Skate (Oh!) Canada Some More: Men & Dance Predictions

So when a competition starts on Halloween, do skaters get to dress up (and skate) like the competitor of their choice? Because it could be quite funny to see Ryan Bradley “be” Lysacek. Or Weir. Oh, what am I saying… his SP will probably put him in a Batman suit regardless.

With that said, let’s take a look at Skate Canada’s men and dance disciplines:

MEN:
Gold- Evan Lysacek (USA)
Silver- Patrick Chan (CAN)
Bronze- Sergei Voronov (RUS)

Underrotations aside, I think Lysacek’s the easy favorite here now that Buttle and Lambiel are gone. Which might very well mean that it goes to Chan or Voronov, based on what happened last week. Chan’s performance might be the most interesting to watch in any case; every Canadian fan must be eager to see how well he fills the Buttle void. Yannick Pansero and (possibly) Ryan Bradley are the only other names that might challenge the podium in an otherwise rookie-esque field.

DANCE:
Gold- Pechalat/Bourzat (FRA)
Silver-Davis/White (USA)
Bronze- Bobrova/Soloviev (USA)

According to Ice Network, the smart money is on Davis and White to win this event. Ah, well… much as I’d like to be wrong, I guess I’m putting the dumb money on Pechalat/Bourzat anyway. I’m simply trying to think the way the judges in dance seem to think, and concluding that they’d lean towards a “new” French team than a “new” U.S. team (of course I call Davis/White new the way the Grammys give well-established musicians the “best new artist” award once they finally have a breakthrough hit). Again, the absence of favorites Virtue/Moir means that bronze is up for grabs… and again, trying to think like a judge, I went Russian. Now, if I can only put faces with some of these names…!

Maybe this will help… the Clip of the Day showcases Bobrova and Soloviev in their OD from last year.

That’s it for a few days. If you’re attending the competition in Ottawa this weekend, please eat some maple pie for me!