Chan takes control over shaky men’s field

Eight-time defending champ holds commanding lead despite stumbles

Patrick Chan just wants to get back that feeling he had when he was a teenager, when skating was easier, when he didn’t worry, when he just let his legs make on-ice magic.

Not everything went as planned for Chan — who has won the last eight times he’s competed at the National Skating Championships — Friday night during the men’s short program at The Arena at TD Place. The Toronto resident stumbled three times during his routine, skating to a Beatles medley.

It was still good enough for first place (91.50) and a commanding lead over Vancouver’s Kevin Reynolds (81.76) and third-place Elladj Balde (77.45), who trains in Montreal.

“Elladj and I spoke about how when you’re 16 or 17, you just get on the ice and do your job,” Chan said. “There’s no, ‘What if this, what if that?’ It’s go out, do your job, you strive for the feeling about how great it feels. As you get older, that feeling tends to get old so you start thinking externally. So my thing is going back to being my 16-year-old self, shutting out all the outside noise and focusing on the present.”

Of course, Chan is a much better skater than he was in those days. His footwork is sensational.

With the 2018 Olympics on the horizon, Chan knew he had to do something to get back into the conversation.

“You can’t change the past, you have to look forward,” he said. “I don’t regret anything, but I have to think of something else other than that I have to try and win gold.”

As for the miscues, a common theme among the men’s competitors on Friday, Chan said: “Whether you’re experienced or not, there’s still a shock factor (when you fall). I was slightly off. All the takeoffs felt really good, on the video it looked good. At the end, I was a little high in the upper body. After I popped out of the Axel, I told myself, ‘Just stay on your feet, don’t get those extra deductions.’ It was a good practice.”

Why so many falls from so many elite skaters?

“There’s a lot of energy in the practices,” Chan said. “Guys are whipping around like it’s their first time at nationals. That brings the energy up so you become higher up in your shoulders and everything is on edge because you’re like a teeter-totter. I think (Saturday) everything will settle down.”

Aylmer’s Joseph Phan scored 66.51, skating to Michael Buble’s The Best is Yet to Come.