Prospect Info: 2024 2nd Overall - Artyom Levshunov

[WarriorofTime]

Belarus -> USHL -> NCAA -> AHL is one hell of a ride.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Belarus -> USHL -> NCAA -> AHL is one hell of a ride.

Rare for sure.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of another prospect that had a continual year to year progression of jumping to superior leagues like that.

If anyone can think of any, it'd be fun to compare and see how they panned out.

 

[clydesdale line]

Belarus -> USHL -> NCAA -> AHL is one hell of a ride.

And more than held his own and then some as he's climbed.

 

[TLEH]

I’d be fine with NCAA, I’d be fine with AHL. NHL is a no no for me

 

[Putt Pirate]

I do hope people don’t pile on and dislike the kid because they didn’t pick Demidov. I think he will be a great addition to our blue line prospects which we have many of and some are pretty good too. I understand critiquing him but let the kid grow and learn. Him being our #1 RHD (and being a good one) is what we should all be hoping for. And, his personal story makes me want it more for him to be successful considering what he has gone through.

 

[Pez68]

I do hope people don’t pile on and dislike the kid because they didn’t pick Demidov. I think he will be a great addition to our blue line prospects which we have many of and some are pretty good too. I understand critiquing him but let the kid grow and learn. Him being our #1 RHD (and being a good one) is what we should all be hoping for. And, his personal story makes me want it more for him to be successful considering what he has gone through.

Oh, it will happen. We have a few unhinged posters who relentlessly attack guys that aren't "their pick".

 

[ColbyChaos]

Oh, it will happen. We have a few unhinged posters who relentlessly attack guys that aren't "their pick".

Even Musto doesn’t hate the Lev pick

Boisvert on the other hand I wish the mods didn’t give him a peepee slap and remove his unhinged posts on the thread for him. They genuinely brought a smile to my face

 

[EddieTheEagle]

Even Musto doesn’t hate the Lev pick

Boisvert on the other hand I wish the mods didn’t give him a peepee slap and remove his unhinged posts on the thread for him. They genuinely brought a smile to my face

 

[HawksDub89]

I’d be fine with NCAA, I’d be fine with AHL. NHL is a no no for me

Full AHL season followed by a Calder run would be perfect.

My one (and only) concern with the AHL route is the temptation to call him up if he’s doing well in Rockford.

KD isn’t Bowman, so hopefully he stays true to his philosophy.

 

[hawksfan50]

The debate:

Lev should go back to MSU 1 more season VS.
Hawks should sign Lev now and pkay him in Rockford.

Advantage of signing hom now and pkaying in Rockford is Hawksxget hands on development us he get PRO experience quicker.


Disadvantages are that you sign his ELC at a very short steer from Bedard.. so 2 higex2nd contract cap hits woukd come in short soN separated by just 1xseason..Maybe better for our caobtovstagger those ELC to 2nd cobtract situations with a 2 season separation between them.

I believe Hawks currently still have approx.$4.8million in cap space left...so if Hawks sign him and do notv rade out a contract ,it cuts current xap space down to aoprox$1.8million.
.(not sure what an ELC cap hit max contract limit is for 1st cobtract pkayers is..but for a high first rounder I believe itvis axbit ubder $3mulluo...so realky does not leave enough cap room cushion for Hawksxto use onTDL cobtract take on trades for picks at tge trade deadline.
To me the cons to signing him now outweigh the pros with such, and so Lev should go back to school 1 more season.

 

[Salvaged Ship]

Go to the AHL, let him work with our development staff. I don’t see any advantage to going back to college other than if its the kids preference and he doesn’t want to turn pro yet. I don’t see college another year helping his development more than the AHL. Send KK down to Rockford and let these two pair together, get used to each other so when they do get to the Hawks they are already a competent duo.

 

[TheFridge]

Full AHL season followed by a Calder run would be perfect.

My one (and only) concern with the AHL route is the temptation to call him up if he’s doing well in Rockford.

KD isn’t Bowman, so hopefully he stays true to his philosophy.

I mean, the Hawks called guys up under Bowman that weren't even doing that well in Rockford. If Levshunov is playing consistently well in Rockford, he should be rewarded if an opportunity presents itself. And realistically, if the Hawks do have him in Rockford next year, it's incredibly likely he will see NHL time at some point, even if it's just at the end of the season.

 

[Muffinalt]

As someone who was a massive Demidov fanboy, it's clear as day why they made the pick. High end tools, high end production, lots of development runway. They're betting that a kid who went from Belarusian juniors to the Big Ten in two years (and, let's be real, looked great in the process) will be able to put the finer points of his game together with more stability, more time in a system, and more time in the weight room. I think it's a pretty good bet even if it isn't the pick I was hoping for.

It's hard to make an apples to apples comparison with kids who have spent their whole lives in high level development systems so I get why some people would have been more comfortable with Buium, Silayev, etc but calling this a bad pick is premature.

This is a great great post.

I'm still struggling with this pick. I'm actually very much partial to Belarus, my parents lived there for 5 years and I'm working with them still. Great people, completely misjudged country by the majority. It's a great place that gets treated bad. Some of the nicest and most correct people in the world.

You can see it with Levshunov too, he's a great kid. Down to earth, funny - he will be a fan favorite on personality alone.

And yet I still hate the pick. He looks so much like Seth Jones with his inconsistent and at times nonchalant attitude. His production doesn't seem convincing to hold up, he doesn't show high end game breaking stuff. His processing and hockey IQ are big question marks as well to me.

I'm scared he won't be an impact defenseman honeslty, and with him being such a crucial pick, that would be bad.

So what you say - projection and a calculated gamble - that's pretty much what keeps me in it.

All you say is true. The FO is making the gamble on a kid who made huge jumps and looked good in it, so what really his ceiling right?

Tools wise it's ridiculously high for sure. If he turns into a Doughty it's a home run. We don't really know how good he can be yet, since he's jumping leagues. His baseline is very good already, so there is good reason to believe he can improve a lot.

It's just - it's a gamble. Of he doesn't get there, it's going to be very very bad. And unfortunately the decision making and effort level are the hardest thing to improve.

I'm rooting for him, I really do. But I have my doubts that I can't shake.

 

[HawksDub89]

I mean, the Hawks called guys up under Bowman that weren't even doing that well in Rockford. If Levshunov is playing consistently well in Rockford, he should be rewarded if an opportunity presents itself. And realistically, if the Hawks do have him in Rockford next year, it's incredibly likely he will see NHL time at some point, even if it's just at the end of the season.

He’d have to be playing unbelievable for me to want them to move him up.

 

[hawksfan50]

1.His shot from the point getsxtgrough..$9.5 cannot do that..on the occasions (few) that it does,it goes wide and fails to hit the net..so either no t many goals from thevpiubt or no rebounds. LEV has uncanny ability to get shotsxthrough screens on net..a lot ofcrebound chancesiff that.

Is hos shot better than Yakemchuk or Oarekh=No ..on the shot scoring itself.. but gettibg tgrough screens unblocked IS a soecial talent in and of itself.. He doest hat..sandcthat can add assists and secondary assists via cashing intgese rebounds.
He does this better than any dman in the draft.


2.It "lloos" like he putscout little effort because his skating is so smooth.. the stride..it fools you to thinking he is going slower than h actualky vis..makes look easy ...so you think no pace or no dynamism ..so easy that you think he is hardly trying..but he is effectove...soncan ve a point game anyway.

3.His lack of apparent dynamism orcrat -west puck dangling alk around the zone possessing the puck makes himself "unexcitong"..
But still hevisxeffective...gettingvhisvpiints.
Yet too many fans who are not pro scouts sissies this easy going style only because it the are no highlight reel "exciting" moments in his game..hevis not Makar or Josi in offebsivexstyle..andcthatvisxwhy so many including me came away unimpressed in viewings.. yet look on the scoresheet.. still effective.He has vision and is an excellent passer to the open guy ..
So he does offense well but not in exciting fashion..So it does not look like he is "taking over"a game offensively.. yet in the game he still gets his points.

He is smooth and efgcient offensively ..but you are not lifted out of your seats.

Naturally so many fans wanted the highlight reel "flash" of Demidov vs the smooth efficiency of Lev
shinov.

4. Defensively ..he cuts off rushes..skates well 4 directions easily...has goid gap control so that cuts off rush attacks..He has some good physicality...not the best if tge physical dmen in the draft..but enough edge and leaning to make some parts his defense attractive.

5. What part of his defending does he need to improve on?To me the weakest parts of his defensive game are inconsistent focus and decision making on reads ..but that plagues a lot of young dmen till they get better at it ..some never get better at it (hence the Seth Jones comparison by some)..But as I said with his offense,he akso does a lot of defensive things better than Jonescdoes...so you hope more experience and coaching can make hm more consistently focused and improved in reading tge pkayvand maintaining correct position..

Yet the main difference between hm and $9.5 (including shots getting through on net ,better ousting,better gap control,less unfocused moments but still not optimal focus ,harder edge when he wants to,ratger than Jones soft met front watches instead of clear-outs,is thatvitvakk cones out in tgexwash:

$9.5 is a heavy -player..Lev is a heavy +player in thex5x5 game...thatvhasxti speak volumes for "net" effectiveness.

I would also say Lev could work on his stick effectiveness for intercepting cross labe oases.

So yes oartsvof hiscgame need refinement and improving.. but overall compared to $9.5, itvis nightcap day..Seth isxa kiusycdnan. COUKDbe a forward.. notvyhatvge can score.butvhe can transport a puck into tge o-zone and cause havoc and open space for team'mayes i such acroke. BUTad a dman..Seth has no instinct forctgevposotuin..Lev does . He just needs to improvevon sone areas .but even ifvhe dies not ,he does too many things well to bust .

So overall I reject the Seth Jones comparison.Seth is a negative machine albatross who never learned..never improved 1 bit..despite all the experience gained ..Kev can improve on parts of his game that still need to get better I think he will fix those areas..Jones is stuck on the same lousy plateau. same mistakes over and over abd over.I do not think Lev will plateau...so upside both on attack and in drfending aspects.

Jones does not lift you out of your seat ..but you cringexeverytine he goes out there. Fearing something bad will happen .and you feel sorry for Vlasic who must cover for Jones' plethora of fails.Lev is too good to cringe or not trust him ..But like most young dmen,they can at times lose focus,and if so the opps can take advantage..fixing that adoect to a higher degree of focuse should put Lev into even better +/- numbers.

 

[Favster]

Habs fan lurker here. Really love the way you guys welcome this guy even though he might not have been your first choice. You could teach a lot of us Habs fans a thing or two (see Reinbacher pick ughh). Might not have been the sexiest pick but you build winning teams around guys like this, wishing the best to all of you.

 

[LavalPhantom]

Habs fan lurker here. Really love the way you guys welcome this guy even though he might not have been your first choice. You could teach a lot of us Habs fans a thing or two (see Reinbacher pick ughh). Might not have been the sexiest pick but you build winning teams around guys like this, wishing the best to all of you.

For the love of God, don’t go read the Sasha Boivert thread…

 

[Hattrick Kane]

This guy is the next Drew Doughty, bet on it.

 

[Kevin Musto]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1809271290840182820