The Blackhawks are going to take their time with 2024 No. 2 pick defenseman Artyom Levshunov, but they will be doing the development directly.
Levshunov has decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility at Michigan State and turn pro. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Blackhawks on Saturday.
“Signing Artyom gives us the opportunity to continue his development in house and take the next step into professional hockey,” Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “He’s a strong two-way defenseman that has all the tools to be a high-end player in the NHL and we’re excited to continue his growth at the pro level.”
Levshunov, 18, took a week after being drafted by the Blackhawks to make the decision. It was a difficult one for him as he took major strides and experienced a lot of individual and team success at Michigan State as a freshman last season.
Davidson offered Levshunov a contract and pitched why they believed he could be successful in turning pro right away, but they left the decision up to him. Davidson also said Friday he was comfortable with Levshunov returning to the Spartans for another season.
“I don’t think there’s a wrong answer,” Davidson said Friday. “(Michigan State coach) Adam Nightengale and the Michigan State staff have a world-class program. So if he were to return to college, he has a really great program, facilities, system he’s going to play in on a good team in a great league.
“If he turns pro, we’ll have hands-on all the time, which is always a huge benefit on our end, to have that 24/7 ability to hit those touch points every day and hone in on the development and the play and the lifestyle of a young player. Whichever way it goes, I believe he’ll be in a great position to take some really positive steps.”
Ultimately, Levshunov’s decision came down to the chance to play more games next season and he was excited for a new challenge, according to his agent Dan Milstein.
Milstein said Levshunov put a lot of consideration into his decision and had the support of his family and Michigan State’s coaching staff in the end.
Nightingale said Saturday he understood Levshunov’s decision. Levshunov, who is from Belarus, came to Michigan State after being in the United States for one year and previously playing in the USHL.
“I think Arty, he had great options, and at the end of the day, he’s no different than all the players, they dream (of) playing professional hockey,” Nightingale said by phone. “I wasn’t surprised. When we first got him a year ago, I kind of thought in my head, it’s going to be just for one year.
“He’s that good of a player. Just looking at him, physically, it’s one thing if he’s a little boy and he needs to spend some more time in the weight room. Arty’s a horse. We couldn’t be happier for him.”
In that one season, Levshunov came a long way and also left a mark on the Michigan State program, which won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships this past season.
“I think he grew a ton as a player,” Nightingale said. “I think early on, he definitely had some gray moments, but he still had to sort things out away from the puck. The impact, he kind of changed the trajectory of our program. We were a one seed, we won our regular season, we won our playoff, and he led us in ice time, (he) was rookie of the year defensively. He had a big-time impact on our team.”
Levshunov will be hoping to earn an NHL roster spot immediately, but he’ll likely spend the bulk of next season with the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL. Davidson has stressed allowing his prospects the necessary time to develop. Signing Levshunov expedites how quickly he turned pro, but Davidson will still want to give Levshunov time in Rockford to work with IceHogs coach Anders Sorensen and Blackhawks assistant general manager of player development Mark Eaton and their staff.
Eaton discussed this week while the Blackhawks were holding their development camp the value of working with players in Rockford.
“Obviously, being able to be hands-on every single day is a huge bonus,” Eaton said. “That is the line that we walk with our amateur prospects — the realization that they all play for other coaches, they all play in different systems.
“So if we have the ability to have him in-house (with) our great staff in Rockford, our development staff 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.”
Levshunov could be coming up the ranks with an abundance of other defensemen prospects, too. With the Blackhawks adding Alec Martinez and TJ Brodie this offseason and already having Seth Jones, Connor Murphy and Alex Vlasic in place, they won’t have many spots for prospects in the NHL. That could mean Levshunov could play in Rockford with Kevin Korchinski, who was the seventh overall pick in 2022 and played all of last season in the NHL, Nolan Allan, another former first-round pick, Ethan Del Mastro, Wyatt Kaiser or any of their other defensemen prospects with the IceHogs. It also helps that Levshunov is a right-handed shot and most of the Blackhawks’ other defensemen prospects are left-handed.
Nightingale and Michigan State will be closely watching.
“It’s exciting,” Nightingale said of Levshunov turning pro. “We’re excited to follow him. I know he’ll do a great job. He’s a great teammate. Obviously, my younger brother (Jared) worked with the organization, he’s not there anymore, but I know Chicago does a great job and he’s in great hands.”
