Athletes to watch at the 2025 ISU GP Skate Canada International
Malinin is the headline draw in the men’s singles, with the two-time world champion enjoying an unbeaten streak dating back to the 2023 Grand Prix de France.
The U.S. star won in Angers by 40 points; in Saskatoon, he will face competition from France’s Kévin Aymoz, who was fifth at the World Championships in Boston in March and has finished in the top three at each of his Grand Prix appearances since 2022. Georgian Nika Egadze will also hope to build on his first Grand Prix top-three placing, having come third at the Grand Prix de France.
Nakai may have stunned the field, including her three-time world champion Japanese teammate Sakamoto Kaori, in Angers, but more tests await. The 2024 world silver medallist Isabeau Levito and two-time Four Continents medallist Bradie Tennell will provide stiff opposition representing the U.S., while another Japanese skater in the field, Chiba Mone, took world bronze in Boston.
Canada’s 2024 world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are the main draw in the pairs event. They are looking to bounce back from their first regular-season Grand Prix loss since 2022 after finishing second in Angers two weeks ago to reigning world champs Miura Riku / Kihara Ryuichi. However, this year’s world silver medallists and current European champions, Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany, are set to make their first Grand Prix appearance of the season and are no pushovers.
And the ice dance competition sees home favourites Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the world silver medallists and reigning Four Continents champions, go for a sixth straight title at Skate Canada International, with their run going back to 2019 (the event was not held in 2020).