20 of the Best Skating Programs from the Fall of 2016

3. Patrick Chan (CAN): Short Program

Rippon isn’t the only skater who created a competitive program out of an exhibition program this year. Another skater did it from the start. Patrick Chan is in a place in his life and competitive career where he doesn’t have to worry quite as much about what the judges think. They always love him anyway, and he’s done enough and been through enough that now he’s skating far more for himself than for results. So he could happily take his show program to the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” and “Blackbird” and get original choreographer Pasquale Carlemengo to give him a new competition-friendly version.

Chan can skate to anything and make it memorable, especially since, like Hanyu, he skates very technically demanding programs. He also now prioritizes music he connects to. His long program this year is also considered a stunner. But it’s this short program that allows Patrick to show his playfulness as well as his drama, to charm the audience as well as draw them in, to shift moods and give us more than one feeling. Plus it’s easier for the audience to like the music. As he himself said when interviewed about his programs, everyone loves the Beatles.

The only question is how often are we going to see him skate it well. He’s had too many issues with beautiful programs wrecked by mistakes since returning to competition last season. But at least we got a perfect performance at the Grand Prix Finale.