Prospect Info: 2024 2nd Overall - Artyom Levshunov

[kmwtrucks]

Actually the team's been in the basement for about 3 years and before that was in the murky middle. They were quite literally a .500 team prior to Davidson taking over in the preceding 4-5 seasons. Not good enough to make the playoffs, still holding onto hope of turning things around within Toews/Kane's contracts. Making actual bad moves, seemingly for the sake of making moves (Panarin, Hjalmarsson, Jones, etc).

Then what happened? McD left, Bowman was forced to resign and the Hawks actually committed to a plan. Maybe the plan won't work. But at least it's an actual plan. Rebuild through the draft. Bowman's plan was to throw shit at Toews and Kane and call it a playoff team. Did you prefer that?

You talk about criticizing and being mocked and it's like, sir, do you even understand what the plan is? You're conflating the last 10 years together to, it seems, help your argument that maybe they're not making the right calls and you expect not to be mocked/called out for that? Come on now.

every team misses at the draft at some points. I think he has been about AVG to slightly above. every team misses on UFA I think he has been AVG to slightly above. his longest deals are TT 3 years and Bert 4 years and both of those look fine. Trades he has been avg to slightly above. he has added 7 1st round picks that were not his, 6 seconds and 5 3rds. he has added almost 20 picks in his 1st 5 years in the first 3 rounds. So all in all I would say he has been slightly above AVG. His plan was acquiring as many draft picks as possible, not sign long term deals until we have turned the corner, draft speed and D with size. I feel like he has done what he has set out to do. the Demi draft hurts for a few reasons, one of which is he would be on Bedards wing next year and they would both be putting up a point a game. Even if we were losing games bedard would be happier.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Is this keeping you up at night or something? Opinions on this comparison are irrelevant until they make it into the NHL.

okay then go shut down the 55 page 2025 draft thread and every prospect thread on this site, also the thread about old hawks thats on volume 8, useless, not on the current team, not in the nhl, so what does it matter...so yeah shut it all down

 

[TheFridge]

You know what I'm saying, if you bring up a non-consensus view/argument on this board you're mocked and ridiculed for it, it happens constantly...lets just start running posts by people before we make them to make sure it has the approval of the superior authorities on hawks hockey...anyway total waste of time to discuss this anymore, we'll know the answer on this pick in time

I know what you're saying? Do you even know what you're saying?

 

[CallMeShaft]

Demidov is the better prospect. Just as he was at the time of the draft.

Having said that, stats don't tell the whole story. Rockford forwards are having a rough time scoring goals this season, so Lev's numbers this season don't look all that impressive despite his high shot totals. It's also his first season in yet another new, more challenging league.

Demidov, again, is the better prospect. But he might not be significantly better.

Ivan currently has 43pts in 51 games playing on SKA, which is one of the premier teams in that league. Michkov, last season, had 41pts in 47 games on a much less impressive squad. MM this season, on the Flyers, has 34pts in 53 games. Good numbers, but certainly less than many pundents and nerds on HF figured he'd get this season in the NHL.

If Demidov comes over next season and scores at a 50ish point pace, would people here think more highly of him? Those would be good numbers for a forward playing in the NHL in his D+2 season. But those numbers don't scream "can't miss player" either.

 

[Dead Meat]

okay then go shut down the 55 page 2025 draft thread and every prospect thread on this site, also the thread about old hawks thats on volume 8, useless, not on the current team, not in the nhl, so what does it matter...so yeah shut it all down

Their opinions would still be irrelevant...it hasn't even been a year yet.

 

[Castle8130]

I knew Byrons tweet started the avalanche of replies.

I'm more of an eye test person myself and I thought Demidov looked way better at the time of the draft. Demidov has looked very dominant in the KHL this year, but that's not what we should be concerned about anymore.

We should be looking at how Levshunov's game has looked at Rockford and how it compares to his time in the NCAA. In all honesty, I expected him to be better. I won't say he has regressed, but I didn't see a ton of improvement from last year to this year. I know it's a step up from NCAA competition, but he was dominant in the NCAA. He looks like a very average AHL defender at the moment, but hopefully he takes a big leap next season

 

[CallMeShaft]

I knew Byrons tweet started the avalanche of replies.

I'm more of an eye test person myself and I thought Demidov looked way better at the time of the draft. Demidov has looked very dominant in the KHL this year, but that's not what we should be concerned about anymore.

We should be looking at how Levshunov's game has looked at Rockford and how it compares to his time in the NCAA. In all honesty, I expected him to be better. I won't say he has regressed, but I didn't see a ton of improvement from last year to this year. I know it's a step up from NCAA competition, but he was dominant in the NCAA. He looks like a very average AHL defender at the moment, but hopefully he takes a big leap next season

Looking "very average" for an AHL defender doesn't sound so bad when we're talking about the youngest defender in the league and, if I'm not mistaken, 2nd youngest player there overall.

 

[Hawkaholic]

I'm not sure why people think Demidov is a for sure thing in this league. Not everyone is Kaprizov, or Panarin. Kravstov, who absolutely sucked here, and couldn't make it, has more points than him currently, same goes for Barbonov. I understand he is younger and still has room to grow, but being great in the KHL doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Demidov and Levshunov aren’t all that similar. If Levshunov hits he’s a top pair set and forget RHD for like twelve years. Demidov could hit even more and hawks can still be ok. The teams that took Sennecke and Lindstrom over Demidov should theoretically feel worse since they both went forward but potentially got someone worse.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

I know what you're saying? Do you even know what you're saying?

stop being obtuse

Their opinions would still be irrelevant...it hasn't even been a year yet.

point is there are ample discussions on this board about stuff you would say doesn't matter, but thats the point of this board and sports in general, most of it doesn't matter, but since we're here and spending time on this team we might as well analyze what they do with their resources and if its the best way to use them and discuss, anyone belittling others for having a difference of opinions is pathetic

 

[Muffinalt]

huh? chicago fans are so defensive, whether its caleb or bedard/levshunov, any questioning is off the table

Funny thing is he actually complimented Lev too in this case.

I will never understand hawks fans jumping on other hawks fans for differing opinions.

That's main boards shit. You would think civil discussion could be had among people sharing the same passion.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I think our fanbase leans whiny rather than homer to be honest. I've been a part of online fandoms that are (usually mod-enforced) rah-rah about everything, and I don't think this is one.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Funny thing is he actually complimented Lev too in this case.

I will never understand hawks fans jumping on other hawks fans for differing opinions.

That's main boards shit. You would think civil discussion could be had among people sharing the same passion.

go figure... but its okay to debate the lineup construction of a terrible last place team all day and what bum should play where but if you question how they spent a 2nd overall pick then thats completely off the table

 

[BHawks77]

stop being obtuse


point is there are ample discussions on this board about stuff you would say doesn't matter, but thats the point of this board and sports in general, most of it doesn't matter, but since we're here and spending time on this team we might as well analyze what they do with their resources and if its the best way to use them and discuss, anyone belittling others for having a difference of opinions is pathetic

Sure discussion is good but you also have to take account that it is too early to tell how last years draft will shake out in the end in few years. Sure Demidov looks promising at this moment and to tell you the thruth I hoped Hawks would take him. But I also understand why Hawks took Lev. When you look at the steps Lev has taken in few years it is surprising and tells about the potential he has. Also development isnt linear you cant make definite statements about where they will be in few years. Just look at Musto with Vlasic.

Patience is needed and knee jerk reactions just make you feel bad.

 

[WarriorofTime]

go figure... but its okay to debate the lineup construction of a terrible last place team all day and what bum should play where but if you question how they spent a 2nd overall pick then thats completely off the table

idk man, you've kind of made your point on Demidov enough, nobody jumped you, the one guy just said "stopped reading after..." and brought it right back to Demidov and turned into a victim-complex thing

 

[Crow]

I think our fanbase leans whiny rather than homer to be honest. I've been a part of online fandoms that are (usually mod-enforced) rah-rah about everything, and I don't think this is one.

I completely agree. Whiny/bitchy/negative posters here make up a loud and significant part of the community here. This isn’t an echo chamber at all.

The problem is a lot of posters are just so negatively biased to the point where they are actively looking for more negative things to come. Most of them do not make arguments that are intellectually honest. That type of stuff needs to be challenged no matter if the person is positive or negative.

 

[Muffinalt]

I think our fanbase leans whiny rather than homer to be honest. I've been a part of online fandoms that are (usually mod-enforced) rah-rah about everything, and I don't think this is one.

Heavily disagree. Maybe I'm biased because I'm part of some other truly special boards, but this one is more on the side if combative, passive aggressive, calling each other names.

It's still the best hawks board and there are so many gres things and posters, but I don't get the aggressiveness.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

idk man, you've kind of made your point on Demidov enough, nobody jumped you, the one guy just said "stopped reading after..." and brought it right back to Demidov and turned into a victim-complex thing

people have a way of dismissing and belittling others with counter opinions a lot on this board, see it enough with other posters, fact is everyone on here has posted what ended up being a bad take or two and a right take or two over time, there is no scoreboard keeping count of that but you'd think there was

 

[Behn Wilson]

I know what you're saying? Do you even know what you're saying?

 

[TheFridge]

stop being obtuse

You literally don't know what you're talking about, do you? Are the Hawks of today the same as the Hawks of the late Bowman era? What does anything they did before Davidson have to do with right now?

 

[Toews2Bickell]

You literally don't know what you're talking about, do you? Are the Hawks of today the same as the Hawks of the late Bowman era? What does anything they did before Davidson have to do with right now?

yeah new fan, can you inform me what happened over the past decade please

 

[TheFridge]

yeah new fan, can you inform me what happened over the past decade please

"The Hawks have been in the basement for 10 years". Your words. So again, what does the late-Bowman era have to do with today chief?

 

[Toews2Bickell]

"The Hawks have been in the basement for 10 years". Your words. So again, what does the late-Bowman era have to do with today chief?

lotto team that scraped by trying to compete since the panarin deal, you want to play optics with the statement, they've largely been an irrelevant team since the nashville series, so when people have a negative opinion of this franchise and the decisions they've made its largely warranted until its not because they ended up here as a result of the years of bad decisions

 

[Crow]

people have a way of dismissing and belittling others with counter opinions a lot on this board, see it enough with other posters, fact is everyone on here has posted what ended up being a bad take or two and a right take or two over time, there is no scoreboard keeping count of that but you'd think there was

If a person (not necessarily you) is going to be disingenuous and insult people’s intelligence they can expect the same or to be dismissed. I’m not talking about having a bad take but about posting complete bullshit as a habit.

 

[TheFridge]

lotto team that scraped by trying to compete since the panarin deal, you want to play optics with the statement, they've largely been an irrelevant team since the nashville series, so when people have a negative opinion of this franchise and the decisions they've made its largely warranted until its not because they ended up here as a result of the years of bad decisions

"Play optics" come on man. You don't even know what the meaning of the words you're using are. And I'm the one being "obtuse"?

They ended up *here*, as in the *right now*, completely by design. After a regime change, with the previous regime making bad decision after bad decision. Where they were before, a literal .500 team trying to, foolishly, contend around Toews/Kane at the end of their contracts, was not by design. They didn't want to be a .500 team. They wanted to be a playoff contender. That's what Bowman believed they were.