vasiljevs has lost the momentum he had when he moved to seniors.  If a jump camp from Ghislain doesn’t do the trick maybe he ought to be thinking of a move too.

 

Was Shoma still injured at worlds? I keep wondering whether that result was mental or physical.  I'm actually hoping it's physical as that's a lot easier to fix (if the injury wasn't too serious, of course).   I'm not sure how much a choreographic change would do for Shoma.  He already gets the 2nd highest PCS scores when he skates well.  

 

With Deniss, I continually wonder whether last year's worlds was a fluke or if his jumps are getting worse?  Are the jump issues a matter of coaching or does he just not have the natural jumping talent?  As much as I love ogling him, if Stephane is a poor jump coach, he really shouldn't be the primary coach of an elite skater when the jumps are so much of the score - in both TES and PCS apparently.

[hoodie axel]

1 hour ago, Old Cat Lady said:

Was Shoma still injured at worlds? I keep wondering whether that result was mental or physical.  I'm actually hoping it's physical as that's a lot easier to fix (if the injury wasn't too serious, of course).   I'm not sure how much a choreographic change would do for Shoma.  He already gets the 2nd highest PCS scores when he skates well.  

Chen will overtake him now. A choreographic change will show the judges that he is "still fighting" or whatever.

 

1 hour ago, Old Cat Lady said:

With Deniss, I continually wonder whether last year's worlds was a fluke or if his jumps are getting worse?  Are the jump issues a matter of coaching or does he just not have the natural jumping talent?  As much as I love ogling him, if Stephane is a poor jump coach, he really shouldn't be the primary coach of an elite skater when the jumps are so much of the score - in both TES and PCS apparently. 

Lambiel's own jumps weren't ever that great. They are working with Briand, though.

[Paskud]

Favourite programs

In men (outside of Zazura) definitely Nobu's YMCA program. By a mile. Pinacle of figure skating. Japan Open the best competition in season.

And if we cut out voiceovers, I loved Junhwan's silly R&J. Nice, unexpected interpretation of horribly overused warhorse.

I don't like when skaters use more than one song in program, but I really liked Matteo's FP. And StSq was so funny.

Shout-out to Jason's SP at ACI, Kevin's SP at Euros, Mikhail FP at worlds and Nate's SP at SkAm.

 

Ladies

Beautiful Storm. Sosososo good. With so many details. Finally someone with subtle and well used sound effects. I think this is one of this perfect programs (like Kaetlyn's Edith Piaf program, Wakaba's Skyfall or Yuzu's Seimei). I love how it uses Rika's range of movements. I love her rippons. I love 3s at the very end, when music calms down and everybody holds their breaths and wait for last element. And dress is fantastic. Simple, with beautiful colours and clear sparkles in shape of lightning.

Here I need to mention Rika's SP. Out of three Japan ladies SP from DW often called as boring (Mai, Kaori, Rika), Rika imo executed her the best among them and did really nice job. Maybe DW choreo suits better a skater who has good upper body movements?

 

Kaori's FP. Actual spiral sequence-3-turns-3lo. I love how her expression was improving during season. Imo she still needs to work on her carriage, but good changes are already there and I am very proud of her. And I absolutely need to mention her SP dress. It's masterpiece in so many ways and I love Kaori in deep colours.

 

This are very clear winners. Aside of this: Yuna's SP, Wakaba's Energia, Yuhana's POTO, Tomoe's Sheherezade, Haein SP, Mae SP.

Shout-outs to Satoko's SP at SkAm and Sofia's FP at SkAm and Euros.

And very special mention to Akiko's CaOI ex.

And costumes! I love Alina's SP dress, Wakaba's SP and FP from Skate Canada, Mae SP, Alexandra's both SP costumes, Anna's FP dress, Mai's FP, Yelim's FP from 4cc, Marin's FP.

Very special shout-out to Mai's SP dress from Nebelhorn Trophy and NHK. Yes, the soft pink one. I love how delicate and light it was. #justiceforpinkdresses