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

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Not sold on him being in the top-5. Very risky play if someone grabs him that high

 

[WeThreeKings]

He's going top 5 guys, come on.

Right shot defender with size and skating, who is putting up a lot of points in his draft year in the NCAA.

 

[kmwtrucks]

He's going top 5 guys, come on.

Right shot defender with size and skating, who is putting up a lot of points in his draft year in the NCAA.

has he dominated? no but has put up great numbers in the ncaa in his draft year. I would be shocked if he does not go top 5. maybe if he was LD he might go 5-10.

 

[95snipes]

To be fair, on the first play, where’d the winger go?? That was the play to make, and you can argue maybe he should’ve noticed the winger bailed on him, but that was the play to make, with all that open ice. He shouldn’t have had to look twice. In the NHL that winger isn’t bailing on him. Not with a forechecker. We also don’t know what his goaltender was telling him. 99 out of 100 times, you’re listening to your goaltender on that play. He 100% made the right play. He shouldn’t of had to take a second look. Scouts see this play, and ask exactly what I did. He was thinking the game at a level that winger wasn’t.

Sometimes, and it pops up with him in the second example, he doesn’t look like he’s assertive enough. There were several really good plays he made in this same game though.

Although I’m not sold on him being the first dman off the board yet, neither of these examples would reinforce any opinion on why not. Especially the first play. He actually made the play you’d want to see in the NHL. Not the very basic reverse, keeping the puck in the zone.

He’s a really young kid, playing a legit role in Division 1 Hockey. He’s going to make mistakes. There’s not a player in this draft, anywhere near a finished product. You also have to be careful dissecting turnovers, when the player is processing the game at a higher level than his teammates sometimes. We seen that a lot with Canada at Worlds. Where players like Minten, Poitras and Danielson, would make an NHL play, and their line mate wasn’t. Makes it tough to dissect things sometimes.

This kid is a Top 10-20 pick, all day long. Top 5? We’ll see. I’m not sold on that yet. It’s all going to depend on where teams see all these dmen come draft time. There’s a couple of more raw dmen, teams may fall in love with. Would it knock him out of the top 10? Possibly.

No that's not the right play. Why would you ever rim the puck in that situation? You have full control and 1 slow forechecker. Again, that is a simple reverse to your d partner and your out of the zone with full control. Even if the winger does go down to the halfwall, rimming the puck and making it hard on him is not the right play there.

The problem in the second one is he doesn't move his feet and doesn't anticipate or read the play well.

 

[TLEH]

I mean I don't think there are any questions about his tools. He's about as toolsy as you can get. Skates, big, right shot, great size. To me the ceiling might be #1 in the draft but the floor is pretty low too.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Not sold on him being in the top-5. Very risky play if someone grabs him that high

I’d easily take him top 5, and id be happy if ducks got him at 2 or 3

 

[jiboy]

Just from reading this thread I get some Dion Phaneuf vibe , any similarities ?

 

[Michael Farkas]

Evan Bouchard is a better comp.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Moritz Seider is the best recent comparable

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Evan Bouchard is a better comp.

Skates much better.

Rasmus Ristolainen might be better.

 

[William H Bonney]

He's going to go very high and that's understandable with his size, right hand shot, and tools, but he comes with a lot of risk given his very questionable decision making, which is readily apparent and not excused just by being a young NCAA defenseman.

 

[Petes2424]

No that's not the right play. Why would you ever rim the puck in that situation? You have full control and 1 slow forechecker. Again, that is a simple reverse to your d partner and your out of the zone with full control. Even if the winger does go down to the halfwall, rimming the puck and making it hard on him is not the right play there.

The problem in the second one is he doesn't move his feet and doesn't anticipate or read the play well.

It’s 100% the play you make in the NHL today. That’s the difference between the NHL and other leagues. The players are good enough to make that play without hesitation, and there was literally nobody from UofM there originally. You want your dmen to read that. The winger bailed though. In the NHL, the winger is getting yelled at if he bails.

This is a basic, but perfect example of what they talk about when they say “thinking the game at the NHL level.” NHL players push the envelope. They see things basic players don’t. It’s like going back to the first things we were ever taught as a dman. The boards are your best friend, and never pass the puck in front of your goalie.

Those basic rules don’t apply to NHL caliber players. They read the ice two passes ahead of what’s happening.

It’s much harder to evaluate amateur dmen today compared to back in the basic days. Half of the turnovers they make at lower levels, are usually because his teammate wasn’t thinking the game at the same rate. Scouts now have to be able to differentiate those plays. This one was pretty basic.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

He was playing Belarus U20 hockey 2 years ago, and is now a point/game freshman defenseman in his draft year in the NCAA. No doubt the decision making needs improvement, but in the last 2 years he's travelled across the world as a teenager and very quickly shot up the ranks in high level hockey, and is praised as a gym/physical freak. I think the kid is clearly a fast/capable learner, and will only get better as he gets more accustomed to North American/higher level hockey.

 

[95snipes]

It’s 100% the play you make in the NHL today. That’s the difference between the NHL and other leagues. The players are good enough to make that play without hesitation, and there was literally nobody from UofM there originally. You want your dmen to read that. The winger bailed though. In the NHL, the winger is getting yelled at if he bails.

This is a basic, but perfect example of what they talk about when they say “thinking the game at the NHL level.” NHL players push the envelope. They see things basic players don’t. It’s like going back to the first things we were ever taught as a dman. The boards are your best friend, and never pass the puck in front of your goalie.

Those basic rules don’t apply to NHL caliber players. They read the ice two passes ahead of what’s happening.

It’s much harder to evaluate amateur dmen today compared to back in the basic days. Half of the turnovers they make at lower levels, are usually because his teammate wasn’t thinking the game at the same rate. Scouts now have to be able to differentiate those plays. This one was pretty basic.

So not having awareness of where your teammates are and rimming the puck on what should be an easy zone exit is 'thinking the game at the NHL level'. That's one way to describe it. The reality is Levshunov struggles with his reads and his 'thinking the game' as you say is a major question mark in his profile.

It's obvious we don't see the game the same way and we can leave it at that.

 

[TLEH]

Have him ranked pretty high on tools alone but the poor decision making, lack of urgency, and downright casual play usually jumps off the screen on more shifts than make me comfortable.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Have him ranked pretty high on tools alone but the poor decision making, lack of urgency, and downright casual play usually jumps off the screen on more shifts than make me comfortable.

It’s so tough to rank this kid. He can, in the same damn shift, make a play that makes me think there’s no way he won’t be a star in the NHL and then proceed to do something dumb and lazy that even I wouldn’t do. It’s such a yo-yo.

If anyone were actually having an outstanding season, it would be easier to rank Levshunov lower to reflect how I actually feel about him. But given the weak field this year, he’s gotta go top-5, no?

 

[TLEH]

It’s so tough to rank this kid. He can, in the same damn shift, make a play that makes me think there’s no way he won’t be a star in the NHL and then proceed to do something dumb and lazy that even I wouldn’t do. It’s such a yo-yo.

If anyone were actually having an outstanding season, it would be easier to rank Levshunov lower to reflect how I actually feel about him. But given the weak field this year, he’s gotta go top-5, no?

Essentially how I feel.

 

[mistaclick]

Second season playing in North America. Let them iron out the kinks in NCAA and he’ll be a stud. Whichever team grabs him needs to be patient.

 

[User1996]

I want to like him so bad based on his highlights, stats, and tools, but he just doesn’t do it for me watching the games.

Would have him as the 3rd- 4th ranked D behind Silayev, Dickinson, and maybe Buium.

 

[Celebrini71]

Mcavoy a good comp? If I remember he was average in the back end defensively in college in tell he got to the Bruins.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Mcavoy a good comp? If I remember he was average in the back end defensively in college in tell he got to the Bruins.

Dion Phaneuf or Rasmus Ristolainen

 

[CanadienShark]

I haven't seen him, but would Burns be a comparable?

 

[wetcoast]

He's going top 5 guys, come on.

Right shot defender with size and skating, who is putting up a lot of points in his draft year in the NCAA.

This draft is also pretty wide open after Celebrini, tons of different scenarios on the next 9 picks after him.

But being a RHD and his skillset and body makes Levshunov a better than 50/50 bet to be a top 5 pick IMO.

 

[cheesymc]

Dion Phaneuf or Rasmus Ristolainen

I don’t see that physicality…and if that was the outcome I wouldn’t want my team to use a top 5/8 pick on that lol

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don’t see that physicality…and if that was the outcome I wouldn’t want my team to use a top 5/8 pick on that lol

He might end up different from those players, but he definitely has that physicality. He likes to hit, and is a freak athlete. They say he's like the strongest, most powerful, and explosive kid you'll see playing hockey at that age. He will probably dominate the combine, as much as that can happen in hockey.