Six Canadian Skaters Head to Final Grand Prix of the Season

OTTAWA, ON (November 21, 2022) – Six experienced athletes are set to compete for Canada at the final Grand Prix of the season in Espoo, Finland, which will mark the last qualifying event before the ISU Grand Prix Final in Torino, Italy. Team Canada will be comprised of two entries in ice dance as well as one entry in both women and men at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Espoo, scheduled to take place from November 25-27, 2022.  

National champion Madeline Schizas will be the sole Canadian entry in the women’s competition. Schizas has been building on her breakthrough Olympic year by finishing 5th at the 2022 Nebelhorn Trophy and 7th at Skate Canada International.  

Olympian Keegan Messing will be looking to clinch a spot on the podium in the men’s event. Messing has had a strong start to the season, winning a gold medal at the 2022 Nebelhorn Trophy and putting on an entertaining performance that earned him a 4th place at the 2022 Skate Canada International.   

Ice dance stars Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will be one of two Canadian entries in ice dance. Gilles and Poirier are the current Skate Canada International champions, as well as the national ice dance champions. Shane Firus and Carolane Soucisse, who won bronze at the 2022 Nebelhorn Trophy, will be completing the team. 

The competition starts Friday, November 25 with every discipline performing their short program/rhythm dance. Medals will be awarded on Saturday, November 26 as all disciplines will perform their free program/free dance. The event concludes on Sunday with the exhibition gala.   

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Women 
Madeline Schizas | 19 | Oakville, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont.   

Men 
Keegan Messing | 30 | Girdwood, USA | Ralph Burghart | Anchorage, USA  

Ice Dance
Piper Gilles | 30 | Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier | 31 | Unionville, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.
Carolane Soucisse | 27 | Châteauguay, Que. & Shane Firus | 28 | North Vancouver, B.C. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.    

Team Leader – Mike Slipchuk
Medical Team – Marianne Chabot & Scott Fraser
Officials – Laura Carr & Erica Toplski