(Scroll further down to get SkCAN Ladies/Pairs predictions OR to find a link to all U.S broadcast/streaming options)
MEN
GOLD: Patrick Chan (CAN)
SILVER: Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN)
BRONZE: Takahito Mura (JPN)
DARK HORSE: Daniel Samohin (ISR)
When it comes to Chan vs. Hanyu showdowns… scratch that; I
don’t have any stats available (yet). But one thing Chan has pulled off, time
and time again, is SkCAN victories. I’m prepared to be completely wrong on
this, but in the quad pissing-yet-artistic contest that looks to unfold this
weekend in Canada
(Chan debuting a quad salchow; Hanyu going for a reported 6 quads between his
two programs), I think Chan will emerge on top in his homeland.
Samohin I have for my Dark Horse because last season he
emerged as yet another young quad powerhouse (and won Junior Worlds as a result)…
BUT… his pre-GP season was bumpy, landing him 6th at one event
(Autumn Classic) and 13th at another (Finlandia Trophy). If he can
get some of his groove back, he could be a threat for bronze.
Representing the U.S.
at SkCAN are Ross Miner and Grant Hochstein—both outstanding skaters that I
love to watch, but each has only ONE quad (can you believe we say “only one
quad” now?) and neither has been super-consistent with it of late. A top-6
finish for either/both would be lovely; if one of them steps to the podium here,
I may have to eat every cookie in the house in celebration.
ICE DANCE
GOLD: Virtue/Moir (CAN)
SILVER: Cappellini/Lanotte (ITA)
BRONZE: Chock/Bates (USA
DARK HORSE: Stepanova/Bukin (RUS)
The jury’s still out on whether or not Davis/White will
return to competitive ice dance—I, for one, think they’re doing just fine
without it—but Virtue/Moir began their third Olympic journey earlier in the
season via Canada’s Autumn Classic (where they won—surprise!). How they will
fare amongst the likes of Papa/Ciz (aka the current World Champs) remains to be
seen, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the 2010 Gold and 2014 Silver
Olympic Medalists are back in the mix.
Cappellini/Lanotte defeated both Chock/Bates AND
Gilles/Poirier earlier in the season (at Nebelhorn Trophy), which is why I’m
choosing them for SkCAN’s silver spot.
C/B are using a Christopher Dean-choreo’d version of the
Queen/Bowie classic “Under Pressure” for their FD. Let me know if you’re a
fan—the edits/mixes they chose are somewhat non-traditional (at least they were
when I saw it at Nebelhorn), but I really liked it. From what I heard, though,
some “Pressure” purists were less than pleased.
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