(Apologies for the weird formatting)
'Rank' Skater Best score I found this season
1 Cynthia Phaneuf 156.24 (At Skate Canada)
2 Myriane Samson 152.05 (At Skate Canada)
3 Amelie Lacoste 157.26 (At Skate Canada)
4 Vanessa Grenier 135.84 At East/West Qualifier
5 Alexandra Najarro 135.15 At East/West Qualifier
6 Adriana DeSanctis 131.39 At East/West Qualifer
10 Jessica Dube 122.23 At East/West Qualifer
Notably absent from the list is Dianne Szmiett, who has finished 4th at this event the last two years running, but I haven't seen any articles about why she is not listed. Maybe it has something to do with her two last-place finishes on the GP circuit this year?
Cynthia Phaneuf is the highest ranked and probably the favourite to win the event. She has a good competitive record, including a win at this event in 2004 and a 5th place finish at the 2010 Worlds. She has finished in the top 4 at Canadians all 5 times she has competed in it since her win. This year she has been inconsistent with 4th place finishes and both GP events she was in. However, the judges seem to like her because she got good components scores at both events. She even out-PCS-ed Alissa Czisny in the Skate Canada short program, and won it. If Phaneuf can keep it together technically, she should be able to win here.
Myriane Samson placed third at this event last year, which is her best placement so far. Twice she has been fifth. Her GP season this year was not amazing with a 7th place finish at Skate Canada and an 8th place finish at the Cup of Russia. Aside from that awful screechy-violin version of Bohemian Rhapsody that she is skating to, I like her skating but her component scores have not been that great this year so apparently there is something lacking besides jumps. Maybe it's just the international judges that think so, because this will be her 7th time at Canadians at the Senior level.
Amelie Lacoste was a surprise bronze medallist this year at Skate Canada. She won this event as a Junior in 2005, and as a Senior has placed 3rd once and 5th twice. I like the choreography in both of her programs this year and generally enjoy watching her skate. She might be bringing a triple loop-triple loop combination in her bag of tricks. She can really make things interesting if she skates clean!
Vanessa Grenier is the youngest so far at 18, with only 3 years of Junior GP experience. She was 2nd at this event at the Junior level in 2008 and in her two appearances at this event at the Senior level she was 8th. She competed at a JGP event this season where she placed 12th. In watching sectionals I could really see that she has a great presence on the ice and she easily won the free skate portion of the East/West Challenge and won the event even though she did not win the short program. She has a fun (if cheesy) music selection in her SP and watch for her great layback spin (it gets positive GOE). Vanessa will be a real contender to watch in the future.
Alexandra Najarro is also another champion-in-the-making. She's got presence, extension, huge jumps, and a yummy-looking donut spin. There won't be that many donut spins at this event so make sure not to miss Alexandra. This is only her second time at this event at the Senior level and while she placed 15th last year her ranking seems to indicate that she has the potential to place much higher this year. She competed in the JGP this season as well with 10th and 7th place finishes at her two events. While she nailed her SP at sectionals, her free skate included a camel spin fail, jump error, and a singled jump leaving her in second place behind Grenier. Her lack of Lutz and loop jumps won't help her either.
Adriana DeSanctis has no ISU biography which I assume means that she hasn't competed in a high-level international event or something like that. She skates nice and fast and has a presence on the ice. Watch for her interesting entrance into her back camel spin and fabulous spirals.
Jessica Dube is not ranked particularly high here but she's notable because she's an Olympian! Dube is actually a pairs skater and National Champion with her partner Bryce Davison last year. Since Davison is out with an injury this year, Dube is keeping her competitive fire going by skating singles this season. She skated at the East/West Challenge and has a really simple but lovely SP to Amelie music. I'm not sure what was going on with her but she made quite a few serious errors on her jumps in both programs. She racked up big points on PCS scores and spins though, and don't miss her spins and spirals they are fabulous. She had the top PCS scores by a mile and you clearly see the Olympian quality in her skating.
Other skaters to watch for:
- Izabel Valiquette, who has incredible spirals, a nice split-spin and split jump
- Dallas Daniel, who has exciting choreography, skates fast, and also has that interesting back camel entrance. Member of triple Lutz club.
- Daneila-Bella Favot, watch for spirals, Beillmann, split-spin
- Devon Neuls, who I will be cheering for because she is from my province, also she's built like She-Ra and brings a triple Lutz with her
- Kate Charbonneau, who has a fun program to Malaguena and brings some serious flexibility and extension. She just might have the only level 4 layback of the competition, so don't miss it!
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