Patrick Chan can silence his doubters
Skate Canada win leaves room for improvement at Cup of China
This week's Grand Prix of Figure Skating stop, the Cup of China, holds a lot of promise for Canadian skaters, who will be in a fight for the top step of the podium in all four events.
CBCSports.ca is live streaming every short and free program in Beijing, beginning Friday at 2:30 a.m. ET. You can also catch Cup of China action on our Road to the Olympic Games shows on CBC Television on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET and Sunday at 2 p.m. local time. Those shows can also be seen on CBCSports.ca.
Chan poised to shine
I was wrong about Patrick Chan when I picked his arch rival, Yuzuru Hanyu, to take the title at Skate Canada. I thought that, with the distractions of getting back into competition shape and changing coaches, Chan might not be ready.
But his victory, while imperfect, proved me wrong and has given me faith that Chan can hold off all challengers in Beijing, including Chinese jumping phenom and 2016 world bronze medallist Boyang Jin.
Although by Chan's own admission he was not at his best at Skate Canada, what he had going for him is what has always been his forte — his skating skills and stunning ability to marry movement to music. His free-program music this year is particularly soulful. It's entitled A Journey and was composed for him by fellow Canadian skater and two-time world pairs champion Eric Radford.
Chan needs to work on is his consistency with jumps in order to ensure dominance in the men's field.
Wagner's confidence soars
I would like nothing better than to see Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond continue her rise back into the ranks of skating's elite women. One woman determined to not let that happen is Ashley Wagner. The American started off the season with a win at Skate America while Osmond took silver at Skate Canada.
Both women are natural performers and have great skating skills and material to work with this season. I'm picking Wagner this week because her silver medal at the world championships in Boston last March has boosted her confidence in a way that nothing else could have.
Make sure to also take a peek at Japan's Mai Mihara, whose impressive senior Grand Prix debut netted her a bronze medal at Skate America.
Weaver, Poje playing the long game
Like Ashley Wagner, the American brother-and-sister dance duo of Maia and Alex Shibutani is still enjoying the momentum from a strong 2015-16 season that included national and Four Continents titles as well as a silver at worlds. This season, they won gold in their first Grand Prix event at Skate America. Success seems to breed success.
Two-time Canadian champions Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje missed the podium at worlds for the first time in three seasons and are looking to find the road to redemption by reinvention. I was impressed by their skating and their material in their first Grand Prix outing, the Cup of Russia, where they took the bronze medal.
If they're playing the long game, and I think they are, taking their time to get used to their new coaching arrangement with Nikolai Morozov, as well as their new programs, gives them plenty of time to find their groove before worlds.
New pairs partners pay off
What the two top pairs teams competing in Beijing have in common is their relatively short time together. Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch became a team in the spring of 2014, while Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang joined in the spring of 2016. Both women are former junior world pairs champions with other partners, while the men have each earned Olympic medals, also with different partners.
The cool thing is, in the case of both Dylan and Hao, they weren't ready to give up skating and went looking for a new teammate.
I like where this rivalry is headed. Both teams have strength and experience on their side and will be looking to solidify their place in the world rankings.
When they last met, at Skate Canada, the Chinese team took the silver over the Canadians, who got bronze. It's on the strength of that result that I'm basing my prediction, although I feel it could go either way.
Pj's gold medal picks
Men: Patrick Chan (Canada)
Ladies: Ashley Wagner (United States)
Pairs: Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang (China)
Dance: Maia and Alex Shibutani (United States