Skate Canada will be scary good

Skate Canada International is going to be all treat and no trick.

The Halloween weekend event in Mississauga, Ont., will bring us not only a dramatic men's rematch, but also the return to the Grand Prix circuit of ice dance legends and 2010 Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

Here's a look at the skaters to watch in each competition.

Chan vs. Hanyu reloaded

2014 Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu and silver medallist Patrick Chan duked it out last year when Skate Canada was held in Lethbridge, Alta. Hanyu finished an unthinkable seventh in the short program before leapfrogging five skaters in the free to finish with a silver medal as Chan won the competition.

This time I expect Hanyu to jump out in front during the short program and stay the course all the way to the top of the podium. The Japanese skater has already established himself as the man to beat by tossing out the first-ever quad loop jump in competition last month in Montreal, while Chan tends to ease into the season more slowly.

Sweetening the pot for me is the chance to watch a healthy Kevin Reynolds vying for top honours. At one time before his plague of injuries and boot issues, the Canadian was fifth in the world in 2013. Reynolds has already earned a silver medal in the pre-season Ondrej Nepela Memorial event, which bodes well for his confidence.

Virtue & Moir in a league of their own

There should be no battle for the top spot in the dance event, which will likely go to Virtue and Moir, the two-time world champions.

The real competition will be among teams trying to round out the podium. Look for Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier to dazzle with maybe my favourite short dance of the season so far. It's disco-themed and let's just say it takes me back. I'm also looking forward to seeing how 2014 world champions Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy will reinvent themselves after two consecutive fourth-place finishes at worlds.

Medvedeva on a roll

The worst result posted by Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva during a terrific run that started with a victory at the 2015 world junior championships is a second-place place finish at last season's Rostelecom Cup Grand Prix. Aside from that, she's won everything else in the women's division, from the Grand Prix Final to the European and world titles. It's as rare as hens' teeth to see a skater jump from junior to senior world titles in consecutive seasons, but Medvedeva has a rare kind of consistency.

I want to see if Medvedeva can keep it going against a solid field at Skate Canada that includes fellow Russian Elizaveta Tuktamysheva — the European and world champion in 2015 — and Canadian Kaetlyn Osmond, the surprise Skate Canada winner in 2012.

Duhamel, Radford own pairs

Two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford have owned the pairs competition over the last couple of seasons. The Canadians haven't been beaten at any of their Grand Prix events in that time, and have medalled at each of the last two Grand Prix Finals.

There's no reason to think they won't continue to dominate, despite the best efforts of a number of other teams, including fellow Canadians Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch and last week's Skate America's silver medallists Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the U.S.

Pj's gold medal picks

Men: Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)

Ladies: Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia)

Pairs: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (Canada)

Dance: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (Canada)