ITA on Bonaly - most of her skating was on the flat, and it was notable at the time. Not good.
Wondrous, wondrous stroking and edges - Katia Gordeeva is, for me, a world apart. I could watch her stroke around the rink for hours (if she would), nothing else, just stroking! I don't think anyone in the eligible ranks has basic skills as pure as hers - they don't teach it that way anymore. Of course she is now teaching little ones so let's see what happens there!
Gorgeous, silent edges - Yuka Sato. You cannot hear her blades at all. Magnificent.
I did notice in her show programs last year that Joannie Rochette has incredibly deep edges for a singles skater - lovely to watch that.
I hate the way Jeff Buttle uses his shoulders when he skates but from the knee down he is a work of art - gorgeous edges and foot positions. So elegant, nothing sloppy.
Strong stroking and the ability to cover more real estate with one perfect crossover than anyone - Ilia. Ilia can also sustain any edge, with the rest of his body going off in all sorts of challenging directions, longer than anyone I've ever seen - it's really quite amazing.
Of course the height of the jumps but that's obvious.
Chan's skating skills are gorgeous but his programs are (for obvious reasons) so jam-packed, frenetically full of elements that it distracts from how very wonderful his basic skills are - if he could make things simpler (which you can't do with COP) and slow down a bit, we could really enjoy seeing that. But that's not COP...(don't get me started)
I actually think Daisuke's skills are a touch, only a touch, less controlled than Chan's but I love Dai more as a artist so I'll happily gasp at anything he does.
I noticed up close at several shows (and especially in the rehearsals) what amazingly pure dance skills Peter Tchernychev still has. Everything is aligned so beautifully in a very classic way. If I knew Scott Moir's work up close as well I'm sure I'd say the same thing. But I've had the good fortune of seeing a lot over the years of Ilia, Katia, Yuka, Peter and others in rehearsal many times and it's a privilege to see such accomplished athletes work up close. Also interesting to see them really work on basics, like crossovers, just like everybody else only theirs are prettier - but they work at it still.
While there are some brilliant skaters eligible right now, I'm still a sucker for the old school of Russian skating and the skills they stressed. My age I guess. The post-Soviet Russian school that is in evidence now doesn't thrill me one bit - pretty sloppy mess compared to the old guard.
Speaking of the old guard, if you'd like to see something simple(but really hard), sensual, lovely skills, great speed and gorgeous flow, look at Usova and Zhulin (with hair) in "Blues for Klook" - still wonderful stuff after all these years.