As is often the case, I found myself very excited for the men's event, in this case more than any other event overall. Most of the men did not disappoint.
They did look especially exhausted after the free overall. Most of the men looked like they were going to pass out by the time they got off the ice. It may be early in the season, but you would think we were at a high altitude with the way they looked getting off the ice. I'm wondering if some of them were sick or something, because there was definitely something off about almost all the men.
Yuzuru Hanyu made his season debut here, and there was no shortage of buzz around him. I had never seen him skate live before, and he did not disappoint.
It still blows my mind though, that so many people would fly from Japan to Barrie just to watch him skate. Many people came just to watch the men's event both days.
Both of Hanyu's programs are stunning. I like both of them more than last season's programs. They accentuate all of the best in his skating.
It was too bad the sound system ruined his short program music. All I could hear was the speakers buzzing the entire time he skated his short program. That took away a little from the impact of the program.
As per usual, the skating itself was great, and the jumps were mostly very good. He was a little shaky, and did have a fall in the free.
I am a big fan of these new programs, and I'm excited to see how he matches up to Patrick Chan and Javier Fernandez this year.
Nam Nguyen got the silver medal here, with a personal best short program score. He blew his former personal best out of the water this week. Beating it by almost 10 points.
I definitely prefer this year's free to last year's, and overall I like his choreography much better than last season. For next year though, I'd like to see Nam with a more upbeat short.
He can do fun, they'll just have to make sure his choreography doesn't look as young as last year, but the fun programs do suit him, which is pretty rare in men's skating today. It would be nice to see him take advantage of that and stand out a little more.
Working with Jeff Buttle has definitely been good for Nam. With the more mature choreography, he has clearly been working hard on his skating skills, which will go a long way in helping him compete against Hanyu, Fernandez, and Chan.
Watching him practice though, it's pretty clear his edge quality is not as good as some of the top men, and though it's come pretty far, it's not anywhere near far enough to break into the top.
Sean Rabbitt of the USA made his international debut here. Though his jumps are shaky, he has a couple of things I love in a skater.
The thing about Sean Rabbitt is he really looks thrilled to be on the ice. That makes the audience and the judges enjoy a performance more. When skaters look miserable on the ice, it can take away from audience perception and also PCSs.
Sean Rabbitt also has everything he needs for great PCSs. His skating skills are very good. He has good choreography that he does well, and since he looks so happy it makes it all seem a little easier.
He certainly made a splash at his first international, finishing third, beating out his teammate, Alexander Johnson. He had a pretty good short and a strong free. We'll probably be seeing a whole lot more of Sean Rabbitt over the next few years.
Alexander Johnson had some serious under-rotation issues. Between the two programs he had four under-rotation calls.
I like Johnson well enough as a skater, but it was hard to stand out in an event like this, and even though he skated well, it didn't quite measure up to the top three men.
The other men were all pretty good. Lots of the men struggled with endurance in the free.
I did hear rumors that Meng-Ju Lee had recently suffered from a concussion, which would explain at least some of his issues during his programs, though if he did have a concussion I would hope his coaches would try to get him to withdraw, especially from a competition this small.
