High stakes at figure skating's last Grand Prix
NHK Trophy crucial for Olympic champ Hanyu, other stars
This is it. The NHK Trophy, which opens Friday in Japan, is the last chance for skaters to grab a spot in the Grand Prix Final.
CBCSports.ca is live streaming every short and free program in Sapporo, Japan, beginning Friday at 12:20 a.m. ET.
The results at this event will decide who makes it onto the short list of skaters — six in each competition — invited to compete in the Final in Marseille, France in two weeks' time.
Depending on how things shake out in Japan, Canada could qualify entries in all four disciplines at the Grand Prix Final for the first time since the inaugural event, held during the 1995-96 season.
Duhamel & Radford pushing boundaries
It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that two-time world pairs champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford will add another gold medal to their Grand Prix collection this week.
A win or a silver will provide more proof of their stardom, though a fourth-place finish is all that's needed to clinch a spot in the Final for the Canadians, who won their third straight Skate Canada title back in October.
I love the fact that this team continues to push the technical boundaries of the pairs discipline by adding harder and harder tricks. I'm also a fan of the way that Duhamel and Radford, season after season, have continued to try and improve their program component scores.
The Chinese team of Cheng Peng and Yang Jin, fresh from winning silver medals at the Cup of China last week, pose the biggest threat to the Canadians. With a medal of any colour, Peng and Jin will advance to the Final.
Virtue & Moir a cut above
I feel like a lone wolf in the wilderness in saying this, but I don't see the top-end rivalry in ice dance the same way the rest of the world seems to.
I'm talking, of course, about the matchup between 2010 Olympic gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, and fellow two-time world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. In a rare treat, we'll get to see the top two teams go head-to-head this week before the Grand Prix Final.
Both teams head to Japan with one Grand Prix win each this season. Both have the ability to capture a mood and a moment for an audience. Both have been together a long time. Both are wonderful ambassadors for ice dance, with each representing a very different style.
On paper, they should be close. And many people think they are. But in (my) reality, Virtue and Moir's experience, style, chemistry and chameleon-like quality to convincingly portray any character or theme gives them the clear edge.
Papadakis and Cizeron may share this ability, but it's still too early in their international career to know for certain.
A medal of any colour will put both these teams into the Final.
Hanyu hopes to match record performance
The depth of talent in men's figure skating in Japan is enormous — matched only by the zeal of the Japanese fans.
I'm hoping those fans get their money's worth at this edition of the NHK Trophy. They certainly did last year, when reigning Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan posted the highest score ever. He then broke his own record by 11-plus points two weeks later at the Grand Prix Final.
Despite his less-than-perfect performance at his first Grand Prix this season — he finished second to Patrick Chan at Skate Canada — I have no doubt Hanyu will come to life in Sapporo. If he doesn't finish in the top two, however, it will put his status for the Final on the bubble.
Chartrand faces long odds
The ladies' event is the least clear-cut for me. I think Japan's Wakaba Higuchi can challenge the favourite, Rostelecom Cup winner Anna Pogorilaya, who needs only a top-five finish to reach the Final.
That said, another couple of women are waiting in the wings who would like to take the top spot in Japan. The first is Maria Sotskova, who won a silver at her Grand Prix debut in Paris a couple of weeks ago, and who needs to finish on the podium for a Final berth. The more experienced Satoko Miyahara (the 2015 world silver medallist) and Wakaba Higuchi each have a Grand Prix bronze this season and need to stay on the podium if they want to qualify for the Final.
I'd like to see Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand do in competition what she's so well known for in practice — namely, great skating. Winning this event is the only clear path to the Final for Chartrand.
Pj's gold medal picks
Men: Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)
Ladies: Anna Pogorilaya (Russia)
Pairs: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (Canada)
Dance: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (Canada)