We know that two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu has won a whole lot of everything. But Skate Canada has been one of the very few competitions that he has not yet wholly conquered. He’s got another chance here this week in Kelowna, and it would be not be an overstatement to say that he is absolutely the heavy favorite to finally get the title in his fourth try.
Skate Canada International predictions
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GOLD Yuzuru Hanyu JPN - He was far from his best at Autumn Classic last month, but he was still plenty good to grab the win there. And it will be similar here at Skate Canada, where Hanyu can afford some mistakes and still walk away with the title. For him, this competition may be able to conquering a jump that he can do in his sleep - the quad salchow has been part of his repertoire for many years, but it’s been a bit elusive over the past couple of competitions for him. Getting it done this week will absolutely restore the invincibility of that jump and propel him this season.
SILVER Keiji Tanaka JPN - It’s been a while since I’ve been this bullish on Tanaka. But his performances at US Classic showed that he’s as season-ready as he’s perhaps ever been this early on. The Grand Prix will be crucial for him, especially with the likes of Sota Yamamoto and, last week, Kazuki Tomono making some splashes already. A spot on the World team will be harder to come by this season than it has been in a while for the Japanese men. If he can continue to show consistent quad salchows and quad toes, there’s a lot to like about his chances, not only for the World team, but also potentially to even move up in the Japanese ranks.
BRONZE Roman Sadovsky CAN - Might this be the breakthrough competition for Sadovsky, who has shown so much promise technically and artistically. His third-place finish at Finlandia Trophy came on the heels of a very strong short program. But he was unable to translate it into an equally strong free skate that could have shot him up for a career-defining win. If he can figure out how to put two programs together at home this week, he could find himself on the podium. One stat to note - he has competed at two Grand Prix events and did not finish higher than 10th at either one. Either way, this competition will be some sort of career best for him, guaranteed.
4. Matteo Rizzo ITA - Three competitions in already this season, the European bronze medalist has been busy early this season, trying new things out (like the quad loop). But he’s been up and down in his success rate overall. It’s been his consistency the past couple of seasons that has propelled him to the top tier of men’s skating, a bit of that this week will go a long way.
5. Nam Nguyen CAN - The first half of Nguyen’s last season was so promising. He was top six in both of his Grand Prix events, showing some of the consistency we had seen from him in years past. But after winning his second Canadian title, he had a couple of disappointing showings at Four Continents and Worlds. The season so far has been middling, with a fourth-place showing in his season debut at Nebelhorn Trophy. He does potentially have a good look at a podium finish this week.
6. Nicolas Nadeau CAN - I mean, Nadeau could be on the podium or he could be sixth or he could be 12th. You just have no idea how he is going to skate. But one thing that we do know is that he is a more-than-solid skater with a whole lot to bring to the table - powerful basics, huge jumps, great musical presence. I guess I’ll take the easy way out and split the difference.
7. Camden Pulkinen USA - Fifth at Autumn Classic to start his season, Pulkinen makes his senior Grand Prix debut this week with some confidence after that debut. He stood up an underrotated quad toe in the short and kept his head together more than we’ve been used to in the free skate.
8. Brendan Kerry AUS - The always-talented Kerry, much like Nadeau, has an inconsistency streak that could put him in all kinds of placements this week depending on which skater actually shows up here. He hasn’t had the best of luck at Grand Prix events, but he’s got the potentially to score well if he can figure out his jumps.
9. Deniss Vasiljevs LAT - Vasiljevs started with a bronze medal at Nepela Memorial earlier this season. Like a few others we’ve seen here, he is a strong all-around skater but has issues with consistency.
10. Julian Zhi Jie Yee MAS - Yee is a late entry into Skate Canada, but his home base is in Canada, so he shoudl feel right at home. He was sixth at Nebelhorn to start the season, and we’ve seen strong skating from him on the Grand Prix before.
11. Andrei Lazukin RUS - After a top 10 finish at Worlds last season, Lazukin has been a complete enigma to start this season, with a 12th place at Lombardia and a 7th place at Finlandia. Very little has worked for him so far, and unless something drastic has changed since last month, it will be tough for him to make any kind of splash here.
12. Paul Fentz GER - When he’s at his best, Fentz has some of the smoothest, prettiest jumps in the business. But with the exception of Rostelecom Cup last season, he wasn’t able to find his groove at all during the season. He’s a bit of an unknown quantity coming in this week.