It was really exciting to be there for this competition. The crowd genuinely adored Bradley.
I don't think it's an even comparison - Bradbury was way back when the others wiped out. Ryan was in the lead after the short program by a big margin, given the competition. He just didn't screw up as much as the others in the LP. If Bradbury had stumbled in front of the pack and fallen across the finish line, then I could justify the comparison, lol.
While waiting for the start of the LP, Bradley nailed one of the jumps he messed up in the program. I thought to myself, "Don't show off now - save it for the program." You know what they say: don't leave it on the practice ice. I was listening to the unofficial tech callers and he really didn't make a lot of mistakes during the program, by their reckoning. I know a lot of people don't like the "showman" programs, but I really enjoy them much more than the angry or sad programs. Pedestrian tastes, I guess.
I'll go out on a limb and say keep an eye on Brown: he's got the goods, just needs a little more experience. We're in NASCAR country, so the ponytail was perfectly acceptable, but by the end of his program, he had converted people who were sitting like mummies when he started. Everyone got to their feet for that kid. IMO, most of Brown's issues came from focusing on the choreography rather than the technical side of the house. The (unoff) tech callers kept counting his spin revolutions - where three were required, he'd do two because he wanted to stay on cue with the music, but it was killing his scores because the spin could have been a Level 3 or 4 if he had just held it in position for one more revolution.
The Junior Mens winner is also a firestarter - just has incredible rapport with the audience, plus he's talented. Huge, clean jumps. Fast, tight spins. His footwork sequences were fun to watch. The personality is what makes him shine - he just connected with ease.