Figure skatingCanuck sweep on the cards at Skate Canada

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Canada's Patrick Chan is a favourite to win the men's event at Skate Canada. (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

The second stop on the six-city ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series is the Skate Canada International in Kingston, Ont., this coming weekend. One of the advantages of being the host country is the ability to slate three entries in each of the four disciplines, and Canadians are the frontrunners in each category.  

Though Canada was hoping to have three of its four national champions competing, ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir along with pair skaters Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison have had to withdraw due to injury.

National women's champion and Olympic bronze medallist Joannie Rochette is taking time away from competition right now, so that means two-time world silver medallist Patrick Chan will be the only Canadian title-holder at the event.

The competition begins Friday.

Men's event has strongest field

As it happens, the men's event will have the strongest field on the ice in Kingston this weekend.   

Patrick Chan has a very good chance of taking the title here, especially with his sensational and sophisticated new short program from coach Lori Nichol, which includes the addition of a beautiful quad toe.  

I am eager to see him go up against American phenom and two-time junior world champion Adam Rippon, who equals Chan in musicality and sheer "watchability." His David Wilson programs are equally exquisite.  

The spoilers will be Japan's Nobunari Oda, himself a former junior world champion, who imploded during last year's short program at the worlds in March and didn't even qualify to skate the free program, finishing in 28th place.

Moving back to his old coach Lee Barkell, in Barrie, Ont., along with marriage and new fatherhood may be the keys to put Oda back in top form.  

There are two other wildcards taking the ice in Kingston: Canada's Kevin Reynolds, who wants to be the first man to land two quads in a short program, and junior world bronze medallist Artur Gachinski of Russia, who is being guided by Evgeni Plushenko's legendary coach, Alexei Mishin.

Pairs event filled with young talent

The pairs event is marked by teams with a lack of international senior experience. The good news is that this kind of event is where stars are sometimes born.  

Canadians Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford likely have the most international experience, but with other partners.

The pair got together at the end of last season, and have the advantage of being very strong at singles' skating. That's why they are my pick to take the title here.  

I think their biggest challenge will come from teammates Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch, who are the last-minute replacements for Dubé and Davison. Their energy and athleticism reach beyond the boards.  

Also watch out for the American team of Maria Castelli and Simon Shnapir, who are attempting a throw triple Axel in Kingston. It has been done before, but is rare and always spectacular.

Crone, Poirier stronger than ever in ice dance

In ice dance, Canada's Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier are stronger than ever. The two will debut their new free dance routine in international competition, which will be done to the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby, choreographed by Olympic champion Christopher Dean.  

Fellow Canadians and 2010 world junior silver medallists Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam, along with Russia's Kristina Gorshkova and Vitali Butikov are my picks to round out the podium.  

Paul and Islam should be rewarded for their beautiful line, technique, and musicality. Gorshkova and Butikov will have an edge because their coach, Elena Tchaikovskaia, has been coaching for over 40 years and is one of the best in the business.

All eyes on Phaneuf during women's event

When the women take the ice, all eyes will be on Canada's Cynthia Phaneuf, who finished in fifth place at the 2010 world championships and is my pick to take the title here.  

She will have at least two skaters hot on her heels and looking to break through. The first is American Agnes Zawadzki, who was the junior U.S. champion and took silver at her first international competition ever, the 2010 junior worlds. She is fast, strong and many people see her as the next "It Girl" for the American women.  

The other is Russian Ksenia Makarova, who finished in eighth place at worlds in 2010 and is looking to improve in her ranking.

PJ's Skate Canada Picks

• Men - Patrick Chan, CAN
• Women - Cynthia Phaneuf, CAN
• Pairs - Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, CAN
• Ice Dance - Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier, CAN

iAsk question

If you have a question for Pj Kwong, send it here. She is more than happy to respond.  Here's what we mean.

Hi Pj,

I watched NHK Trophy on Skatebuzz and couldn't help but hear how noisy  the ice was - it sounded kind of hollow or as if skaters were skating on ice veneer atop plywood. As a non-skater, I have a question about ice thickness and temperature.  Was ice quality a factor in this competition?  I saw a lot of falls in the ladies competition. Or  perhaps the falls have more to do with early season form. Love all  your work,

Arlene in Winnipeg

Hi Arlene,

Thanks so much for taking the time to write!  It is true that ice can be a factor in competiton, although I didn't hear anything about the ice in Nagoya being a problem.  I think the quality of the performances may have had more to do with the "early-ness" in the season and maybe even jet lag induced fatigue for some of the non-Asian skaters.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for your support of skating!

Cheers,

 

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