Class of 2014

The men's event has always been the one that I was going to get most excited about these Olympic games, and in the void that it has left, I am looking ahead to the next four years. Looking down the 24 competitors from the free last night, these are the ones that I believe have a good chance of making it to Sochi 2014 (barring any injuries/anything else that forces retirement):

Patrick Chan - As I see it, Chan will be disappointed with his Olympic showing this time around and may well want to improve on that next time. However, despite all his talk, he hasn't exactly showed that he is a particularly good competitor and, depending on how the other guys are doing, he may end up fading away into obscurity. He's been injured this season, so I think his performances next season will likely give a better idea of how he is likely to shape up. He's definitely got age on his side. Also, I'm not sure what the Canadian junior men are like, but it does seem that without Chan, Canadian Men's FS would be without any real stars. Which is a shame.

Nobunari Oda - He has ended up a little lost in a crowd of great competitors this season but I think he may benefit from the retirements that this season will bring, and come into his own a little over the coming years. On the other hand, he doesn't seem to have the same performance quality as some of the other guys and if he can't develop that any further, he might just plateau roundabout where he is now. I'd like to hope that that won't be the case with him.

Takahiko Kozuka - This is a guy that I am very excited about. He is definitely a breath of fresh air and he has the performance quality and the jumps. Seemed to cope reasonably well under pressure, too, so hopefully we don't have another Jeremy-esque headcase on our hands!

Michal Brezina - I love him already. I don't think he has a quad right now but the rest of his jumps are so beautiful and so secure, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to get one. He's very consistent and has a lovely quality to his skating, and his jumps are just absolutely textbook. He does need to work on his spins, though. If he can do that, I think this guy could be phenomenal.

Denis Ten - As long as he doesn't get injured, I don't see this kid going anywhere but the top. I would love to see him win World or Olympic gold one day, partly because Kazakhstan is not exactly a figure skating powerhouse and it'd make a change from USA/Russia/Japan, but also because he is just great, isn't he? He's only 16, so he could easily see another two Olympics, which is definitely exciting.

Florent Amodio - He is definitely ready to step into the gap that Joubert will presumably leave as leading Frenchman - or, if Jouby doesn't retire, just plain overtake him. He had a 4S planned for the Olympics so it appears that he has one, if not quite consistent yet, but it will be. He is gorgeous to watch, he has the jumps, and it looks like he's a sound competitor, too, which is always reassuring.

Artem Borodulin - Hard to believe that this guy was actually the fourth Russian. He actually really surprised me in Vancouver, where I was expecting him to be kind of blah and mid-range, but wow, I can't wait to see what he comes out with next season.

Javier Fernandez - Another exciting prospect. I will miss his Pirates program from this season. I think this guy has potential to be a huge star; he's very watchable, has great presence, and he has a quad. It seems like a lot of these up-and-comers have a quad, so hopefully our old friend Mr Plush won't feel the need to step in and 'save the day' once more.

Adrian Schultheiss - I feel like he's been around forever, but he's only 21, so apparently not. Anyway, he is a little inconsistent but when he's on, he's on, and his programs always stand out from the crowd so he's always fun to watch. With Kristoffer Berntsson out of the picture, and his very respectable showing in Vancouver, we may see a bigger international presence from Schultheiss over the next few seasons.

Then, of course, we have the guys that weren't in Vancouver; namely, Adam Rippon. I could watch him skate forever. If/when Evan declines to skate at Worlds, I think Ryan Bradley will likely take his reserve place, so it looks like Adam's season is over (apparently Johnny has said that he will skate Worlds, which is good), but I am really, really excited to see him next season and for all the seasons after. I think Rippon is definitely a future world champion, if not Olympic. Out of anyone, I think it is Adam that I am most excited about. What's also interesting is that Evan, Johnny and Ryan are all likely/locks to retire after this season, and even my beloved Jeremy probably won't be around too much longer. As far as I can tell, this leaves Adam to take the top spot.

One guy that I am very excited to watch next season, if not all the way until Sochi, is Daisuke Takahashi. He has said that he will not retire now, as planned, but wait until after Worlds 2011, which is in Tokyo, where he hopes to win gold. This is also interesting as it means that all three Olympic medallists will be out of the picture very quickly, potentially leaving any number of the guys above to step forward and take their places at the very top of the international scene.

As well as all these, of course, we have a whole flock of guys waiting in the junior or lower-ranked wings. Guys that impressed at US Nationals include Richard Dornbush, Grant Hochstein and Keegan Messing, so I'll be keeping my eye on them, and there's also Ross Miner, who had to miss Nats due to injury but, I believe, is due to skate at Junior Worlds in March, and a few of the Junior men. There are also a few Japanese boys (Yuzuru Hanyu and Kento Nakamura, Junior champion and silver medalist respectively), a few Russians (Artur Gachinski, current junior national champion), and who knows what beauty might be next to appear out of the Czech Republic. Whatever happens, and whoever ends up on top, it is sure to be an extremely exciting four years.

xxx