U.S. junior champion, two World Junior Championships appearances, Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist.
Camden Pulkinen has a junior résumé that most skaters would be envious of. Friday at Skate Canada International here in Kelowna, British Columbia, he makes his long-awaited senior Grand Prix debut.
"You always dream about these things when you're at home training," Pulkinen, 19, said on Thursday after two practices on Grand Prix ice. "Everyone here is of the highest caliber, intense and seasoned. There is really no room for mistakes. I thought I knew what it would feel like, but I didn't."
While not at the Grand Prix level, Pulkinen has skated as a senior internationally before, most notably at Autumn Classic International just last month. It was there that he shared ice with two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, who is looking to win his first Skate Canada in four career appearances.
"I was excited to see how he worked," Pulkinen said of Hanyu at Autumn Classic, where the Japanese star won and he finished fifth. "I was there to do my job in competition and on practice ice, but I was interested to see how he warms up, any rituals. Overall, it was nothing he did that was out of the ordinary. It was a good experience for me to see that as the new guy on the block."
Pulkinen will be the "new kid" for much of this year, including this weekend and then at Cup of China in week four of the Grand Prix Series.
He – of course – has medal aspirations, but it's more about his development this season and the long-term plan he and his team have set their eyes on: Be a member of the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team for the Olympics Winter Games Beijing 2022.
"He's the new kid on the block," re-iterated Tammy Gambill, one of Pulkinen's co-coaches alongside Damon Allen. "He wants to go out and show the world how much he's improved and matured and skate two clean programs. His quad is looking so much better. I think he's excited to show everyone that he can land it now."
That quad is a quadruple toe loop, which Pulkinen says he's been landing consistently – if not 100 percent of the time – since before Autumn Classic, where he landed one in the short program but not the free skate.
The Pulkinen camp knows he needs that quad (and more – they're working on it, he said) to be competitive nationally. And internationally, too, of course.
"I want to show the quad, (but I also) want to show improvement on my spins, my steps, my components too," Pulkinen said. "Then the placement and results will take care of themselves."
This season, he turned to familiar skating names Joshua Farris (short program) and Stephane Lambiel (free skate) to help show off that continued improvement and growth as choreographers, two personal heroes Pulkinen feels grateful to have worked with.
"(Stephane) gave me the freedom to work with him to create the program; it's our program. I really appreciate that about working with him," he said. With Josh, "I learned from him, his regrets, what worked well. His past I think will help my future. He helped me to see where I want to go."
Pulkinen doesn't seem to be in a hurry on the ice to get "there" when it comes to his career, but sometimes he can be caught rushing in a program itself. At both the 2018 Junior Grand Prix Final and 2019 World Junior Championships, Pulkinen won the short program, only to crumble in the free skate.
"I want him to relax and not force it," Gambill said of her charge's mental approach. "He needs to let it go and just go with the flow. He tries to over-think and muscle things sometimes. He tries too hard; tries to be perfect. I want him to feel it."
Pulkinen wants that, too. For the past four years he's worked with Dr. Alex Cohen, a sports psychologist with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, to help him with his mental approach to competitions.
"I try to be realistic and neutral when I skate to center ice," Pulkinen explained of his pre-program routine. "It's what I think keeps me stable."
Pulkinen has the quad toe planned in both his short and free programs this weekend. He wants his programs to show another side of him, particularly his Lambiel-choreographed free, which is chock full of emotion. His experience in juniors, he hopes, is just a launching pad for what's to come.
"I really do want to be a contender for 2022," he said of the next Olympics. "It's not about winning U.S. Championships this year, or placing third… It's about showing continual growth every year."
It starts – at least on the Grand Prix stage – at Skate Canada.
"At the end of the day, it's an opportunity to put myself against these other seniors and see how I stack up against them," he said. Making this transition to seniors, "the timing is perfectly right. If it was any sooner, I don't think I'd be as prepared as I am now. I've had my ups and downs in the junior ranks. I know how to get through it all, the highs and the lows. I feel like all of those challenges, setbacks and successes have contributed to the skater that I am now."
"I feel prepared for the outcome… whatever that is. I feel really comfortable that I know how to adapt to whatever challenges come my way."
The next challenge? Today. And his first senior Grand Prix. Tune in for Pulkinen's short program live and on-demand on the
Figure Skating Pass on NBC Sports Gold.
