Agreed. I think I'd have him second or third on my preferences for a defenseman. Zegs, I know your guy is Levshunov. I do feel that Buium has very good vision, excellent decision making, good presence, it's just that yeah, his size is a bit of a minus. But at 6 foot as an 18 year old, it's not impossible for him to grow another inch or two and pack on muscle. I'd be more concerned about that if he was, say, 5'7. I do feel like some scouts are sleeping on him from where he's ranked.
I think I'm just too enamored with the idea of the Ducks adding a stable defenseman to the blueline who can excel at both ends of the ice even if it's at the expense of offensive production. Guys like Parekh and Yakemchuk don't really appeal to me that much. Though Yak's defense is a fair bit better than Parekh's, I worry about how it will translate in the NHL. Feels like a Darnell Nurse waiting to happen. I'm a lot higher on guys like Silayev, Buium and Dickinson.
I'd put Silayev narrowly above Buium for his physical package, the near guarantee you get that he'd excel defensively given his ability to do so against grown men in the KHL. The thing is, the more I've looked into him, the more it seems he does have offensive weapons in his tool kit that he's suppressed by focusing almost entirely on developing his defensive game. I mean he's an 18 year old playing in the second best pro league in the world. He can make his game more well rounded next season. So I'd be excited to see how he can develop if we picked him, but I acknowledge there's cause for concern that might make the Ducks pass.
As for Levshunov, I get he's a righty and has a lot of tools. I just worry about his reported issues with compete. D+0 is the time to fight your ass off to prove your worth. If he's struggling with consistent drive and compete at this stage, I worry about his ability to develop into his potential. I'd prefer Silayev, Buium or Dickinson over him but I'd probably have him fourth among the defensemen on the eve of the draft.
/Rest of the world
