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Athlete Spotlight: Nicolas Nadeau

Nicolas Nadeau

Q: What is the best advice that you were given?
Nicolas: If you don’t’ know something, google it! (my sister helping me do homework)

Q: What would you like people to remember about you?
Nicolas: The guy who’s fun to watch on the ice!

Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Nicolas: Cold ice time during winter practice at my rink, with the guy working there leaving the garage door open for, what it seems like, forever.

Q: What fictional character would you like to meet in real life and why?
Nicolas: Rick from Rick and Morty show! So I can ask him “Why?”

Q: What’s your favourite place in the world and why?
Nicolas: I’ve never been to California but I’m sure it will be my favourite because of all the nice surfing spots and the lifestyle there.

Canadian skaters sweep men’s medals at Bavarian Open

OBERTSDORF, Germany –Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., led a Canadian medal sweep in junior men’s competition Saturday at the Bavarian Open figure skating competition.

Nadeau was first in both the short and long programs for 213.58 points. Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., was second at 197.45 and Joseph Phan of Laval, Que., third at 197.28.

Next month, Nadeau is hoping to climb a step at the world junior championships after earning silver last season. The Canadian world junior team is using this event as a tune-up.

‘’It was an OK performance, not my best,’’ said Nadeau. ‘’There were a bit too many errors overall. Still it’s a preparation for the world juniors so I accomplished my goals for this point. I’m working on improving my quad toe in the long and I’ll probably not make changes to my short program.’’

Orzel landed a quad and two triple Axels.

‘’I kept focused at the beginning of my program and did all the hard elements,’’ he said. ‘’It was great to accomplish the big jumps in an international setting. I’m really comfortable now with my programs and I just want to boost some elements for the world juniors and get more points.’’

The 15-year-old Phan is the first sub for the world junior squad. He is keeping sharp with third men’s member Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., currently injured.

‘’I was really happy about landing my quad toe in the long,’’ said Phan. ‘’It hadn’t been going well at all in practice so I was pretty stressed about it. To get it in the competition was a big moment. Right now I’m on standby for the world juniors but I’m preparing like I would be going.’’

Canadian 12-year-old lands quad and two triple Axels
In novice competition, 12-year-old Stephen Gogolev of Toronto landed two triple Axels and a quad toe Salchow to win the gold in the men’s event with 140.52 points. Corey Circelli of Vaughan, Ont., missed the podium by just over five points for fourth.

‘’I just wanted to do well in the programs,’’ said Gogolev at his second career international event. ‘’The first half of the long stood out for me. Both triple Axels were really good and it was the second time I ever landed a quad Salchow. It had been pretty consistent all week in practice so it felt great when I landed it.’’

Catherine Carle of Georgetown, Ont., was fourth in the women’s event as were ice dancers Natalie d’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell of Toronto.

Competition ends Sunday.

Full results: Bavarian Open 2017

Canadian Keegan Messing wins the bronze medal at Challenger Series event

ZAGREB – Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., won the bronze medal Saturday in men’s competition at the Golden Spin of Zagreb figure skating event, part of the ISU’s Challenger Series.

Alexei Bychenko of Russia didn’t win either the short program or long program but wound up first overall for the gold with 228.08 points. Daniel Samohin of Israel, the leader after the short, took the silver at 226.12 and Messing hung on to the bronze at 223.30.

Messing, second after the short, finished only 0.28 points ahead of Alexander Petrov of Russia for third spot. Petrov posted the top free skate score to climb from 11th to fourth.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., was seventh and world junior championships silver medallist Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., was 11th.

Full results: ISU CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 2016

Canadian Keegan Messing in second at Challenger Series event

ZAGREB – Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., is in second place in men’s competition after Friday’s short program at the Golden Spin of Zagreb figure skating event, a stop on the ISU Challenger Series.

Daniel Samohin of Israel holds the lead with 82.35 points, Messing follows at 76.39 and Brendan Kerry of Australia is third at 76.36. The 24-year-old Messing is chasing a third career international win.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., stands sixth at 74.66 and world junior silver medallist Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., 13th.

Canada only has the three entries in men’s competition. The free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: 2016 Golden Spin of Zagreb

Canadian skaters compete at the Golden Spin of Zagreb

OTTAWA, ON: Canada will send three entries to the 2016 Golden Spin of Zagreb from December 7-10, 2016 in Zagreb, Croatia. The event is part of the ISU’s Challenger Series. All three entries will be in the men’s discipline.

Nicolas Nadeau, 19, Boisbriand, Que., won silver at the 2016 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in March. Nadeau trains at École Excellence Rosemère and is coached by Yvan Desjardins.

Roman Sadovsky, 17, Vaughan, Ont., won silver and placed fifth at his two ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments in Estonia and Japan earlier this year. Sadovsky is coached by Brian Orser and Lee Barkell.

Keegan Messing, 24, Girdwood, Alaska, USA, placed fourth at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International in September. The representative of Sherwood Park FSC is coached by Ralph Burghart in Anchorage, Alaska, USA.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Jacqueline Wickett Warren of Manotick, Ont., will be the sole Canadian official at the event.

For results and full entries please visit the event website http://www.croskate.hr/.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2016 GOLDEN SPIN OF ZAGREB

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Nicolas Nadeau 19 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand
Men Keegan Messing 24 Girdwood, Alaska, USA Sherwood Park FSC
Men Roman Sadovsky 17 Vaughan, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club

Canada’s Nicolas Nadeau completes spectacular comeback with silver at world juniors

DEBRECEN, Hungary – Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., soared from eighth place after the short program to win the silver medal in men’s competition on Friday at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

All three men’s medallists completed thrilling comebacks.  Daniel Samohin of Israel rocketed from ninth to first with 236.65 points for the gold. Nadeau, 18, followed at 224.76 and Tomoki Hiwatashi of the U.S. , sixth after the short, was third at 222.52.

‘’I’m a little surprised to move up that much, other skaters made a lot of mistakes,’’ said Nadeau, 25th at the world juniors last year. ‘’But I’ll take it. I did my job today and I’m really happy with how it turned out.’’

The top-three after the short were ousted from the podium including leader Dmitri Aliev of Russia who tumbled to sixth overall.

In the women’s short program, Canadian junior champion Sarah Tamura of Burnaby, B.C., was 16th. Alisa Fedichkina of Russia is the leader.

‘’I felt really good about my performance,’’ said Tamura, 15, in her world juniors debut. ‘’It’s great to get this experience on the big rink. I had a lot of fun being here. For me it’s about doing my best and hopefully I can move up in the standings.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the women’s free skate and free dance.

Information: 2016 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships

Canadian Junior Skaters in Hungary for 2016 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada has eight entries, for a total of 14 skaters competing at the 2016 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships this week from March 14-20 in Debrecen, Hungary. Canada will have one entry per discipline in men’s and ladies, and three entries per discipline in pair and ice dance. Competition begins Wednesday, March 16 with the men’s and pair short programs.

Nicolas Nadeau, 18, Boisbriand, Que., is Canada’s entry in men’s. Last year, he placed 25th at this event. Earlier this season, he won silver in Croatia and placed fifth in Latvia at his ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments. Most recently, he placed fifth in the senior category at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Nadeau trains at École Excellence Rosemère and is coached by Yvan Desjardins.

Canadian junior champion Sarah Tamura, 15, Burnaby, B.C., is Canada’s lone entry in ladies. This will be her first time competing at this event. This season, the representative of Burnaby FSC placed 13th at her ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment in Latvia. Tamura is coached by Joanne McLeod, Jill-Marie Harvey, and Neil Wilson at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Canadian junior pair champions Hope McLean, 16, Newbury, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 19, Strathroy, Ont., will be the first of three Canadian entries in pair. This season, the representatives of Mount Brydges SC and Prince Edward SC placed sixth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Poland. McLean and Michaud are coached by Alison Purkiss at the London Competitive Skating Centre.

Bryn Hoffman, 18, Calgary, Alta., and Bryce Chudak, 20, Calgary, Atla., are the second Canadian pair entry. This season, they placed fourth at both of their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments (United States and Poland). Most recently, the representatives of Calalta FSC won silver in the junior category at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Hoffman and Chudak are coached by Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay.

Justine Brasseur, 14, Brossard, Que., and Mathieu Ostiguy, 19, Granby, Que., round out the Canadian pair entries at the event. They competed on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit earlier this season placing sixth in Latvia and fifth in Austria. The representatives of CPA Brossard and CPA Saint-Césaire also placed fourth in the junior category at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, and most recently placed fourth at the Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Brasseur and Ostiguy train in Saint-Léonard, Que., with coach Bruno Marcotte.

Canadian junior champions Mackenzie Bent, 18, Uxbridge, Ont., and Dmitre Razgulajevs, 19, Ajax, Ont., are the first of three Canadian ice dance teams. In their first season competing together, the representatives of Uxbridge SC and Scarboro FSC won silver at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in the United States and placed sixth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Spain. They are coached by Carol Lane, Jon Lane, and Juris Razgulajevs at Ice Dance Elite at Scarboro FSC.

Marjorie Lajoie, 15, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 16, Greenfield Park, Que., will also represent Canada in ice dance. This season they placed seventh at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Spain, and won the silver medal at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in the junior category. Most recently, they placed fourth at the Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, and won the bronze medal as part of the mixed National Olympic Committee (NOC) team event. Lajoie and Lagha train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer and Pascal Denis.

Melinda Meng, 17, Montreal, Que., and Andrew Meng, 19, Montreal, Que., are the third Canadian entry in ice dance. Earlier this season, they placed fifth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Latvia and fourth in Poland. Most recently, the representatives of CPA Laval won bronze in the junior category at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The Mengs are coached by Shawn Winter in Pierrefonds, Que.

Terra Findlay of Echo Bay, Ont., and Paige Lawrence of Kennedy, Sask., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Ed Pilat of Winnipeg, Man., and physiotherapist Mike McMurray of Oak Bluff, Man., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Karen Howard of Regina, Sask., and Pam Chislett of Grand Prairie, Alta., are the Canadian officials at the event.

Skate Canada High Performance Director Mike Slipchuk will also be traveling with the team.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2016 ISU WORLD JUNIOR FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Nicolas Nadeau 18 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand Yvan Desjardins
Ladies Sarah Tamura 15 Burnaby, B.C. Burnaby FSC Joanne McLeod / Jill-Marie Harvey / Neil Wilson
Pair Hope McLean / Trennt Michaud 16/19 Newbury, Ont. / Strathroy, Ont. Mount Brydges SC / Prince Edward SC Alison Purkiss
Pair Bryn Hoffman / Bryce Chudak 18/20 Calgary, Alta. / Calgary, Alta. Calalta FSC / Calalta FSC Anabelle Langlois / Cody Hay
Pair Justine Brasseur / Mathieu Ostiguy 14/19 Brossard, Que. / Granby, Que. CPA Brossard / CPA Saint-Césaire Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Mackenzie Bent / Dmitre Razgulajevs 18/19 Uxbridge, Ont. / Ajax, Ont. Uxbridge SC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Jon Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
Ice Dance Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha 15/16 Boucherville, Que. / Greenfield Park, Que. CPA Boucherville / CPA St-Lambert Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer / Pascal Denis
Ice Dance Melinda Meng / Andrew Meng 17/19 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. CPA Laval / CPA Laval Shawn Winter

Nicolas Nadeau wins at Skate Canada Challenge, Soucisse and Tanguay take ice dance title

EDMONTON – Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., won the gold medal in the senior men’s event on Sunday at the Skate Canada Challenge figure skating competition.

Nadeau, a silver medallist earlier this season at the Junior Grand Prix event in Croatia, totalled 233.01 points. Olympian Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., took the silver at 207.09 and Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., was third at 200.50.

“It wasn’t perfect but I achieved my goals,’’ said Nadeau. “I feel I’ve set myself up well for the nationals.’’

In ice dance, Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Simon Tanguay of Montreal were the winners at 143.70.  They edged Lauren Collins and Shane Firus of Barrie, Ont., in second at 142.98 and Andréanne Poulin and Marc-André Servant of Montreal in third at 142.96.

‘’We didn’t expect the gold medal,’’ said Soucisse. ‘’We wanted to do a good performance in both programs. We were more clean with the elements especially in the short dance.’’

In junior competition, Joseph Phan of Gatineau, Que., took the men’s title while Melinda Meng and Andrew Meng of Montreal were the ice dance winners.

‘’I didn’t feel nervous here because I was well prepared,’’ said Phan. ‘’I just need to keep working hard for the nationals.’’

‘’We produced two pretty solid performances,’’ said Melinda Meng. ‘’We really wanted to bring up the emotion in our programs and we skated our best so far in that sense.’’

The weekend’s winners in novice competition were Stephen Gogolev of Toronto for the men and Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Claudio Pietrantonio of Laval, Que., in ice dancing.

The pre-novice winners were Koen Kucher of Regina for the men and Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell of Toronto in ice dancing.

This is the sole qualifying event for novice, junior, and senior skaters to earn entries to the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships taking place in Halifax, N.S., from January 18-24, 2016.

Full results: 2016 Skate Canada Challenge.

Canada’s Nicolas Nadeau wins silver at ISU Junior Grand Prix

ZAGREB, Croatia – Canadian junior champion Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., won the silver medal in a very close men’s competition on Friday at the seventh stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Alexander Samarin of Russia was the winner with 223.84 points edging the 18-year-old Nadeau who totalled 223.46. Tomoki Hiwatashi of Japan was third at 197.62.

Nadeau smashed his previous best international score by almost 50 points. He landed two triple Axels including one in combination with a triple toe to open the program.  He made an attempt at a quad toe but rushed it and stepped out in mid-flight.

In women’s competition, Wakaba Higuchi of Japan leads after the short program with Diana Pervushkina of Russia second and Marin Honda of Japan third.

Kim Decelles of Baie-Comeau, Que., is fifth less than six points behind Honda at 52.27.

In ice dancing after the short dance, Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve of Montreal and Jeff Hough of Russell, Ont., are ninth.

There is no pairs competition at this stop.

The women’s free skate and free dance are on Saturday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/jgpcro2015/index.htm

Big jumps land Nicolas Nadeau a national title

KINGSTON, ONTARIO – Nicolas Nadeau was on a mission on Wednesday night at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

The 17-year-old skater from Boisbriand, Que., wanted to win the junior national title and leave no doubt about it. So he did something Olympic: after using Lutzes at Skate Canada Challenge last month, he decided to do not one, but two triple Axels in his free skate at nationals. None of his competitors tried that jump.

That plan meant he had to do one of those Axels in combination.

So he did. He astonished the die-hard spectators at the K-Rock Centre when he unleashed a triple Axel – double toe loop as his first jump, then wound up right again and went for a second triple Axel.  He stepped out of that one, but the effort went way beyond what he had done at Skate Canada Challenge.

With this bold plan, Nadeau won with the free skate with 123.68 points (6.36 ahead of closest competitor Antony Cheng of Richmond Hill, Ont.) and won the free with185.75, almost nine points ahead of Cheng, who took the silver medal.

Edrian Paul Célestino  of Dollard-des-Armeaux,  Que., won the bronze medal with his beautiful Nessum Dorma routine, that earned him 114. 44 points and 172.68 overall.

Yvan Desjardins, who trains Nadeau, Daniel-Olivier Boulanger-Trottier who finished fourth with a strong skate and 13-year-old Joseph Phan, who ended fifth, said Nadeau showed no nerves at all. Last year, Nadeau would have liked to have won the junior title and skated last but had a disastrous performance in the free. Desjardins said Nadeau hadn’t forgotten that gloomy day in Ottawa, but still, it did not budge his resolve.

“He’s tough,” Desjardins said. “He has to be. He’s in the family. He has four sisters.”

Nadeau finally earned some Junior Grand Prix competitions earlier this season and the first one was in Japan, an experience that could have daunted him. Desjardins asked him if he felt any nerves. “Nothing,” Nadeau said.

The two triple Axels that Nadeau did are vitally important to his immediate future: if he wanted to win this junior title, he needed it, Desjardins told him. And if he wanted to get to the world junior championships in March, he had some convincing to do, especially since Skate Canada officials may be looking at junior-eligible men who compete in senior already, such as Roman Sadovsky and Mitchell Gordon.

Now that he has delivered, he just has to wait to see his fate.

Nadeau is only the sixth Quebec man to win the junior skating title, and the first since Elladj Baldé won it seven years ago, in 2008. Others were Nicholas Young in 2000, Sebastien Britten in 1990, Jamie Eggleton in 1984 and believe it or not, Toller Cranston – who originally skated out Montreal – in 1964.

Only seven Quebec men have won the novice men’s title, the last one being Phan last year.

Interestingly enough, five of the six skaters in the final flight were all from Quebec. Could the tide be turning?

The new junior pair champions are Mary Orr of Brantford, Ont., and Phelan Simpson of Kitchener, Ont., who won in a landslide with a strong skate. Their winning total of 133.14 points was 12.84 points higher than second-placed Shalena Rau of Waterloo, Ont., and Sebastien Arcieri of Montreal.

The bronze medal went to Rachel Dobson of Campbellville, Ont., and Alexander Sheldrick of Paris, Ont.

Nicolas Nadeau leads after junior men’s short, Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau on top after junior pair short

One frosty day in Boisbriand, Que., Nicolas Nadeau sat in front of the television set and found himself enthralled with the 2002 Olympic Games.

“I said to my mom: ‘I want to do that,’” said Nadeau, now 16.

His mother said: “Sure.”

Nadeau was good at all sports, but when his mother enrolled him in hockey, he found himself rolling over on early mornings and saying “Let me sleep.” Hockey was out. Figure skating for some reason, although it is known to have early mornings, too, was in.

All those years later, now Nadeau is leading the pack at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, scoring a decisive victory in the junior men’s short program. Nadeau finished with 65.60 points, while Denis Margalik, 16, of Mississauga, Ont., is second (after defeating him at Skate Canada Challenge in December.) Margalik, who fired off a beautiful triple Lutz – triple toe loop combo in the short, has 61.84 points. In third place is Bennet Toman with 57.76. The free skate is Wednesday.

“I was hoping to be in the top three,” Nadeau said. “And to do what I’m capable of.” He landed a triple toe loop – triple toe loop combination in the short.

Nadeau has always been a work in project for coaches in Quebec. Something like, shall we say, a curious sort, who was all over the place, some coaches didn’t want to teach him. “He needed a lot of attention,” said Yvan Desjardins, the brave one who took him on. “He’s a little bit better now.”

Already, Nadeau has a triple Axel and he’s working on a quad in the training harness. It’s only a matter of time.

Nadeau looks up to many skaters, but at first blush, he’ll tell you Patrick Chan. (“He’s pretty good.”) and Kurt Browning, because of his sense of humour, and his ability to portray any character. Nadeau loves to play a character.

In the past year, Nadeau has been training with more consistency, making the jumps happen when he wants.

He’ll have to be on his toes with skaters like 12-year-old Eric Liu on his heels. Liu, of Vancouver, showed up with his Dizzie Gillespie routine to “Salt Peanuts” and dazzled the small crowd with great speed and edges and fired off a triple Lutz – triple toe loop in the short program.

Last year he was second at the novice level and finished fourth in the junior men’s short program on Tuesday night. Two years ago, he competed at the pre-novice level.

In the junior pair short program, new pair Julianne Seguin, 17 of Montreal and Charlie Bilodeau, 20 of Rimouski, are enjoying a comfortable lead, with 56.54 points. In their only two competitions this year, they were fourth and fifth in Junior Grand Prix events.

Vanessa Grenier, 21, of Johnville, Que., and Maxime Deschamps,, 22, of Vaudreuil, Que., are in second place with 50.69 points.

Third are Dylan Conway, 16 of Toronto and Dustin Sherriff-Clayton  of Newmarket, Ont., with 43.77 points. Only eight pairs competed.

Beverley Smith