MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Toronto's Patrick Chan is looking back so he can move forward.
Chan launches his new season at the Skate Canada International meet Friday through Sunday as he hopes to repeat as world champion and draw further comparison to Canadian skating icons.
Brian Orser, Kurt Browning, Elvis Stojko and Jeff Buttle laid the groundwork for Chan's success.
"I tip my hat to all of them," Chan said Thursday. "They are not only great skaters but they are great people."
Orser, one of the best freestyle skaters in the 1980s, flashed his theatrical brilliance in winning the 1987 world title and amassed four world silver medals as well as Olympic silver in 1984 and 1988. A lot of that would have been gold had Orser not had to trace the compulsory figures that were abandoned shortly after he retired.
Browning landed the first quad in competition in 1988. He won four world championships between 1989 and 1993 while evolving from playful Westerner to suave urbanite on ice.
Mike Slipchuk has watched the last 25 years of men's skating unfold, first as a teammate of Orser and Browning and now as high performance director for Skate Canada, the national governing body for figure skating.
"Brian was the full package," said Slipchuk. "He was the one who really raised the technical bar at the time with his triple Axel.
"What Brian did to bring skating to the forefront started the team building for the 1990s."
Stojko, the first to land quads in combination, pushed the envelope with his unconventional karate-keen style to win the 1994, 1995 and 1997 world titles. He added two world silver medals along the way, and earned the 1994 and 1998 Olympic silver medals, too.
Chan wasn't born when Orser retired and Browning had dropped out before Chan laced on his first pair of skates. But Chan remembers watching Stojko on TV during the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
"I remember him having a groin injury and pushing through his long program to win silver," Chan recalls. "You could tell he was in pain but he had such mental toughness. I really admired that."
Buttle, using dance training to execute flashy footwork to rival that of Browning, won the 2006 Olympic bronze and 2008 world gold medals.
Now there is the 20-year-old Chan, who was a world silver medallist in 2009 and 2010 and 2011 gold medallist.
There's little danger of Chan's ego running rampant because he's well aware of the star-studded cast of fellow Canadians who have been on top over the last quarter century.
In particular, he looks up to Buttle, who was a teammate in his early days on the national team.
"I admired Jeff a great deal," said Chan. "If there were gods in figure skating, Jeff would be one of them.
"I go on YouTube and watch his videos. He has such an eye for details and his movements are crisp and clean and his lines are beautiful."
He strives to do the same every day in practice.
"I'm still developing as a skater," said Chan. "I've won a world championship and I'm excited to still have room for improvement."
Chan hopes to make his performances more entertaining.
"Last season was all about technical improvement," he explained. "Landing the quad, doing the triple Axel, and staying on my feet, basically.
"This year will be more about moving with more emotion and passion. I'll show that I really want to skate instead of skating to land jumps and get points. It'll be more about going out there and just enjoying it and trying to give the crowds something special."
Those kinds of adjustments come with the territory when you're a world champion.
"I've matured not only on the ice but off the ice," said Chan. "I've learned to become more presentable. I have to be careful what I say and what I do because I know that people are looking up to me now that I am world champion."
Now Chan is the reigning world champion heading into the 25th anniversary of Orser's triumph.
"The sport has changed a lot in the 25 years that all our great champions have come through," said Slipchuk. "The importance is back on the all-around skater, the whole package."
Slipchuk and Chan know that there is a thin margin that separates a world champion from a runner-up, especially in today's competitive figure skating world.
"Technically, all the skaters at the top are doing the same elements," said Slipchuk. "What then comes into play is the overall strength of your programs.
"Take Patrick's (blade) edges and his skating skills and add two quads in the long program and you've got a skater who is very hard to catch."
Chan's drive will have to continue into 2014 as competition ramps up for the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
"With Patrick, it's always interesting to see the evolvement," said Slipchuk. "This year everyone will see that his programs are just another step up from what he did last year. He keeps pushing the artistic and choreography side. His technical remains very strong, and he's melding everything together.
"That's what we're going to see, I think, with a lot of the skaters trying to catch him. They're not going to be able to out-jump him. They're going to have to have the entire package."
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