Cup of China 2015- Men

Javier Fernandez won the Cup of China, and I don't think anyone is surprised. He skated well, but he was blown out of the water by a Chinese skater very few people saw coming.

Boyang Jin got the silver here. He has amazing jumps, including a quad lutz, and not in the way Adam Rippon has a quad lutz, he does it cleanly, and in combination with a triple toe. He had four quads in the free and two in the short. There has been a debate over whether skaters will need three quads to succeed, but with Boyang Jin on the scene, they may need four. His skating skills are not amazing, but with four good quads, it's a little forgivable. He's still new to the senior scene, so his skating skills will likely come up to try to match up with Yuzuru Hanyu and Patrick Chan. All of his technical elements are pretty strong, and with some work on the skating skills and choreography, he'd be the top man in the world pretty easily.

Han Yan ended up in third, but his short program was a disaster. He managed to make up some ground in the free, but he surely would have liked better placement here. Even in the short, he was saved a little by the PCSs. His TES actually had him in 7th, which is usually his strong suit.

Sergei Voronov had the same problem as Han Yan, but with the free instead of the short. He was 3rd in the short, but 8th in the free. His technical score, like with Han Yan is absolutely his strong suit, but was second to worst in the free. He had a pretty high PCS, but I don't really get it. I don't see strong skating skills, there aren't a whole lot of transitions, and the choreography isn't great.

European Championships- Men

Javier Fernandez is one of the skaters in the men's event who has been one of my favourites, however I might be biased with his training in Toronto and the North American style to his skating. However, as great as his short program is, when the jumps don't work he loses some of the performance quality.

There is a huge difference in this skater and the one we saw at some of the grand prix events. However, his style is still my preference, and when the jumps work he is a force to be reckoned with.

Maxim Kovtun is not one of the skaters I prefer. The Russian style is certainly not my favourite, however of the Russian skaters, Kovtun is not my least favourite. Like many of the men this season, he isn't particularly consistent, and unfortunately, with his style of skating, when the jumps aren't there, there isn't a whole lot left to make up for it. Even with the significant mistakes in Kovtun's short program, the technical score was still significantly higher than the program component score, leaving him in fourth going into the freeskate.

Kovtun's freeskate brought him up significantly. He had significantly fewer mistakes and the ones he did make did not have as great an impact on his overall score.

Sergei Voronov and Alexei Bychenko are two other skaters who are not my favourites, but when their jumps are good, they have the ability to certainly make the podium here and depending on the way others skate, could stand that chance at worlds. Bychenko made a signifiant comeback after a 7th place finish in the short to finish fourth overall, and Voronov slipped from 2nd to 3rd in the freeskate. However, their programs lack the artistry of some of the other men, and can begin to feel like jump drills rather than fully formed programs.