RD Artyom Levshunov - Michigan State Univ., NCAA (2024, 2nd, CHI)

[majormajor]

I can sort of see it, but ultimately I lean away from it. A couple reasons, Jack Johnson was basically a power forward lining up at defense when he was a prospect. He was more reckless than Levshunov. He was much consistently tougher than Levshunov. And he was a big end to end rush guy, it felt like Jack had the puck too much. It was all just a little more extreme and mean compared to what we have here for me.

It's not crazy by any means though. It's almost hard to pull up the image of what JMFJ looked like as a prospect given how many changes he's gone through in his career haha

Your memory of JJ as a prospect is surely better than mine, I'll take your word for it. I know JJ's game the best from his time in Columbus. He was a chaotic rover for the first few years, before Torts arrived, but he had already eschewed the end to end craziness. There were big issues with his passing and positioning.

 

[belfour30]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1808536622545133868

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

For the first time in a while (excuse the rust on top of the lack of talent), I put together a video breakdown on a prospect. This isn't a highlight reel or even really a blow by blow scouting report (both have been done to death on this player I think)...but I took a look into how he generates offense and a little bit of the structural and mental processor concerns that I have...

It's not super flowery, so it might not be for everyone...but it was created in good faith.

The thing with Bouchard that I think might be missing in Levshunov's game is Bouchard's calmness and poise. Bouchard's ability to slow the game down is absolutely elite, while in Levshunov's game there's a rushed and hurried quality that can limit his effectiveness.

There's a reason Evan Bouchard is one of the top defensemen in the league analytically. With and without McDavid on the ice, the ice is tilted heavily in his favour — even when it comes to suppressing chances against. Those analytics are pretty surprising when you consider his defensive warts, and in my opinion that discrepancy is best explained with his poise and patience. More than anything, Bouchard is a puck possession monster, and that makes him an overwhelming net positive on the ice offensively and defensively. Levshunov has that sense of urgency in his game that can be an asset, but I don't see him having that same presence that Bouchard does due to his lack of poise.

One distinction I make that I don't often see made is defending vs defensive impact. I consider Bouchard excellent defensively (because his poise and impact on puck possession leads to few chances against), though I don't think he's particularly great at defending. On the other hand, a Kris Russell was a great defender but very poor defensively and always hemmed in his own zone. Levshunov is clearly a poor defender at this point in his career, as you described in your video, and that may or may not be coachable. The question for me is whether he can develop a positive defensive impact in the NHL, and I don't think there's as clear a path for him as there was for Bouchard.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Those analytics are pretty surprising when you consider his defensive warts,

It is. And some guy's analytics are not some other guy's analytics. It's not like "analytics" is a singular entity, of course. Not that I want to poke the bear right now on Bouchard because his fame is at an all time high when I don't think his personal game is so far beyond where it was a year and a half ago to justify it. But, the analytics that you're looking at, is there an B.E. A.E (Before Ekholm/After Ekholm) split that you've seen?

I will say that I appreciate your reasonable viewpoint on it, but I don't necessarily subscribe to the terminology applied. But I don't want to drag this thread too far off course. But I do think it's an interesting distinction between the two. I want to do some more research on that potential differential that you suggest before I commit to a feeling on it...but I didn't want to gloss over the comment entirely either because it is thoughtful.

 

[ConnorMcMullet]

It is. And some guy's analytics are not some other guy's analytics. It's not like "analytics" is a singular entity, of course. Not that I want to poke the bear right now on Bouchard because his fame is at an all time high when I don't think his personal game is so far beyond where it was a year and a half ago to justify it. But, the analytics that you're looking at, is there an B.E. A.E (Before Ekholm/After Ekholm) split that you've seen?

I will say that I appreciate your reasonable viewpoint on it, but I don't necessarily subscribe to the terminology applied. But I don't want to drag this thread too far off course. But I do think it's an interesting distinction between the two. I want to do some more research on that potential differential that you suggest before I commit to a feeling on it...but I didn't want to gloss over the comment entirely either because it is thoughtful.

Thanks for the reply. I’ll try not to go into too much detail either so as not to derail the thread.

I used the word analytics broadly because Bouchard fares well in pretty much any stat you can find. When it comes to controlling the pace of play, a stat I like is that Bouchard is in the 98th percentile for most time spent in the O-zone, and in the 97th percentile for least time spent in the D zone. That’s an example of that distinction I made; while he’s not especially good at defending, his ice-tilting ability means he simply doesn’t have to defend very often. And while Ekholm has certainly helped, his analytics were also great when paired with Keith previously.

Back to Levshunov, I don’t see that same poise and ability to slow down the play. But he is also toolsier than Bouchard and a much better skater at the same age.