RD Artyom Levshunov - Michigan State Univ., NCAA (2024 Draft)

[cheechoo]

I'm going to pile on here, but did anyone watch today's game and think Levshunov looked like a top 10 pick? I thought he was atrocious.

Lost puck battles all night. Completely careless with his puck management. Defensive positioning was bad.

I'm not impressed with his play so far.

I just don't see a lot of utility with this player outside of PP / offensive zone situations. Definitely doesn't have the skating ability to warrant being a premium draft selection imo.

 

[Playmaker09]

I thought he had a solid NCAA debut. Not as great as that tweet suggests. I watched both games against Air Force and was fairly underwhelmed. Thursday he was particularly bad. Friday better, but still meh.

There are some clear red flags with Lev.

-Most concerning is there is zero intensity to his game.
-There's no real deception to his game with the puck. He can execute plays that are given to him, but he isn't creating plays the way you would expect from a top pick. He can be fairly predictable.
-Can really struggle under pressure. There wasn't that escapability you'd like to see and had some bad d zone turnovers. Doesn't move his feet.

The tools are really good though.

-Good size
-Right shot
-Heavy shot
-Crisp breakout pass
-Can be physical
-Decent top speed

It's early, but I'm expecting a lot more from someone I thought could be the first defenseman off the board. I don't see Levshunov as a lock it in top 10 pick at this point.

Not going to say I've seen a ton of him, will definitely need to see more, but a lot of the negatives sound eerily similar to what was said about Sergachev in his draft year. (and the NCAA is a step up from the OHL)

At one point, effective is effective even if it looks lazy.

 

[95snipes]

I'd be more willing to write it off to a bad game against a good team if the exact same issues weren't there in the other games he's played too.

I just don't see a lot of utility with this player outside of PP / offensive zone situations. Definitely doesn't have the skating ability to warrant being a premium draft selection imo.

I agree. He can move at top speed but he just doesn't move his feet, have much burst in his stride, or play with any intensity on a shift to shift basis. That leads to most of his issues.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I get some of the concerns, and there's no Dahlin type of defense prospect in this draft. He's not that.

But he has 6 points in 7 games as the 3rd youngest player in the NCAA. Doing this as a defenseman. Much harder than as a forward. He has as many points as Celebrini (yes, I know, Celebrini has 3 less games), who gets nothing but praise.

I think it's fair to point out some concerns, but also realize we're talking about a 6'2 200 defenseman. Clearly there's a good amount of potential in his game and he's playing well in some regards.

 

[montreal]

not shift by shift of Levshunov but close to it, lots of coverage of him from last night. He did not have a very good game as he seems to laid back at times in his own end and certainly made some Freshman mistakes but with his frame, mobility, offensive upside you can see why NHL scouts will be interested in him.

 

[montreal]

not as much of Levshunov as the 1st game but still a lot. Not a great night for him again defensively.

 

[95snipes]

Another fairly uninspiring series against Ohio State. Same issues game in, game out. I just don't see it with Levshunov.

Time will tell, but I don't see him being on too many top 10 lists come June.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Another fairly uninspiring series against same Ohio State. Same issues game in, game out. I just don't see it with Levshunov.

Time will tell, but I don't see him being on too many top 10 lists come June.

I think you might be expecting too much from a 17 year old defensman playing college hockey. The talent is so obvious.

 

[95snipes]

I think you might be expecting too much from a 17 year old defensman playing college hockey. The talent is so obvious.

The excuses people make for Levshunov are fairly weak. Zeev Buium is the same age and has looked better in my viewings. And I'd have Buium as a late 1st type.

Levshunov is just a flawed prospect plain and simple. Doesn't engage or compete. Loses puck battles constantly. Poor puck management / turnovers. Gets lost in coverage. The more I watch Levshunov, the more I think someone like Evan Bouchard would be a good case outcome. And Bouchard has much better hockey sense.

If he ends up going as high as he's ranked, people will look at the elite prospects page and be happy with the pick, but I think they'll be fairly disappointed with the player they actually get.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

The excuses people make for Levshunov are fairly weak. Zeev Buium is the same age and has looked better in my viewings. And I'd have Buium as a late 1st type.

Levshunov is just a flawed prospect plain and simple. Doesn't engage or compete. Loses puck battles constantly. Poor puck management / turnovers. Gets lost in coverage. The more I watch Levshunov, the more I think someone like Evan Bouchard would be a good case outcome. And Bouchard has much better hockey sense.

If he ends up going as high as he's ranked, people will look at the elite prospects page and be happy with the pick, but I think they'll be fairly disappointed with the player they actually get.

I don’t disagree that he’s ranked too high, I’d take Yakemchuk, Silayev, and Dickinson over him, but you’re making projections about where guys will be 5 years from now and there’s no denying that the toolbox is high-end. He might be more inconsistent than you’d like but again he’s a 17 year old playing college hockey.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

Another fairly uninspiring series against same Ohio State. Same issues game in, game out. I just don't see it with Levshunov.

Time will tell, but I don't see him being on too many top 10 lists come June.

The excuses people make for Levshunov are fairly weak. Zeev Buium is the same age and has looked better in my viewings. And I'd have Buium as a late 1st type.

Levshunov is just a flawed prospect plain and simple. Doesn't engage or compete. Loses puck battles constantly. Poor puck management / turnovers. Gets lost in coverage. The more I watch Levshunov, the more I think someone like Evan Bouchard would be a good case outcome. And Bouchard has much better hockey sense.

If he ends up going as high as he's ranked, people will look at the elite prospects page and be happy with the pick, but I think they'll be fairly disappointed with the player they actually get.

The first game I thought he was very bad. No poise in his own end just throwing the puck away, not engaged. Agree completely.

The 2nd game I thought he was better. Looking more competent and engaged in his own end/off puck. Moving the puck better. On the offensive end making some good plays. Nothing earth shattering but competent as opposed to dreadful.

I think someone earlier said he lacks intensity and I'd agree. But could he be a 2nd pair defenseman that plays the PP, adds a bit of offense & frustrates you with inconsistent performances in the other parts of the ice? Sure. I think he's a 10-15ish ranged guy at the moment.


Also I saw a bit of Buium in one of Denvers games, but alot more last season, and I really like him. Not top 10 but I'm surprised he's universally being rated late first tbh.

 

[MTU34]

The excuses people make for Levshunov are fairly weak. Zeev Buium is the same age and has looked better in my viewings. And I'd have Buium as a late 1st type.

I’ve only seen one Michigan state game this year so I won’t comment on Levshunov, but it’s probably worth noting that Buium essentially played a partial D1 schedule with the program last year whereas Levshunov spent the entire year in the ushl. Much less of a learning curve for Buium coming into the year

 

[95snipes]

I don’t disagree that he’s ranked too high, I’d take Yakemchuk, Silayev, and Dickinson over him, but you’re making projections about where guys will be 5 years from now and there’s no denying that the toolbox is high-end. He might be more inconsistent than you’d like but again he’s a 17 year old playing college hockey.

I can't comment much on those three. I likened Dickinson to a Trouba from what I saw at the U17 challenge and Hlinka Gretzky, but I don't have too much conviction in that statement.

I'm not sure the toolbox is super high end with Lev though. As least as much I thought it was. He's big and can be physical. He's got pretty decent top speed and a good shot. Can make a good first pass when he's on. Not sure he offers a ton outside of that.

From the guys I've seen a lot, and this won't be popular, but I would strongly consider someone like EJ Emery over Levshunov. Emery is bambi on skates right now and seems to have so much more development runway left. I really like his upside as a shutdown type. Levshunov to me is who he is. Still lots of hockey to be played though.

The first game I thought he was very bad. No poise in his own end just throwing the puck away, not engaged. Agree completely.

The 2nd game I thought he was better. Looking more competent and engaged in his own end/off puck. Moving the puck better. On the offensive end making some good plays. Nothing earth shattering but competent as opposed to dreadful.

I think someone earlier said he lacks intensity and I'd agree. But could he be a 2nd pair defenseman that plays the PP, adds a bit of offense & frustrates you with inconsistent performances in the other parts of the ice? Sure. I think he's a 10-20 ranged guy at the moment.


Also I saw a bit of Buium in one game, but alot more last season, I really like him. Not top 10 but I'm surprised he's universally being rated late first tbh.

I actually liked his Friday game better than Saturday, but neither were good. The first period on the Saturday game was as bad as I've seen him. I counted 5? turnovers. Just 'what are you doing' type of stuff. He settled in after that, but still some bad moments to pick out.

Re intensity, that was me. I think he could be a PP2 guy. Not sure he has the deception to his game to make guys commit/move to run a top unit powerplay.

I could see Buium going 15-20. Not sure I'm there yet, but he's been good.

I’ve only seen one Michigan state game this year so I won’t comment on Levshunov, but it’s probably worth noting that Buium essentially played a partial D1 schedule with the program last year whereas Levshunov spent the entire year in the ushl. Much less of a learning curve for Buium coming into the year

Sure, but at the end of the day, they are both adjusting to new teams and new levels.

Buium played on an all star team that dominated 75% of the games they played so you could even argue the adjustment is tougher for him.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

I can't comment much on those three. I likened Dickinson to a Trouba from what I saw at the U17 challenge and Hlinka Gretzky, but I don't have too much conviction in that statement.

I'm not sure the toolbox is super high end with Lev though. As least as much I thought it was. He's big and can be physical. He's got pretty decent top speed and a good shot. Can make a good first pass when he's on. Not sure he offers a ton outside of that.

From the guys I've seen a lot, and this won't be popular, but I would strongly consider someone like EJ Emery over Levshunov. Emery is bambi on skates right now and seems to have so much more development runway left. I really like his upside as a shutdown type. Levshunov to me is who he is. Still lots of hockey to be played though.

I actually liked his Friday game better than Saturday, but neither were good. The first period on the Saturday game was as bad as I've seen him. I counted 5? turnovers. Just 'what are you doing' type of stuff. He settled in after that, but still some bad moments to pick out.

Re intensity, that was me. I think he could be a PP2 guy. Not sure he has the deception to his game to make guys commit/move to run a top unit powerplay.

I could see Buium going 15-20. Not sure I'm there yet, but he's been good.


Sure, but at the end of the day, they are both adjusting to new teams and new levels.

Buium played on an all star team that dominated 75% of the games they played so you could even argue the adjustment is tougher for him.

Yeah I think we’re just gonna disagree on Levshunov for now. As for Dickinson, I see the Trouba comparison a bit, though I doubt he has the same mean streak at the NHL level, and I think Dickinson might bring a bit more offense. Emery is interesting. He is very raw. I don’t know if he’s K’Andre Miller or not.

 

[Antonche]

I think someone earlier said he lacks intensity and I'd agree. But could he be a 2nd pair defenseman that plays the PP, adds a bit of offense & frustrates you with inconsistent performances in the other parts of the ice? Sure. I think he's a 10-15ish ranged guy at the moment.

Sounds like new Jake Sanderson.

 

[coooldude]

Re intensity, that was me.

And me. I only watched the games vs BC, but he definitely floats out there and is behind the play more than ahead of it... Either the game sense isn't there or he is too low intensity to stay ahead of it despite his physical skills. I also saw a super troubling sequence where he trailed his own team's breakout and tried to hook a random backchecker on the hands rather than actually joining the play. Like... come on, man, 17 or not, that's busch league stuff. Intensity and attitude are a concern until shown otherwise... there's still time in the year.

 

[dreadpirateroberts]

 

[Hunter Gathers]

not shift by shift of Levshunov but close to it, lots of coverage of him from last night. He did not have a very good game as he seems to laid back at times in his own end and certainly made some Freshman mistakes but with his frame, mobility, offensive upside you can see why NHL scouts will be interested in him.

The first shift, there, had him directly cause 2 prime scoring chances with lazy plays.

Nice first impression.

 

[WarriorofTime]

PPG and running away from most of his team (which is Number 11 in the country) in terms of +/-. Don't overthink it by nitpicking shifts for "bad defensive game", he's an offensive defenseman. He's only got a few less points than his forward teammate that played top line and was a top scorer for the USNDTP and went in the first round a couple seasons ago. He's an exciting right-handed defenseman prospect.

 

[coooldude]

PPG and running away from most of his team (which is Number 11 in the country) in terms of +/-. Don't overthink it by nitpicking shifts for "bad defensive game", he's an offensive defenseman. He's only got a few less points than his forward teammate that played top line and was a top scorer for the USNDTP and went in the first round a couple seasons ago. He's an exciting right-handed defenseman prospect.

Totally fair if you're picking into a decent pipeline and you're picking let's say 10th-32nd.

If you're e.g. the Sharks, and you're choosing between Dickinson, Levshunov, or Silayev at 3OA for a potential cornerstone defenseman, you definitely need to think deeper than "he's got a lot of points and a good +/- as a young player."

 

[WarriorofTime]

Totally fair if you're picking into a decent pipeline and you're picking let's say 10th-32nd.

If you're e.g. the Sharks, and you're choosing between Dickinson, Levshunov, or Silayev at 3OA for a potential cornerstone defenseman, you definitely need to think deeper than "he's got a lot of points and a good +/- as a young player."

Yes I would reckon that teams perform scouting analysis and don't just look at eliteprospects page for any player being taken high in the draft. I wasn't really responding to some specific mock draft being posted, more so just the general negging that was going on for what is a top tier NCAA defenseman in his draft eligible year. There are comments here that appear to have completely written him off which scream "tunnel vision" scouting, which happens a lot around these parts whenever it comes to offensive defensemen are their so-called "bad defensive game".

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

If all you get is Evan Bouchard, that's worth a top 10 pick.

Detach yourself from the current universe of recent picks that everyone expects to end up top half of the league NHL'ers, and take a look back at draft picks from like 10 years ago.

Some of their names you might not know, and others didn't turn into anywhere near good NHL players. If you are picking like 1st or 2nd you want to draft a star, but considering the Levshunov discussion isn't really that and it's more about should he be picked 6th or 20th, there's nothing wrong with a flawed player that has things to work on going 6th.

Levshunov's defensive game is also way over-discussed. He's not playing junior hockey. NCAA is a step up, and he's one of the youngest players in the country. He's 6'2 200, and has shown some defensive ability. You can work with that. He's not 5'8 and a one-way defensemen. Yet, if he was, you can still work with that. Quinn Hughes has improved his defense a lot in the last five years.

Levshunov as a top 10 pick is a no-brainer. The real discussion is top 5 or top 10.

 

[WeThreeKings]

He's also a big kid with good skating and is a right handed shot defenseman.

He will go very high.

 

[mistaclick]

I understand the concerns, they are very real. However we are talking about a player who has only played one year of junior in North America and developed playing in Belarus up until then. I think there’s still a lot more room for development even this season. Let him adjust. I love his willingness to activate and create. His size, skating, reach, is projectable enough where I feel confident he can grow defensively. Can play physical, as a young dman that is promising. As the saying goes, I’d rather tame a tiger then paint stripes on a p***ycat. His offensive game will not be ignored and he will be picked between 4-10 in the draft.

 

[AyeBah]

PPG and running away from most of his team (which is Number 11 in the country) in terms of +/-. Don't overthink it by nitpicking shifts for "bad defensive game", he's an offensive defenseman. He's only got a few less points than his forward teammate that played top line and was a top scorer for the USNDTP and went in the first round a couple seasons ago. He's an exciting right-handed defenseman prospect.

Yeah you can say that but as MSU season ticket holder this is misleading. He has multiple Empty netters and secondary assists. It isn't like he's going bardown from the point regularly. He also loves the blind drop pass in the neutral zone right to the other team.