Burnaby's Nam Nguyen can be excused if his overall numbers were down slightly at his first-ever international figure skating assignment.
The 13-year-old Brentwood Park Elementary student placed 12th in the men's division at the Junior Grand Prix Volvo Cup in Riga, Latvia on Saturday.
Nguyen, who captured the Canadian junior men's national title earlier this year with a spectacular free skate, was well off his 169.89 personal-best score that he skated in January.
At the junior nationals, Nguyen wowed the crowd with a 114.67 free skate that gave him his fourth national title.
Nguyen placed ninth in the free skate with a 101.87 score to finish 12th overall in the 22-skater field with a 148.95 total points.
Nguyen's best 169.89 score would have placed him sixth at the GP.
Ryuju Hino of Japan took top spot with a 182.71 score, edging He Zhang of China, who led after the short program by less than half a point.
Timothy Dolensky of the U.S. finished in third.
