The marathon that is the Grand Prix has started! I'm still #hungover from Skate America, but, ready or not, more skating is happening! How is it week 2 and I'm behind already? Anyways, here are my picks:
MEN: If Ashley vs. Gracie was the "key matchup" of last week, Yuzu vs. Patrick is it this week. Practice reports already have them both upping the technical ante (adding more quads, but of course) and both men have a stunning overall package when they put it all together. Because of the sheer number of quads he'll be trying, Yuzuru Hanyu is my pick for gold. Do I think he'll land them all? Nope. But more than Patrick Chan, who will pick up a silver medal. When it comes to bronze, I debated as SO many men in this field are unpredictable, but Takahito Mura is my gut reaction and pick for third place. I am also interested to see where Han Yan is after his Worlds disappointment and what the two American men here, Miner and Hochstein, will bring to the table this season. LADIES: Two of skating's most consistent skaters from last season meet here, with Evengia and Satoko competing in Mississauga. Though I prefer Satoko's overall skating and packaging to the reigning World champ's, Evgenia's point potential is going to be hard to beat. Honestly, it will probably take mistakes from Evgenia for Satoko to win, though I expect nothing but perfection from Tiny Queen. I will pick Evgenia Medvedeva for gold, followed by a probably underscored Satoko Miyahara. For bronze, I am tempted to pick a home country skater because, well, Canada... but I am going to give it to Mirai Nagasu, who has a *ton* of momentum to gain here with clean skates. Speaking of the Canadian ladies, it will be interesting to see where Kaetlyn and Alaine finish before they compete again for a national title in January. Also, where will Elizaveta Tuktamysheva be? WHO. KNOWS. PAIRS: Well, this one is kind of a no-brainer. Home country headliners Duhamel/Radford will win gold, and the more interesting part may be which of their difficult technical elements they manage to land at this point in the year. I'm gonna be real here and tell you my other podium picks are complete hunches and have literally NO basis in logic or data. I know Kavaguti/Smirnov are still recovering from an injury, but for some reason I think they'll improve here for silver. I'll pick Ilyusheskina/Moscovitch for bronze because they're skating at home. Newly partner-swapped Chinese team of Yu/Zhang could totally throw a huge wrench in this whole thing if they skate well, but having never competed together, they aren't a safe bet at this point. I will be interested to see how they are working as a team, and also curious to see if Denney/Frazier can build on the momentum of their Skate America silver. DANCE: We all know this storyline, don't we? Virtue/Moir are making their Grand Prix return after two seasons off, and many are curious to see how they can fit into today's dance scene. Because their return is so anticipated, because they are skating at home, and because their programs looked strong at Autumn Classic, I will pick Virtue/Moir to make a triumphant comeback win. The battle for silver and bronze is going to be a good one between Chock/Bates and Cappelini/Lannotte. The Americans are trying a completely new style this year, and I give them props for finally going for it. While they may have had lower scores in their Challenger events, I think Chock/Bates will be received better here for the silver medal. Capellini/Lannotte should safely win bronze, though a silver wouldn't surprise me either. Outside of the top three, I'm interested to see wether Hawayek/Baker can make some progress in their career after falling to U.S.'s number five spot last year. Also, Gilles/Prioir had a great moment in the short dance at Worlds; is it possible for them to get closer to the highest level dance teams in the World?
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November 2017
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