It's time for another 'sweetheart' on the ice

Canada is crying out for a new sweetheart.

What I want to see more than anything this weekend is one young woman skate through the gaping door of opportunity and grab her big chance in style and with passion.

Oh, how we need her.

The last sweetheart Canada had, of course, was Liz Manley and what a truly wonderful romance that was.

But since then, heck, we haven't been dating anyone and that's sad for a nation with such a fine history and tradition of producing great women figure skaters.

What I want today is for one young woman, and it could be any one of the competitors in the women's event at the Canadian championships, to make some noise -- a lot of noise.

I want her to go out there and light up the room with her brilliance and be that new someone that all Canadians can embrace.

It's simply time we had another world force in women's figure skating and hopefully by the end of today we'll know who it's going to be.

In the men's division, of course, it is a different matter.

Elvis is still very much in the building and he's quite simply still the man to beat.

But there are heirs apparent in the wings. Among them are Ben Ferreira and Fedor Andreev. I know each of them and each has something special to offer.

I'll always remember Ben saying that he took up skating seriously in 1991 when he watched me skate at the world championships.

And later, as a 16-year-old at the 1996 worlds in Edmonton, he took my place at the opening ceremonies.

I always remember what I said at that time: "It was a great moment for him. He's going to be champion one day."

Well, who knows? Today, I'm sure, will certainly be another great moment for him and maybe it's the day he does end up champion. But with Elvis around it's going to be tough.

Today is huge for Fedor, too. He's the reigning national junior champion and he's stepping up into the seniors for the first time. Of course, his mom is Marina Soueva, choreographer for Ekatarina Gordeeva and the late Sergei Grinkov, who won four world pairs championships (1986 through '89) and gold at the '88 Calgary Olympics. She is now choreographing for her son.

Fedor is my wife Sonia's favourite. She always says he's one of the most beautiful people she's ever seen in terms of his grace and demeanour -- and she should know something about that because she's a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada.

There's a silver lining to the quality of this young man. Here's one skater capable of lighting up the room. There seems to be a new level of purity about this young man and his technique.

In dance, I understand seven-time and defending national champs Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz won't be skating because Shae-Lynn is injured. So that, along with the retirement of Chantal Levebvre and Michel Brunet, means that the door has swung wide open for the crowning of new national champions.

And whomever they are, they should remember one thing. They deserve it, they've worked for it, and they should consider themselves the true champions. They shouldn't think that because so-and-so isn't there, or so-and-so is injured, they aren't really the champs.

I always remember Michael Slipchuk (now coaching at Calgary's Glencoe Club) winning when I wasn't there . . . he beat Elvis and he would probably have beaten me. He was a brilliant champion and truly, truly deserved to be the champion. And he bore the title so well.

That's the way our new dance champions should be.

Good luck, everyone. Go for it!