2018 Grand Prix Helsinki: Preview and Predictions

Don’t look for Cup of China this GP season… it’s a Cup of Finland instead!

(OK, don’t look for Cup of Finland either; the official title I believe is GP Helsinki.)

Here’s who to look for…

PAIRS (starts Friday at 9AM Eastern)

GOLD: Zabiiako/Enbert (RUS)

SILVER: Ryom/Kim (PRK)

BRONZE: Stellato/Bartholomay (USA)

Could North Korea emerge from Helsinki with a first-ever GP medal? Aside from Zabiiako/Enbert being favored to win here, everything seems up-for-grabs. I therefore am taking a calculated stab in the dark to say Ryom/Kim will reach the GP podium in their very first try. Americans for bronze? I say why not.

Eyes on: Della Monica/Guarise (ITA), because they did much better at Worlds than Ryom/Kim and might make my prediction look completely ridiculous.

LADIES (starts Friday at 10:54 AM Eastern)

GOLD: Alina Zagitova (RUS)

SILVER: Kaori Sakamoto (JPN)

BRONZE: Stanislava Konstantinova (RUS)

It would appear to be Alina Z’s event to lose, though to be honest I’m about as interested in watching her take on Carmen (as she’s doing this season) as I am in watching another political ad on the eve of the election. Sakamoto seems a pretty good lock for silver here. Bronze is tougher, but I’m calling it for Konstantinova based on a fairly solid “B” season (4^th at Finlandia; 3^rd at Ondrej Nepela). Angela Wang (7^th at 2018 Nats) will represent the US this weekend.

Eyes on: Loena Hendrickx (BEL), because I said to do the same at Skate America but then she got sidelined by the flu. Here’s to second chances. (And maybe a GP medal.)

DANCE (starts Friday at 12:47 PM Eastern Time)

GOLD: Stepanova/Bukin (RUS)

SILVER: Guignard/Fabbri (ITA)

BRONZE: McNamara/Carpenter (USA)

Both my silver and bronze picks made very good impressions at Skate America a couple weeks ago (with the latter just missing bronze), but Stepanova/Bukin at Finlandia Trophy made a GREAT impression with their bluesy FD to Beth Hart’s “Am I the Only One”.

Eyes on: Spain’s Hurtado/Khaliavin. Hurtado previously paired with Adrian Diaz, who finished 5^th last week in Canada with current partner Olivia Smart. It’s been a couple years now since the Hurtado/Diaz split, so perhaps there’s no rivalry whatsoever at this point. But it’s ice dance, so I’m gonna assume the teams are keeping each other’s scores closely monitored…

MEN (starts Saturday at 6:45 AM Eastern Time)

GOLD: Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN)

SILVER: Mikhail Kolyada (RUS)

BRONZE: Jin Boyang (CHN)

Despite the fact that recent GP medalists Michal Brezina and Cha Jun-hwan are competing here in Helsinki this weekend, I’d be surprised if either was a factor against a field that includes reigning OGM Hanyu and two-time World Bronze Medalist Jin. Alexei Krasnozhon represents the U.S. here in his senior GP debut.

Eyes on: Andrei Lazukin (RUS), mostly because I think Elizaveta Tutkamysheva has predicted he’ll win, and I want to know why.