Skate Canada International 2010: Airdates & Predictions

With the next GP event being Skate Canada, the schedule ends up being infinitely more compatible with U.S. TV needs… which is why most events will run live on Universal Sports. But first, here’s the Ice Network streaming schedule: (ALL TIMES EASTERN)

Friday, Oct. 29
11:30 a.m.: Ladies Short Program
1:45 p.m. : Pairs Short Program
6:15 p.m.: Men’s Short Program
8:10 p.m.: Short Dance

Saturday, Oct. 30
2:00 p.m..: Paris Free Skate
3:55 p.m.: Men’s Free Skate
7:00 p.m.: Ladies Free Skate

Sunday, Oct. 31
12:15 p.m. : Free Dance

And as for Universal Sports… (I’m not sure what happened to the Pairs Short; didn’t see it when I checked the schedule)

Friday, Oct 29
11:30-1 p.m..: Ladies Short Program (LIVE… repeats at 3:30 p.m.)
6:00-9:30 p.m.: Men’s Short Program & Short Dance (LIVE… repeats at 10:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Oct. 30
2:30-3:30 p.m. : Pairs Free Skate (LIVE… repeats at 9 p.m.)
4:30-6:00 p.m. : Men’s Free Skate (LIVE… repeats at 10:30 p.m.)

Sunday, Oct. 31
1:00-2:00 p.m.: Free Dance (LIVE… repeats at 11:30 p.m.)

And don’t forget that NBC will bring 2 hours of Ladies Free Skate coverage this Sunday from 4-6 (NHK) and next Saturday, 11/6, from 4-6 (Skate Canada).

Time to make another round of predictions, but before I do, please know that there are some relatively slim pickings in some of these disciplines. But not to worry… such are often the situations where we find some new favorites, or rediscover old ones! (In other words… the “breakout stars” are also likely to be the medalists.)

For the LADIES:

Gold: Ksenia Makarova (RUS)
Silver: Cynthia Phaneuf (CAN)
Bronze: Agnes Zawadzki (USA)

Laura Lepisto (FIN) and Sarah Hecken (GER) are both scratched from this event, which leaves an even smaller pool of winning possibilities, which includes Japan’s Fumie Suguri (yes, she’s still on the GP circuit) and the U.S.’s Alissa Czisny. But Alissa’s gotta earn her stripes with me before I predict another podium spot for her—and for the record, I hope she does because she’s using some George Winston music I’m rather fond of in her free skate this season. So I found myself boiling it down to jumping ability—specifically, who here has a triple lutz (or better yet, a lutz combo) that we can count on, as well as at least a couple other jumps? That’s what left me with Makarova for gold, and the U.S.’s Zawadzki for bronze (now that Universal Sports has touted her as a possible spoiler for the event via this article, I fear they’ve jinxed her!). As for Phaneuf—no, she isn’t a sure bet on her lutz by any means… but this is her first big event since that surprise 5th place finish at Worlds, so I’m hoping her confidence is boosted to the rafters. (I also suspect some “home court advantage” is always possible for Canadians at Skate Canada… just a feeling I have.)

For PAIRS:

Gold: Duhamel/Radford (CAN)
Silver: Iliushechkina/Maisuradze (RUS)
Bronze: Castelli/Shnapir (USA)

Where are the original headliners for this event, you might be wondering? Dube & Davison… out with recent injuries. Kavaguti & Smirnov… apparently still recuperating from past injuries (Kavaguti required shoulder surgery this past April—color me shocked!). And as for the original U.S. top pick, McLaughlin/Brubaker… HE is now skating with someone new, and SHE is posting her poetry on Twitter (among other things, I’m sure). So my replacements for the podium include Duhamel, who medaled occasionally in GP events with former partner Craig Buntin… a Russian pair who won Junior Worlds 2 years ago, and were the #4 team at Russian Nationals last year.… and Castelli/Shnapir, the more experienced of the two pair reps from the U.S.

For MEN:

Gold: Patrick Chan (CAN)
Silver: Adam Rippon (USA)
Bronze: Nobunari Oda (JPN)

Here’s where some bigger names reside. Chan had a miserable outing last year at this event; he was competing post-injury and didn’t appear ready. So there could a strong sense of redemption lurking in his boots at this Kingston event… oh, and he has a quad now too. Rippon does not, but if he can skate anywhere close to the way he did over at the Japan Open several weeks back, I think he can claim at least silver. Oda is something of a wild card—haven’t heard much about him lately, other than that his son was born fairly recently—but if he’s “on” at all in any given year, it tends to be the first half of the season. And as a side note, I’m looking to see Canada’s Quad King Kevin Reynolds in the Top Five (if he can stay relatively clean), and would enjoy seeing Spain’s Javier Fernandez up there as well.

For DANCE:

Gold: Kerr/Kerr (GBR)
Silver: Crone/Poirier (CAN)
Bronze: Gorshkova/Butikov (RUS)

Could the Kerrs finally pull out a GP win in what may be their final GP season? They will likely face stiff competition from Crone/Poirier, who are Canada’s go-to dance team (at least until Virtue/Moir return)… but since the Scots beat out the Canadians by about 9 points at their last event (Worlds), I’m confident enough to give the Kerrs the nod here. It was between the Russians and the French (Carron/Jones) in my book for bronze, so I relied on history with my vote there.

Since it appears that they are using last year’s exhibition music (Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 by Muse) for their FD this season, here are The Kerrs, from the Torino Worlds Gala, as the Clip of the Day.