Rostelecom Cup: 9 skaters who should hold their own
Canadians Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje in good position to clinch Grand Prix Final spots
A few more skating hopefuls will be looking to secure their spots at next month's Grand Prix Final when they take to the ice at the Rostelecom Cup event beginning Friday in Moscow.
With very few exceptions, the theme of this event is "more of the same."
The exception that jumps off the page at me is 2014 Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova. Injured at the time that the Grand Prix assignments were handed out, the Russian Federation held a spot for her at the Rostelecom Cup. A second place at the Mordovian Ornament competition last month, her first competition since Sochi, suggests Sotnikova must hold her own against a tough field.
As for the rest of the field, here are nine skaters who need to build on their strong starts to the season:
Javier Fernandez, Spain — The reigning world champion had no problem holding off all comers at the recent Cup of China event; taking the title with an impressive win. He is the man to beat in Russia and will undoubtedly be the front-runner at the Grand Prix Final in front of a hometown crowd in Barcelona.
Nam Nguyen, Canada — Nguyen is looking for more experience than a medal. I am hoping that he can capitalize and improve on the two solid programs he did at Skate Canada. If the video of his quad toe/triple toe/triple toe combination in practice on his Instagram account is any indication, he just needs a little more time for the world to understand what a threat he's becoming.
Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, Canada — The remake of their short dance is perfection and no doubt has improved since it debuted at Skate Canada three weeks ago. Adding to their Skate Canada gold medal in Russia will help establish them as the team to beat this season.
Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte, Italy — I was delighted to see the 2014 world champions at the top of the podium at Cup of China. On paper, the score from their win in China was only .49 behind rivals Weaver and Poje's win at Skate Canada. Whichever team comes out on top in Russia could foreshadow the rest of the season.
Evgenia Medvedeva, Russia — The reigning junior world champion turns 16 this week. I am sure she would like nothing better than to add a second gold medal, adding to the one she received at Skate America in her senior Grand Prix debut.
Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov, Russia — I am impressed by the fact that this team continues to compete on their own terms. As veteran competitors, they have not given in to injuries or competition disappointments and continue to plough through. They earned their title at Cup of China, and would like nothing better than to come away from this competition on the top of the podium and ahead of fellow Russians and 2014 Olympic and world silver medallists Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov.
With the cancellation of the second half of the competition last week at the Trophee Eric Bompard in France, there is still some question as to how the completion of only the short programs will affect the qualification process for the upcoming Grand Prix Final.
There is still the question of how the ISU will award placement points for the skaters who were only able to complete their short programs last week before the event was cancelled in France. For some skaters, like Canada's Patrick Chan, a less than perfect result in his short program (fifth place) in France means he has to wait and see how other skaters perform this week and next to know if he will have enough to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
Pj's Podium Picks
Men: Javier Fernandez
Ladies: Evgenia Medvedeva
Pairs: Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov
Dance: Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje
Rostelecom Cup on CBC
Saturday (All times ET and streamed on CBCSports.ca)
- Ice dance free program, 5:50 a.m.
- Men's free program, 7:25 a.m.
- Pairs free program, 9:40 a.m.
- Ladies free program, 11:25 a.m.