It's Games on for Canada's top skaters
With Paris 2024 now a memory, all eyes turn to Milan-Cortina in 2026. Which makes the upcoming season especially critical in terms of earning spots for those Winter Olympics.
It’s been less than a week since the flame went out on a spectacular Summer Games in Paris. By many accounts, it’s one of the best we’ve seen in recent times, not only because of the marvellous athletic feats, but rather the sheer setting of these Olympics in one of the world’s great cities.
But quickly enough, our thoughts have turned to Milan-Cortina, Italy, and the Winter Games of 2026. And we can use that as a rather apt segue into our first primer for the upcoming figure skating season, which will be upon us soon enough (it’s already started for some with the first Challenger Series event of 2024-25, the Cranberry Cup, being held last weekend in Boston).
While it might seem rather obvious to look upon the Olympic year as the most important of the quadrennial (and you’re not wrong if you think that), from my view the pre-Olympic season (as in, the one about to begin) is rather weighty in its own right. In some ways, it might even be bigger because of its longer-term ramifications in terms of the Winter Games and beyond.
Hear me out on this one (and perhaps you might agree by the time I’m done). The upcoming season concludes with the World Championships in Boston. And that’s an event with massive implications for the Milan-Cortina Olympics. That’s because the results at TD Garden not only determine the allocation of entries for 2026 Worlds in Prague, but for the Winter Games as well. As you’ll soon see, that makes the upcoming Worlds an even bigger pressure point for Canadian skaters in certain disciplines. So let’s just say there’s a whole lot riding on that season-ending event in Boston, to be sure.
We did this same exercise a few weeks earlier a year ago, but … well, Paris. So with August now past its midway mark, here’s a quick look at where Canadians stand in each of the four disciplines, and what to look out for in the months ahead as we push closer to the most important Worlds of this quadrennial (and that’s with all due respect to the home-soil 2024 Worlds in Montreal, which were spectacular in their own way).
MEN
We hit on this in our Montreal Worlds wrap-up, and the point bears repeating once more here: things couldn’t have gone worse for Canada’s men than they did at the Bell Centre. Reigning Canadian champion Wesley Chiu and Roman Sadovsky didn’t get the necessary job done, and that means Canada is down to one men’s spot for Boston. And if Canada’s entry there doesn’t earn a top 10 finish, then the number stays at one for the Winter Olympics in Italy. That would be a bitter pill to swallow for a country with such a proud history in men’s skating as this one.
Anyways, let put the gloom and doom aside for a moment, and consider who might be that one skater charged with the above mentioned task. Conrad Orzel announced his retirement after last season, so he’s out. Given what happened at the Canadian Championships in Calgary earlier this year, when his wonky back flared up at precisely the wrong time, an asterisk has to be placed beside the name of Stephen Gogolev, who owns the talent to be a Canadian champion but continues to be dogged by the injury bug. We’ll get an early season look at him at Skate Canada International.
The interesting name to consider is Aleksa Rakic, who is brimming with confidence after his silver medal finish at nationals in Calgary and feels ready to challenge for his first Canadian title in January in Laval, Quebec. Anthony Paradis opened some eyes in Calgary with his efforts there en route to the bronze medal, but the former Canadian junior champion still needs to boost the technical side of his skating to make a bigger mark internationally.
In all likelihood, though, it’s going to come down to Chiu and Sadovsky for that coveted (and challenging) spot in Boston. Chiu exited the previous season with plenty of momentum for the next one, while some better luck on the injury and travel front figure to have Sadovsky much better prepared to challenge for his second national title in Laval. With so much on the line in Boston, may the best man truly win in Laval.
GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS
Skate America: Wesley Chiu
Skate Canada: Stephen Gogolev, Aleksa Rakic, Roman Sadovsky
NHK Trophy: Stephen Gogolev
Cup of China: Wesley Chiu
WOMEN
Everything we just said above also applies to Canada’s women, who also need a top 10 finish from someone in Boston to get a second berth at the Olympics. That last happened back in 2018 in PyeongChang, where the red maple leaf had three entries (!) at the Winter Games after Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman both landed on the podium in historic fashion at 2017 Worlds in Helsinki (Osmond would go on to earn a bronze medal at the Olympics, followed by a world title about a month later).
A year ago at this time, it seemed the path was in place for Maddie Schizas to carry the torch for Canadian women’s skating at her second Olympics (you may recall it was her two strong skates in the Team Event in 2022 in Beijing that assured Canada would qualify for the free program portion of the event, in which Canada finished fourth. And inexplicably stayed there after Russian skater Kamila Valieva was booted from the Games after a failed doping test in the months leading up to Beijing. Not going to get into that again, here, though. We already said our piece on this matter here).
But a funny thing happened on the way to Milan. A disastrous long program in Calgary opened the door for Kaiya Ruiter to win her first Canadian title, which casts the upcoming nationals in Laval in a completely different light. While Schizas still was sent to Worlds in Montreal (which was the correct decision by Skate Canada), she struggled to an 18th place finish there. All of which means there will be a definite battle for the Canadian title in January, and possibly the Worlds berth in Boston.
There will be a couple of intriguing young X-factors in Laval — last year’s bronze medallist Hetty Shi will challenge for a higher finish, and 2024 national junior champion Lulu Lin is moving up to senior domestically — but neither will be age eligible in time for the next Olympics. So for the moment, at least, it seems that precious Olympic berth (assuming there is only one) is going to come down to either Schizas or Ruiter. We’ll see who takes the biggest steps in that direction in the season to come.
GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS
Skate Canada: Kaiya Ruiter, Madeline Schizas, Sara-Maude Dupuis
Cup of China: Madeline Schizas
PAIRS
What more can you say about Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps? The Montreal-based skaters were beyond magnificent at Worlds back in March, bringing Canada its first global title in the discipline since Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford went back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. It surely was a story for the ages.
The question now is what do Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps do for an encore. They will, and should, enter the new season as big favourites to win a second World title next March in Boston. Obviously, the dynamic has changed for them now — the old going from being the hunter to being the hunted — but it’s a pretty safe bet that won’t change their desire and drive even one bit. Simply put, Stellato-Dudek won’t allow that.
We said it back in March and we’ll say it again here. After what we witnessed at the Bell Centre, these two absolutely have the goods to aim for Olympic gold in Milan. And you know they’ll take their best shot at it.
Last season had a bit of a funny ending for rising talents Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud. While the duo enjoyed a season full of success internationally — their first Grand Prix title, which led to a trip to the Grand Prix Final — they slipped to eighth at Worlds, two spots lower than their debut in 2023 in Japan. But as we mentioned at the time, maybe that was just a case of the pairs event at Worlds being that much better this time (a theory Skate Canada high performance director Mike Slipchuk endorsed here).
The good news is that Canada retained three spots for 2025 Worlds in Boston, and it’s a good bet that number will stay the same for Milan. Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier benefited from that situation in Montreal, where they made their Worlds debut at home. And they have to be the leaders for the third berth in Boston, given their rise last season.
An interesting new partnership to watch is the pairing of Fiona Bombardier and Benjamin Mimar. The latter and Brooke McIntosh were once thought to be the rising stars of Canadian pair skating, but their partnership dissolved after last season. Mimar found new opportunity with Bombardier, the daughter of former Canadian pairs champion Jean-Michel, who dipped her toes into pairs herself for the first time last season with Gabriel Farand (who has since retired) and showed promise.
GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS
Skate Canada: Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps; Kelly Ann Laurin/Loucas Ethier; third entry TBD
Grand Prix de France: Lia Pereira/Trennt Michaud
Finlandia Trophy: Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps; Kelly Ann Laurin/Loucas Ethier
Cup of China: Lia Pereira/Trennt Michaud
ICE DANCE
There were two big stories for Canada at 2024 Worlds, and ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier authored the second. Not only did their silver medal finish represent a new career high, the duo showed more is certainly possible by winning the free skate ahead of World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States. It’s what fuelled their decision to return for another season, with a possible run at a third Olympics very much on the table (thought not officially a sure thing just yet).
The Montreal Worlds were also very much a good news story for Majorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, the young Canadian duo with a very big future. They moved into the top five at Worlds, giving Canada a strong one-two punch headed into Boston and beyond. Lajoie and Lagha have future World champions written all over them (something they already achieved as juniors), and it seems to be only a matter of time before that day comes. It’s also a virtual lock, with two of the top five teams in the world, that Canada will be sending three ice dance couples to Milan.
It also shouldn’t be forgotten that Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen (who are also back this year) placed ninth in Montreal (they had been fifth the year before), giving Canada the strongest presence of any country globally, which shouldn’t be a real surprise to anyone who’s aware of this country’s prowess in ice dance over the past two decades.
There’s also more depth behind those three teams. A lot of countries would love to have a fourth team as strong as the very creative Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac, who already posted a victory at the Lake Placid International ice dance event last month and stood on the podium at the last two Canadian championships. Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer broke through for a bronze medal at nationals in Calgary, and 2023 Canadian junior champions Nadiia Bashynka and Peter Beaumont should be a year better as seniors.
GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS
Skate America: Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Soerensen; Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac
Skate Canada: Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier; Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha; Alicia Fabbri/Paul Ayer
Grand Prix de France: Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac
NHK Trophy: Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Soerensen
Finlandia Trophy: Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier
Cup of China: Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha
The big reveal … times two
Two Canadian skaters got an early start on their seasons at the Cranberry Cup in Boston last weekend. And while the matching sixth-place finishes by Maddie Schizas and Roman Sadovsky weren’t exactly news (it’s a summer competition after all. Let’s just say nobody in World silver medallist Isabeau Levito’s camp is fretting one bit over her placing third), it did give both the opportunity to put new programs in front of a panel of judges for the first time.
It’s also means we learned the music choices for both for the 2024-25 campaign. For those who don’t yet know, here’s what they came up with:
Sadovsky: (short program) “Unconscious,” by Charlie Winston; (free program) “Interstellar,” by Hans Zimmer and Dmitrii Koshelev.
Schizas: (short program) Medley from “The Lion King” soundtrack; (long program) “Danse Macabre,” by Camille Saint-Saens and others (Yevgeny Sudbin, Kent Nagano and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal).
The Challenger Series includes 11 events this season (none in Canada), but entry lists for most of them have yet to be posted. The field for the John Nicks International Pairs competition, which runs Sept. 3-4 in New York, will include Canada’s Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier.
Kaiya is leading her by a bunch after the short. Let’s see how Gabby does tomorrow.
Overall, with the exception of Kaiya, it was a pretty weak field today. The girl from Dauphin has improved tremendously over last year though! That was nice to see.
In other news, Gabby Daleman has not hung up her skates and is competing against Kaiya (and others) in the Skate Ontario even in Waterloo this weekend.