#SCNats26: Some final thoughts from the capital region
One more time, the buzz was back at a national championships in Quebec. And with a Winter Olympics on the line, it made for plenty of dramatic moments to talk about
So we had this thought as the Canadian national figure skating championships hit the finish line last Sunday and, soon enough, it was time to board the plane home from the capital region.
Can we keep doing this in Quebec a little more regularly?
Now, we know the good folks from across the river in Ottawa had a lot to do with filling many of the seats at the Slush Puppie Centre, a gorgeous facility that is one of the finest rinks we’ve seen used for nationals in recent memory. And Ottawa has long had a reputation as being a “skating city,” at least in terms of being a top spot to hold this signature event of every season.
But 2026 nationals did mark the second year in a row that this competition was held in la belle province. And once again, we had skaters raving about the enthusiasm of the audience and — in the case of Quebec skaters in particular — having the opportunity to perform at the most important event of the season (for most of them) not far from home.
In short, it’s what this event should be like every year. It is the most important figure skating competition held annually in Canada and it is special and that’s exactly how it should feel. Now, this year, we had the chase for Olympic berths on the table, and that always adds extra excitement and drama (which we’ll get to in a bit).
But Canadians should stand on its own as something special and unique (and given that we’ve now been to 31 of these, let’s just say we should know). And it’s just felt that way the last two years in the province that previously last held nationals way back in 1989 in Chicoutimi. While it will no doubt be some years before we come back to Quebec again, here’s hoping Skate Canada doesn’t forget how great a host this province has been in back-to-back years. And comes back a whole lot sooner than later.
It has been, to say it in French, something tres magnifique.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, some final thoughts of significance that we brought home from Gatineau …
Stephen Gogolev is the man Canada needs for this moment
He’s the guy with the poker face, someone who freely admits he doesn’t show a lot of emotion — even if things might be churning inside him.
It’s something Stephen Gogolev shared on the Sunday night in Gatineau when he offically knew he would be heading to the Milan Cortina Olympics. His skating over two days at the Slush Puppie Centre had surely clinched that ticket, but it was putting on the Lululemon-branded Team Canada clothing and seeing his name on a suitcase that really all made it hit home.
And with all due respect to any of the other top men’s skaters in Canada, it says here the Gogolev is the right man for this moment. He came across as a rather unflappable guy in Gatineau and just went out and did his job to the best of his ability. Which is exactly what Skate Canada will want to see (and needs) when the 21-year-old from Toronto takes on the Team Event at the Olympics.
It was written in this space on the night he did it, but Gogolev’s short program at nationals, which produced a 99.60 score, was top five in the world material (it’s the highest men’s short program score recorded at nationals in 10 years, since the reign of the great Patrick Chan). There were some mistakes in the free program, but Gogolev surely has the kind of goods Canada needs to take a run at a medal in the Team Event.
Take a look a bit further ahead, and it’s not hard to envision him challenging for a top 10 spot at the World Championships in Prague. If that happens, then suddenly Canada could be back in the game with two men at 2027 Worlds in Finland (it’s also the kind of thing that may well play into two-time Canadian champion Roman Sadovsky’s decision about whether to continue beyond this season).
Even a year ago at this time, all of this would probably have been unfathomable to contemplate. Gogolev only competed once last season and wasn’t at nationals in Laval (in fact, this year marked his first time at that competition since 2023). But finally escaping the shackles of persistent back woes injected a massive shot of confidence into him. And we’ve seen all season the difference that it has made, and will continue to make for him.
“It’s been a road back for him from from injuries and growth (spurts), but he’s had a very strong season, and just kept getting stronger, getting more confident,” said Skate Canada high performance director Mike Slipchuk. “And I think we saw that in the result here (at nationals). And he’s young, 21 years old. This is the start of his journey and to get to a Games at 21 when you’re starting a journey only (means) great things ahead.”
That’s how you back up a (very) bold statement
It was, hands down, THE quote of nationals week in Gatineau.
You know the one we’re talking about. The thing Maddie Schizas said on the day before the senior women’s competition began at the Slush Puppie Centre (and it raised plenty of eyebrows): “Over my dead body is anyone else going to the Olympics.”
And for a couple of days, we heard this line behind the scenes: “She better back that up.”
Safe to say, the 22-year-old from Oakville, Ont., most certainly did, especially with her “Butterfly Lovers” free program that, outside of a singled double Axel — which in the grand scheme of things is very minor stuff in terms of a scoring hit — was something that nobody in the competitive women’s field in Gatineau could match.
And so it is that she collected a fourth Canadian title — only two women since 1980 have more (Joannie Rochette and Jennifer Robinson, with six each) — and secured a ticket to a second straight Winter Olympics.
But back to the quote. We asked Schizas’ coach, Nancy Lemaire, what she thought about that comment and she admitted being fine with it in the end (even if Lemaire had told Schizas before that media session “be careful what you say”).
“That’s the feisty Maddie,” said Lemaire. “It was about (her) saying, ‘You know what, this is my spot. I need to fight.’”
(and as Schizas herself put it after the Canadian title was back in her possession, it was not intended as a shot at anyone else).
The good news for Skate Canada is that Schizas appears to be tracking in the right direction as Milan draws closer, and the fact she can take her “Lion King” short program with her to Italy is an added shot of confidence. She was told to go back to that program by Skate Canada before Finlandia Trophy in November and it’s proven to be absolutely the right call.
“Sometimes you just get a feeling that the (program) just gives you; it just has a better feel,” said Slipchuk. “And you had better experiences from it. That’s all it is. It’s a feel.”
And let’s not forget how well Schizas competed in the Team Event in her Olympic debut four years ago in Beijing. It’s not a stretch to say she was the star of that show, and it is very true that Canada doesn’t even get past the short program without her performance. What happened in Gatineau is exactly what Skate Canada wanted to see heading into Milan.
“We know what she brings to the table, and she knows what she brings to the table. And you could see when she was here, she had a goal of where she wanted to be at the end of the week, and that’s where she got herself,” said Slipchuk. “She went out and did what she needed to do, and more. She went out and did the programs that we were looking for, for that Team (Event).”
Has the torch been passed in Canadian pairs skating?
It’s been a few years since we had a surprise result at nationals — Kaiya Ruiter’s victory over Schizas in 2024 in Calgary comes to mind — but we sure got one in Gatineau in the pairs event. Although, given the circumstances and what happened a year ago in Laval, maybe we shouldn’t have exactly felt that way.
We speak, of course, of the breakthrough first national title earned by Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, which ended the three-year reign of 2024 World champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps. And while the latter duo weren’t exactly coming to Gatineau in the greatest of health — Stellato-Dudek caught a stomach bug of some sort on the day before they left for nationals and it clearly hampered her performance — Pereira and Michaud still had to go out and win it. That they did.
Understand that back in Laval, Pereira and Michaud had a terrific nationals and Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps, not so much (watch the just-released Olympic Channel documentary, “Deanna’s Dream,” to get a sense of that). Back then, the margin between the two teams was 2.10 points. In Gatineau, it was Pereira and Michaud on top by 2.78 points (they trailed by more than nine points after the short program).
As we wrote on the night this happened, Pereira and Michaud were just starting to meet with the media after their long program when the final result flashed up on the monitor behind the mixed zone. The ensuing hug and tears between the duo showed just how much it meant to these two, who first got together just before the 2022-23 season (and by this point, they knew they’d clinched their Olympic debut in Milan, so there was already that to celebrate).
It’s the kind of result that should really catapult this team to even bigger things in the quadrennial ahead, and should have them riding a wave of confidence to their first Winter Games.
“Huge … two good skates,” Slipchuk said of the significance of their triumph. “To go out and skate your programs and put yourself in a position on any day to win … that’s what they did and and it was well deserved and earned. For them, it’s just a confidence boost. And I think if anything, for them, coming out of here with a title, is good because it just has a bit more cachet.”
Now, to answer the question at the top of the segment, let’s say … maybe. As we’ve written here lots, discount or underestimate Stellato-Dudek at your peril. If she and Deschamps show up healthy in Milan, they have it in them to be (at least) in the top five there, with the potential to do so much more.
So let’s consider that torch to be in a bit of a transition phase.
A creative dance team that has left its own mark
When Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier first began to emerge as an ice dance team all the way back in 2011, the spent their early years skating in the shadow of Canadian legends Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. All the while building the creative chops they are so admired for today. It was a time, as Gilles once told me for a magazine feature, to take some risks and try out “kooky” things.
(by the way, absolutely loved that she used that word. Still do).
Eventually, they would grow into World medallists four times over and will head to Italy as Canada’s prime threat to land on the Olympic podium for the first time in their careers (it’s their third go at the five-ring circus). And perhaps most importantly to them, they have done all that by never straying from being Piper and Paul.
Many of us thought their ride was going to end at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, but they kept coming back for more, kept being motivated by the creative juices that keeping flowing between them and their coaching team at Ice Dance Elite in Toronto. First it was one year. Then two. Now here they are, both in their 30s and as enthused as ever about doing their thing on the biggest of stages.
Now, other outside forces, shall we say, might spoil their chances to become first Canadian Olympic medallists in ice dance since Virtue and Moir in 2018 (and 2010), and only the second ever. But Gilles and Poirier preferred not to talk about any of that in Gatineau and we suspect they are going to do their level best to keep any judging shenanigans back of mind when they get to Milan.
What all of us should remember, no matter how this plays out, is what these two brought to the sport of ice dance in their 15 seasons together. They have blazed their own creative trail every step of the way and if Gatineau ends up being the last time we see them perform at Canadians, well let’s savour that moment, shall we?
Based on this quote after their free dance, a “reimagined” version of the beloved “Vincent” program they first skated in 2018, it certainly sounds like they did.
“For us, it was a special moment and we’d be happy to leave the Canadian championships like that,” Gilles said.
It would surely be a fitting final chapter to add to their legacy.
The (young) stars are already aligning for the next cycle
We’re now at the end of another Olympic quadrennial and you know what that means — retirements, and maybe a bunch of them. And that inevitably changes the arc of this sport as we head toward the 2030 Winter Games in France.
For skating in Canada, it’s a time to ponder who might be the future stars of the sport. And it’s fair to say we may have witnessed a few of them show off their burgeoning talent in Gatineau.
Start with the women, where Calgary’s Lia Cho, at age 13, lit up the junior women’s event and posted a Canadian record score that was within a point of Schizas’ winning total in the senior event. She’s eligible for the junior world championships next season and it’ll be her chance to show the rest of planet her vast potential.
We also saw Korean transplant Minsol Kwon make her debut at a Canadian championships and the elegant 16-year-old landed on the podium as a bronze medallist in the senior event. The soft-spoken Kwon, who turns 17 next month during the Winter Games, expressed a desire to skate for Canada on the Junior Grand Prix circuit next season and, from what we heard in Gatineau, things are very much trending in the right direction for that to happen.
Right below Kwon in the women’s standings were skaters such as Megan Woodley, Lulu Lin (who has bounced back in a nice way from an injury plagued season in 2024-25) and Reese Rose, all of them faces to watch in the next few years.
On the men’s side, we’ve got the likes of John Kim, David Bondar, Grayson Long and Anthony Paradis to watch going forward.
As the Junior Grand Prix season showed, there’s a lot to look forward to in pairs and ice dance. Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov finished fourth in their senior debut in Gatineau, and they’ve got Four Continents and Junior Worlds on their docket to end this breakout season. Their future is immensely bright.
You’ll find several other rising talents to watch in pairs, which bodes well for the future of that discipline in Canada (it has produced multiple entrants in the Junior Grand Prix Final for three seasons running now).
Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys, the junior ice dance champions at nationals, headed up a podium of rising talents that all brought home medals on the JGP circuit back in the fall. Lots of potential to track there as well.
And at a level above that, the new quadrennial should be the time for Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, who were silver medallists behind Gilles and Poirier in Gatineau, to start making their move toward podium contention at Worlds and Olympics.
So there should be a lot for all of us to talk about in the quadrennial to come. And if you’re a guy who writes a Substack about such things, plenty to write about in the years ahead.
It’s Four Continents time
We’d call it a pre-Olympic warmup but well, not really. The team Skate Canada is sending to next week’s Four Continents Championships in Beijing doesn’t include anybody from the Olympic team, but it’s still a competition to pay attention to for some of the up-and-comers, in particular.
You can check out the Canadian team list for the event right here:
Women: Gabrielle Daleman, Sara-Maude Dupuis, Fée Ann Landry
Men: Wesley Chiu, Aleksa Rakic, Roman Sadovsky
Pairs: Ava Kemp/Yohnatan Elizarov; Kelly Ann Laurin/Loucas Éthier
Ice Dance: Alicia Fabbri/Paul Ayer; Jamie Fournier/Everest Zhu; Lily Hensen/Nathan Lickers
Competition begins Thursday in Beijing, with the women’s short program and rhythm dance, and runs through Sunday’s men’s free skate. All of the competition will be streamed on CBC Gem, with the schedule as follows (all times Eastern):
