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Go west, young man?
Sandhu likely to follow coach to B.C.
And then he likely will make a big move of a different kind.
Following the worlds, where Sandhu will be out to prove he belongs with international skating's elite, the pride of the York Region Skating Academy either will split with his coach Joanne McLeod -- an unlikely scenario -- or follow her out to British Columbia.
McLeod, considered one of the best young coaches in Canada, is expected to accept a position with the B.C. section of the Canadian Figure Skating Association, out of its high-performance centre in Burnaby.
According to Ted Barton, the section's executive director, McLeod will be hired on a contract basis as a consultant. She still will coach her own skaters, but also will be involved in other aspects of the sport's development in B.C., including conducting seminars for coaches and skaters.
"She is fabulous," Barton said. "Incredibly professional, dedicated, creative ... she works 24 hours a day."
Sandhu could not be reached last night for comment.
Sandhu, 18, finished second at the Canadian championships in Ottawa last month, his second consecutive excellent showing at the nationals. The technically proficient and artistically brilliant skater grabbed the lead following a solid short program, but dropped to second overall after three-time world champion Elvis Stojko nailed a brilliant long program.
Sandhu also was impressive in his long program, just missing a clean quadruple toe jump, and proved that he is a skater of exceptional ability.
Sandhu's excellent showing at last year's Canadians, where he nailed nine triples in his long program, resulted in one of the biggest selection controversies to rock the Canadian Olympic Association.
Canada was allowed to enter three skaters in the men's singles division, but the COA elected to send only two -- Stojko and Jeff Langdon of Smiths Falls, who finished third behind Sandhu.
Langdon had pre-qualified for the Games and there was a huge public and media outcry that Sandhu be added to the team, given his great performance at the nationals. The COA refused to bend the rules, even slightly, to include Sandhu and the skater later decided not to take the fight to arbitration.
His subsequent performance at the 1998 world championships was disastrous (29th), but his showing at last month's Canadians and an impressive sixth-place rally at the '98 NHK Trophy in Sapporo again showed that the talent is there.