Battle of the Blades - week 1

What a difference one year makes. Last year the hockey players were tripping over their figure skates - that is those brave enough to ditch their hockey skates. It was painful to watch Bob Probert, Tie Domi and Ken Daneko on the ice.

This season the hockey players came much better prepared. It's obvious they spent to summer preparing and getting into shape. Kelly Chase lost 50 lbs getting ready. Judge Sandra Bezic even noted that where the new crew is at skill-wise in Week 1 is where the former crew was at in Week 5 last year. That might be a bit of exaggeration as she tends to be too generous in her praise. But there is no question these guys are way ahead of last year's crew.

Here is a breakdown on the skating:

Shae-Lynn Bourne & Patrice Brisebois

A good program but Patrice can't keep up with its tempo — or his petite blonde partner, either. Sure, he looks too much like last year's players - too stiff. Shae-Lynn will not be going deep this year if Patrice can't step it up.

Kyoko Ina & Kelly Chase

Surprisingly Kelly looked really good. He showed a lot of emotion and strength as he flung Kyoko around like a rag doll. I thought he would be another Probert but obviously not.

Violetta Afanasieva & PJ Stock

Their lifts were great. PJ looked like a natural. This is a sport where personality helps you a lot out on the ice and PJ has plenty of that. They could go deep in the competition.

Christine Hough-Sweeney & Russ Courtnall

Russ who was once known for his speed and added some beef over the years. They were clearly the weakest pair and were eliminated. Tough luck for Christine because last year she was paired with a dog too - Tie Domi.

Anabelle Langlois & Georges Laraque

Former Canadiens enforcer Georges had to get 12 stitches on Saturday after his face had a run-in with his partner Anabelle's blade during practice. It just missed removing his eye proving figure skating is not for sissies. The move that caused the accident involves Georges spinning her around his neck. They full off the move flawlessly in competition and then Georges actually tries the competition's first waltz jump. Judge Jeremy Roenick points out that Georges has the biggest butt on figure skates.

Isabelle Brasseur & Todd Warriner

Incredibly they try a salchow throw jump in the first week. Isabelle lands on her butt however it shows how heated the competition will become over the next few weeks. Todd looked much better than I expected.

Ekaterina Gordeeva & Valerie Bure

The Russians have to be the team to beat. They were flying around the ice twice as fast as any other pair. Kat and Val already have considerable chemistry on the ice and Val looked like a real skater out there. Surprisingly the Russians were one of the bottom two pairs and had to participate on Monday's skate off. I think there was some bias here for the only non-North Americans.

Jamie Sale & Theo Fleury

What Theo lacks in technical skills he makes up for in passion. You could see how much he got into character including eyeliner and black nail polish. Who does he think he is - Emanuel Sandhu? The lifts and moves weren't as good as the other pairs but Theo has an advantage in that he is matched up with Jamie who happened to have won this thing last season. They will be competitive.