Deniss Vasiljevs just might be one of the most interesting men in the world of figure skating.
One minute he is quoting Winston Churchill to illustrate one of his many thoughts, and the next he is talking about the “fantasy world” book he is writing.
But first and foremost, it is figure skating that is closest to the heart of the 23-year-old Latvian whose passion is to perform and compete at the highest level.
It is what drives him daily in the pursuit of excellence and even perfection. And when he falls short of that aim … well, you get this:
“I believe that I have much greater potential than I am currently showing, and I wish for it so much,” he said following his short program at Skate Canada International, where he finished in a disappointing 10th place.
Vasiljevs had opened his fall season a month earlier with a bronze medal effort at a Challenger Series event, the Ondrej Nepela Memorial in Slovakia.
He went to Skate Canada expecting to take a step forward, but instead found disaster in Mississauga, Ontario.
“It was like day and night. It wasn’t great
