The first Grand Prix event starts on Friday! I will be going through each of the four disciplines, detailing any withdrawals, additions after the initial entries, giving my opinion on each skater and an overall guess of how the competitors will end up.
First up, is the Men!
There are no withdrawals, but Ross Miner was added as a host pick. He was at the top of my list of guesses, so good to know I was on the right track.
Now for the competitors, in order of country and name:
Brendan Kerry - Australia - As mentioned in my entry list, he is the first male skater from Australia since Anthony Lin in 2001. He is way outclassed in this field, and will be in the bottom two. He just doesn't have the firepower. He's the three-time and reigning Australia National Champion has been two worlds twice (2012 and 2015) where he placed 33rd and 20th respectively. This is his GP debut.
Yan Han - China - He is a talented skater, but had a rough year last year, though he managed to place tenth at Worlds. He is capable of fighting for the top five, even the podium, and won the GP event in China two years ago. This is his third year on the GP circuit.
Florent Amodio - France - He is another talented skater, but he's had a bit of a downhill slide the past few years, and that doesn't seem to be improving. He is the reigning and four-time French National Champion. His highest placement at Worlds fifth in 2012. This is his seventh year on the GP circuit. He'll most likely be in the bottom five.
Alexei Bychenko - Israel - He is on an upward swing after last year. It'll be hard for him to be in the top five, though, in this field. His highest placement at Worlds was 15th in 2014. This is his second year on the GP circuit.
Takahito Mura - Japan - He has talent but inconsistency. He has been on the podium three times at the GP, two gold and a bronze. He has been to Worlds three times, highest placement being 8th in 2013. This is his sixth year on the GP circuit. He could win or have a meltdown like he did at Worlds last year and be in the bottom five. Only time will tell.
Shoma Uno - Japan - There's a lot of talk about this one. He is a fabulous young skater and is capable of winning this outright. He is the reigning Junior World Champion. The key for him will be to keep it together in the short. His short program at the US Classic earlier was disastrous, but he had a good free skater. His free skate at the Japan Open was outstanding, and he even beat Javier Fernandez and Patrick Chan.
Denis Ten - Khazakstan - The reigning Olympic and World Bronze medalist has only won one GP medal - and it wasn't gold, it was bronze. To say he's inconsistent would be an understatement. He's also not an early season skater. He could win or be fifth. His high component scores will keep him in the top five, but other than that, it will depend on his day.
Konstantin Menshov - Russia - At 32, he's the oldest competitive singles skater. He's got the quads to compete here. He's coming off his best competition in years. He'll need his quads here, too, and will need them all in order to try and fight for a medal. If he stays on his fight, he could be in the top five easily. This is his sixth year on the GP circuit.
Adian Pitkeev - Russia - A talented up and coming skater, he lacks the components to really compete here and he didn't have the best start to his season. I can't see him being in the top five, personally. This is his second year on the GP circuit.
Max Aaron - USA - The 2013 US National Champion, he's certainly got firepower and his components have been increasing. He had a decent competition at Neblehorn. He could certainly fight for a medal here, and I can't see him being in the bottom five. This is his third year on the circuit.
Jason Brown - USA - The reigning US National Champion has one major drawback - no quad. He'll need perfection to medal here, but he is more than capable. He has not had the consistency so far this season, though, but he was fourth at Worldsa last year. This is his third season on the circuit.
Ross Miner - USA - He has talent, but he's outcalssed here. He doesn't have the consistency to keep up with the others, and he'll be in the bottom five. This is his third year on the circuit.
Predictions:
GOLD - Shoma Uno - He's got everything it takes.
SILVER - Jason Brown - With the inconsistency with some of the other skaters, if he can find his, he can meal high.
BRONZE - Max Aaron - He's got the quads.
4th - Takahito Mura - I'm crossing my fingers.
5th - Denis Ten - I don't have much faith for him this early in the season.
6th - Konstantin Menshov
7th - Yan Han
8th - Adian Pitkeev
9th - Alexei Bychenko
10th - Ross Miner
11th - Florent Amdio
12th - Brendan Kerry
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