Evaluating the 2nd overall selection and his potential impact from an Icehogs’ perspective.
By Jack Masters @hogthought on X IceHogs Analyst
After the Blackhawks drafted top-defensive prospect Artyom Levshunov, with the second overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the next question was where would he play? He had the option of opting-in for another go-around at MSU and fight for a National Championship. Or he could sign his ELC and fight for a roster spot on the Blackhawks. On July 6th, Chicago answered part of that question by signing the 6'2" d-man to a 3-year ELC. Blackhawks assistant GM of player development Mark Eaton followed that up by hinting to the media about the potential landing spot for Levshunov, "if we have the ability to have him in-house and our great development staff in Rockford working with him on a daily basis to start to close that gap between where he is and where he needs to go, I think it’s only a bonus."
Kyle Davidson has not been shy in showing his willingness to let prospects over-ripen in Rockford, a stark contrast to what we saw in the Stan Bowman era. Lukas Reichel has spent large chunks of the past three seasons in Rockford, Alex Vlasic spent practically a full year in Rockford before his breakout season in 2023-2024. Ethan Del Mastro, Colton Dach, Drew Commesso and others seem to be following a similar path. Is this the development path Levshunov is headed towards?
A large, smooth skating defenseman, Levshunov has all the tools to develop into a top-pair player for the Hawks. I want to give a litte shoutout here to what I think is the best breakdown of Levshunov's game and potential to @RinksideGeneral on X. I won't go too deep into a breakdown on Levshunov for the sake of sticking to the point of this (Arty's impact on Rockford) so I've linked a post below from his thread on Arty:
In short, everything Levshunov does starts with his skating. He was head and shoulders above his competitors at MSU and in my view, getting him into the pro game and allowing him to develop amongst the most talent possible is the best way to fast track him. Strength wise he's in great shape and was a specimen at MSU, but at the AHL level he's a bit more evenly matched. Again, another plus to keep his development churning. Back to the point though, let's look at this through the lense of Icehogs fans. What should we expect to see from day 1 and how big of an impact is his potential adddition to the Hogs?
In terms of star-power and getting butts-in-seats, it's big. Arty would be the highest drafted Blackhawk to suit up for the Hogs ever. Next on that list would be Kirby Dach at 3rd overall who played 3 games for Rockford in 2019. I've talked to a number of Hawks fans already planning on making the trip out to Rockford who had not done so in previous seasons. (Good luck figuring out parking at the BMO if it's your first time.)
From a talent point of view, again, it's big. Rockford getting an elite skater, with puck moving capabilities and a deadly shot is about a big of a boost as an AHL club could recieve in the off-season. There's no doubt Chicago's development staff will want him running the top powerplay, killing penalties, basically on the ice in any situation. They’ve shown a willingness to be aggressive with prospects in any situation. Wyatt Kaiser ran PP1 from day-one last season. Commesso saw the bulk of starts in net as a rookie. Cole Guttman was a top line forward from day one of his rookie season.
Pair that with the likes of Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan, Isaak Phillips and Louis Crevier and Rockford all of a sudden has on paper what could be the best blue line in the AHL's central division. Top that off with a solid 1-2 punch in net with Drew Commesso and Arvid Soderblom. A young, hungry forward group stacked with speed, skill, grit and supplemented by a solid group of veterans. Rockford looks primed for a solid 2024-2025 campaign.
From a developmental point of view, all of this aggressiveness with young players in Rockford is ideal. It will come with speed bumps though, yet these are key in a young player’s development. Through the bad is when they learn the good. Kaiser at times struggled to generate offense from the blue line while quarterbacking the top power play , Cole Guttman faced the same offensive issues at times in his first two seasons, (besides that two month stretch last season where he had like 1,000 points). Both Stauber and Commesso had stretches last year where they struggled. Yet by the end of the season all came together to put Rockford in a stretch that saw them propel into the post season. So when it comes to Arty Levshunov and his development in Rockford , take the good with the bad. Understand he brings one of the best talents Rockford has ever seen. But when the inevitable struggle hits, just know that is development in action and we are all lucky enough to watch that in front of us in Rockford.
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