The spotlight shone brightly on young defender Artyom Levshunov. Considering he made his NHL debut last season, making the Chicago Blackhawks out of training camp, many have debated whether starting with the Blackhawks or starting in the American Hockey League (AHL) was the right choice for his development.
The Blackhawks have made their choice and stand by it.
Blackhawks aim for growth with Levshunov
When you’re dealing with a second overall choiceexpectations will be high. Especially considering Levshunov is considered a pillar of the Blackhawks’ future defense on the right side. But there have been some speed bumps.
He had moments of inconsistency during preseason, which continued into the season. But that wasn’t entirely unexpected. It’s rare for young players to enter the NHL as superstars. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and coach Jeff Blashill is taking it to heart, especially when it comes to Levshunov.
If you look at his stats, there are encouraging signs. He’s a plus-1 through two games (third best among Blackhawks defensemen). He has one point (being the assist on André Burakovsky’s goal), and he has created good chemistry when paired with Wyatt Kaiser. They’ve been a successful duo that complements each other, as Kaiser explained to my colleague Gail Kauchak during training camp: “He helps me in the D-zone. I help in the offensive zone. Our strengths are quite different… we play off each other.”
However, there is a part of him that is being talked about around town. Levshunov has collected eight penalty minutes in two games, which ranks second on the team (behind Louis Crevier). However, the only penalty he took against the Boston Bruins with less than three minutes left in a 3-3 match, in which he took a penalty against Morgan Geekie, was not appreciated by the coaching staff.
Levshunov became a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks’ home opener against the Montreal Canadiens on October 11. Blashill explained: “Well, it’s a learning process, and that’s just the reality. I thought there were some good moments, and there were some moments that he’s got to learn from. Certainly, the penalty late in the game is a big moment, you know, where guys are going to make mistakes, and we’ve talked about that as a staff. And with our group this way, it’s not about making mistakes. It’s about certain choices. And what are those certain choices, those, you know, whatever winning hockey moments, and that’s one of them. You can’t take penalties this late in the game.”
You could say that no one in hockey is above the law and that when players make certain “choices” in a game, there is nothing wrong with having a healthy scratch as a result. It happens to the best of them.
But is it worth going a step further and saying that Levshunov could use more time in Rockford to gain more experience, similar to what the team is doing with Kevin Korchinski, Nolan Allan and Ethan Del Mastro?
Well, not so fast. After the Montreal game, Blashill was asked about their approach with Levshunov: “I think the most important thing for us is to look at his development path. And… sometimes it’s okay to sit and miss games. It’s okay not to get a lot of ice time in certain games. That’s part of development too. You know, I don’t think development is just, you just play, and they magically get better. Sure, playing is part of it. You have to have confidence. But learning to do things in certain ways is also part of that.”
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Blashill continued, “Just to make sure that’s all the case. We feel like the best place for him to be right now is with us, and he’s going to play a lot of games, and there’s going to be some games that he doesn’t play. And that’s just the reality. But honestly, it’s not a problem. It’s part of the growing process for a lot of players.”
How will Levshunov react to healthy scratches?
So that wraps it up. We won’t see Levshunov sent to Rockford anytime soon, and it’s all by design. They know he has to figure it out, and he has to do it at the NHL level. It’s almost a trial by fire with the young players. He was a healthy scratch. So, how does he respond? That’s the key, and there are reasons to believe he’ll have a good reaction when he returns to the lineup.
Blashill said last week: “He wants to do a good job. I think he and I have had a good relationship. We have fun together, but I can also be hard on him. And he’s actually a guy who, I think, accepts that kind of coaching and has played really, really well when those moments have happened.”
The 19-year-old Levshunov has endless potential as a defender with the way he skates, the way he can create offense and how he can defend. It makes him an exciting prospect. Unfortunately, this is a typical path, and Levshunov should benefit from this experience in the long run.
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