There is no sense of panic in Chan in wake of Hanyu’s record-setting skates

TORONTO – Patrick Chan woke up last Saturday morning to see Twitter abuzz about Yuzuru Hanyu.

His Japanese rival had just rewritten the record book at the NHK Trophy Grand Prix, setting new world marks for the short program, long program, and overall score.

Chan and Hanyu meet next week at the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, in perhaps one of the strongest men’s figure skating fields ever assembled.

Chan said there’s been talk about what he’ll do respond to Hanyu. What will he change?

His answer: not a thing.

“I’m not going to panic, I’m not going to add anything at the immediate moment,” Chan said. “I’m not at a point in my career where I feel I need to prove to people that I have a lot more in my arsenal. I’m honestly not prepared for it, I’m still very early in the three-year run to the next Olympics, so I’m going to take my time and be strategic.”

The 24-year-old from Toronto is making a comeback after taking a season off, walking away from the competitive arena after Hanyu beat him for gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Chan roared back to beat Hanyu at Skate Canada International in October.

Then came Hanyu’s eye-popping programs last weekend. He scored 216.07 in his free skate, surpassing Chan’s world record of 196.75 set in 2013. His overall score of 322.40 also erased Chan’s previous world record of 295.27.

Speaking Wednesday on a conference call, Chan said he’s somewhat relieved. He’s seen Hanyu at his best, now he has a clear target to shoot for.

“There was always, ‘Oh, what if he did do a clean competition? What kind of marks would he get?’ And now we know. Now that it’s in front of our eyes, everyone’s eyes, it’s less of a mystery,” Chan said. “So for me, it kind of calms me down, and makes me realize: Alright, that’s something tangible that I can reach for, that’s my goal is to aim for that score or beyond it. I feel like everything is much clearer now.”

Hanyu reeled off three quad jumps and seven triples in his long program and two in his short. Chan currently has one quad in his short and two in his long.

Chan didn’t compete at the NHK Trophy. His second Grand Prix event was the Trophee Bompard in Bordeaux, France, which was cancelled after the first day due to the terrorist attacks in Paris.

Chan said it will be a different competition in Spain, when the best in the world converge on one rink. Javier Fernandez of Spain, last season’s world champion, will also be in the mix for gold.

“It’s different when all three are in one place,” said Chan. “It changes the energy, it changes the vibe, it changes the dynamic between everyone on the ice, and who knows, maybe even the dynamic between the judges and how they feel seeing all three of us on one surface … skating visually changes, and feels different depending on the energy and who else is on the ice, and who you have to compare to directly.”

Canada is the defending Grand Prix Final champion in pairs and ice dance.

World pairs champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, and ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje will defend their titles in Spain. Canada’s young pairs team of Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau also qualified for the final.