That's fair. When I watch prospects and young players, more than production or results, I'm looking for effort and instincts. Are they working hard at all times? Are they doing they making the right plays and going to the right places; i.e. do they look like they know what they're doing? If those questions are answered positively, that makes me confident that the player is going to get the most of their skill and natural abilities. The level of skill and physical traits provide the floor and ceiling, but the effort and IQ tell you whether the player can get there.
I didn't see an effort issue with Levshunov, but I was very concerned about the hockey sense, both on the macro level (positioning on the ice, passing decisions, awareness of opposing players) and on the micro level (stick positioning when defending, body leverage when in a board battle). Those deficiencies could absolutely be a product of rawness, as you say, and many other scouts have said. They just worry me in a guy who we want to project as a top-pairing defenseman.
If we take him, I'll be excited though. He certainly has the physical tools to be a top pairing RD.
