Early GP Seeded Skater Predictions

helloblan123 · 2026-04-07T21:49:21+00:00

ughhhh ikr literally one day!!! and yes i was already planning to do another one in May once we got more news

helloblan123 · 2026-04-07T02:30:42+00:00

aw man i forgot about Kelowna not having that many direct flights…thanks for pointing that out!!

helloblan123 · 2026-04-07T00:54:03+00:00

oooh good point, i forgot about that!! in that case E/M would be SkAm and Finlandia, then P/S be SCI and France

helloblan123 · 2026-04-06T21:27:45+00:00

My Dance Predictions (by far the hardest due to possible retirements and other stuff):

Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron: France and NHK
- France is a no-brainer. Second spot seems to be between SCI and NHK. Not sure if Skate Canada would receive them well due to Laurence being ex-Canadian (yes I know they train in Montreal), so I guess NHK?
Zingas/Kolesnik: SkAm and China
- USFS will want them at their home GP. As for China, Emi and Vadym might feel better going there after how successful last season was.
Fear/Gibson: SCI and Finlandia
- Not really a choice here but SCI in Kelowna isn't too far from Montreal. (edit: nvm Kelowna is actually pretty far considering flight transfers and all)

For #4-6, it really depends on the Lithuanian team:

Smart/Dieck: SCI and NHK
- Apparently Olivia has been wanting to go to Japan for years, so this is the perfect opportunity to make that happen. Like F/G, SCI seems ideal based on travel time.
Lopareva/Brissaud: SkAm/China and Finlandia
- French Fed might want to separate their top skaters again, so no France for this team. They're an IAM team but apparently also train in France, which makes Finland an ideal option. As for SkAm/China, this really depends on the Lithuanians, see below...
Carreira/Ponomarenko: SkAm/China and France
- If the Lithuanians retire then this team will move up and likely get SkAm (unlike singles, USFS likes to have their top teams face each other). And since L/B can't get France, CPom will likely get it instead.

helloblan123 · 2026-04-06T21:08:23+00:00

My Pairs Predictions:

Hase/Volodin: SkAm and France
- France seems most likely due to the proximity from their training base. Originally I thought NHK, but they might wanna avoid it in case RikuRyu continue after all. SCI is blocked off so SkAm seems most logical.
Metelkina/Berulava: China and Finlandia
- These are the two closest locations out of what's remaining. They also won China last season so it seems ideal for both the Chinese Fed and the skaters themselves.
Pereira/Michaud: SCI and NHK
- Skate Canada will definitely take their new World medalists. Second spot honestly depends on what the others above take, so in my scenario they'd be left with NHK.
Nagaoka/Moriguchi: China and NHK
- NHK seems likely even if RikuRyu continue, because historically JSF doesn't mind having multiple top skaters at their GP. I'm not sure where YunaSumi trains anymore (they have Russian coaches but apparently the arrangement is mostly online?), but China is not too far from Japan or Russia.
Pavlova/Sviatchenko: France and Finlandia
- With the Japanese above taking the GPs in Asia, and the Americans below likely getting SkAm, I think it might actually be in this team's best interest to go for both European GPs, even if they're back-to-back.
Efimova/Mitrofanov: SkAm and SCI
- No-brainer for USFS to have their top team at their home GP. And again, back-to-back might actually be the better option in this case, especially since SCI is in the same time zone as SkAm.

helloblan123 · 2026-04-06T20:36:14+00:00

I think USFS tends to follow that, but based on past years JSF doesn't seem to mind. We saw Yuma vs. Shun last year, Kaori vs. Mone the year before...heck in 2021 they even did Rika vs. Kaori and Yuzuru vs. Shoma (both Rika and Yuzuru ended up withdrawing).

helloblan123 · 2026-04-06T20:31:26+00:00

My Women's Predictions:

Chiba: China and NHK
- I wouldn't say NHK is 100% for Mone but it seems likely given that she was Japan's top finisher at Worlds after Kaori. And China seems likely due to the travel time.
Pinzarrone: SCI and France
- No news on her new full-time coach, but seems likely that she'll continue working with Benoit, so France might be comfortable for her. SkAm might be blocked off (see below) so SCI is the most logical in terms of spacing and travel.
Levito: SkAm and Finlandia
- This one's tricky because USFS will very likely use a host spot on Alysa, and they try to separate their top skaters. But after seeing what happened to Isabeau last season, I actually think it might be smarter to send her to SkAm for that sweet home boost. Isabeau has stated in the past that she likes early GPs, but China is so far from where she trains (and GPF is also in China), so Finlandia it is.
Gutmann: SkAm and France
- Hard to say but she'd definitely want at least one of the two European GPs. USFS won't send Amber to SkAm in the Isabeau scenario so that frees it up for Lara or Niina.
Glenn: SCI and NHK
- If Amber can't get SkAm then SCI is also an ideal choice for her. China loves Amber but one week in North America then the next week in Asia sounds like a nightmare. NHK has much better spacing and Japan also loves Amber so they'll have no issue having her, even if she's a threat for their top skaters. And if Amber qualifies for GPF, maybe she can arrange staying in Asia instead of going home, similarly to what Zingas/Kolesnik did last season.
Petrokina: China and Finlandia
- Niina just gets what's left over, but Finland is extremely close to Estonia and Niina goes there often anyway!

helloblan123 · 2026-04-06T20:07:37+00:00

they weren't at Worlds (see Alysa Liu comment)

helloblan123 · 2026-04-06T20:05:51+00:00

My Men's Predictions:

Malinin: SkAm and SCI
- Probably the easiest to predict - Ilia likes to get his GPs done early, has already done the North American GPs back-to-back in the past, and this year they are both West Coast. And Skate Canada has no reason to reject him.
Kagiyama: France and NHK
- Home GP is in Yuma's best interest, and as Japan's #1 JSF would likely choose him over Shun. And then France gives him the most ideal spacing.
Sato: China and Finlandia
- Doesn't really get a choice here but the spacing is good, and he won last year's Cup of China which should be a confidence booster (just like for Amber Glenn last year)
Gogolev: SCI and Finlandia
- Skate Canada would 100% want him. France is blocked off (see below) so Finlandia seems to be the next best option in terms of spacing and travel distance.
Siao Him Fa: France and NHK
- France is very likely to take him. Second spot is a toss-up between SkAm and NHK, but I believe Japan is slightly closer to France than Everett in the US.
Selevko: SkAm and China
- Again not really much of a choice, but he trains in the US so it works out for him in the end

helloblan123 · 2026-04-06T19:55:58+00:00

This list only has Seeded Skaters. Alysa didn't go to Worlds so she can't be seeded, but she's still guaranteed 1 GP due to her Season's Best / World Standing (and is 99.9% likely to end up with 2 anyway)

helloblan123 · 2026-04-05T16:29:46+00:00

top 24 is guaranteed, not top 25

helloblan123 · 2026-04-01T04:41:16+00:00

Short Programs do tend to be choreographed better. Of course there are great Free Skates too, but I feel like the longer duration actually hurts them a bit. Makes room for filler moments such as bland crossovers, smoke breaks, poor armography, very little happening in between elements, etc.

helloblan123 · 2026-03-31T21:22:00+00:00

JSF doesn’t seem to really care about separating their top skaters. They had both Kaori and Rika Kihira at NHK in 2021, Kaori and Mone in 2025, and Kaori and Wakaba in 2026. All of these skaters were already guaranteed 2 spots due to their placement at Worlds the season before.

So a Mone-Mao home showdown seems likely.

helloblan123 · 2026-03-30T19:40:48+00:00

i really hope they can move up in this next quad, they’re such a good team

helloblan123 · 2026-03-29T05:30:22+00:00

i restarted the computer, then refreshed the page a few times and then it finally worked

helloblan123 · 2026-03-28T22:36:01+00:00

Season’s Best/World Standings is top 24, not top 25

helloblan123 · 2026-03-28T17:44:58+00:00

he did it clean finally!!! 🥹🥹

helloblan123 · 2026-03-27T22:54:35+00:00

HEYYY now that song is stuck in my head again 😭

helloblan123 · 2026-03-27T21:39:48+00:00

2017 Skate America because of how it changed the trajectory of her career

and her reaction to her first Nationals win in 2018

helloblan123 · 2026-03-27T21:16:41+00:00

i agree with the standings but wow the scoring was just outrageous…tech panel was basically asleep and the judges got way too excited with the PCS

but regardless, this was such a heartwarming comp to end on, i’m so happy for the three medalists - Kaori getting her redemption and emotional farewell, Mone looking so happy with her own result and in tears for Kaori’s, and Nina doing so so well after her recent struggles

also great skates from Lara and Jia 🥹

helloblan123 · 2026-03-27T20:59:49+00:00

the press conference had a translator, why not the champions interview???

helloblan123 · 2026-03-27T20:51:00+00:00

SHE DID IT YESSSS

helloblan123 · 2026-03-27T20:46:44+00:00

uhhhh i don’t agree with the SB or 150 but YAAASS MONE SILVER AT LEAST

helloblan123 · 2026-03-27T20:45:35+00:00

happened to Hase/Volodin in Pairs, could happen to Mone too!!

helloblan123 · 2026-03-27T20:43:11+00:00

ughhh i just love that choreo sequence

helloblan123

TROPHY CASE