Patrick Chan, of Canada, takes part in a practice session at Skate Canada International in Lethbridge, Alta. on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
Patrick Chan first laced on figure skates nearly 18 years ago, and the sport has thoroughly dominated his life ever since.
So when the three-time world champion decided to launch a comeback after a season away – a jam-packed year of sky diving, snorkelling and snowboarding, all the things he couldn't do while competing – he vowed to do things differently.
Chan marks his return Friday at Skate Canada International, his first major event since his heartbreaking silver at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Among the changes the 24-year-old has made: no training on weekends.
"Just skate Monday to Friday, and really give it every day of the week 100 per cent and not have to dread skating on weekends and feeling tired from one week to the next. Now I feel rested and motivated and energized when I get to the rink on Monday," Chan said Thursday.
"So little things like that. Kathy [Johnston, his coach] suggested I do that the year of Sochi, but I chose to do what I'd always done. As a child and as a teenager, I trained that way, I wanted to stick to it. But now that I'm almost 25, I really wanted to try something new, start fresh, take a year off, come back and really [treat it] like a clean slate."
The figure skating world will be watching this week as Chan faces Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, who knocked off the Canadian favourite for Olympic gold.
This is their first meeting since Sochi, and Japan has sent 35 journalists to the Enmax Centre to report on their rematch.
Because he hasn't been competing, Chan will skate in the first flight, rather than the last flight with the top-ranked skaters.
He practised with the first group Thursday, including Nam Nguyen, the 17-year-old from Toronto who has grown nearly a foot since Chan last competed against him at the 2014 Canadian championships.
Chan's practice was solid. He doubled his planned quad jump in his program run-through, but went through that segment again, landing a beautiful quad-triple combination.
Chan skated on several show tours during his hiatus. He said he started feeling a void not long into his break. The decision to come back quickly seemed like the right one.
"I'd find myself at home and having a lot of time on my hands, and sometimes when I didn't have stuff planned, I missed the training environment, I missed my friends at the rink," he said. "I missed the order I had every day. I'd wake up at the same time. It gets boring after a while, but honestly I probably needed six months and then I wanted to get back into it."
"So I think that was the first good sign that I wanted to come back and wanted to train again."
He's kept an eye on Hanyu, a superstar in Japan since his Olympic victory. The 20-year-old, who trains in Toronto with Brian Orser, won the Grand Prix Final last season and finished second behind Spain's Javier Fernandez at the world championships.
"For me, it's great," Chan said. "I get to come back as a new, rejuvenated person, and compete again and feel rested and motivated to compete again. Which is not how I felt last time I competed against [Hanyu].
"Now I feel like things will be different." Whether it's at this event, or [Grand Prix] Final, or at worlds, I don't know. But every competition I come to, I'll give it my best, 100 per cent, and if he's here or not, it's going to be the same."
The event marks a comeback for Kaetlyn Osmond as well. The two-time Canadian champion missed all of last season after breaking her leg after crashing into the boards, an injury that required surgery.
There was a frightening moment Thursday when she crashed into the boards during practice. The shaken 19-year-old from Marystown, N.L., was helped from the ice, but later returned.