Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day our LWOS Prospects Writers will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2024 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow Ben Kerr, and Frederik Frandson on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Hockey Prospects is your new headquarters for everything “NHL Draft”! Today we bring you our Artyom Levshunov Scouting Report.
It’s been a long time since Belarus had a great player enter the NHL. One might argue that has never been the case since Mikhail Grabovski never quite managed to reach the potential he showed a glimpse of in the first two seasons of the 2010s. The same can be said about the Kostitsyn brothers. However, a couple of Belarusian players have recently managed to enter the NHL, and this season another prospect from Belarus will enter the draft in the form of Artyom Levshunov. The Belarusian defenceman has played an unbelievable freshman season for Michigan State University. In 38 games he has put up 35 points, the eighth highest among defencemen in the NCAA. An impressive feat for someone who has only played in North America for the past two seasons.
Artoym Levshunov 2024 NHL Draft Scouting Report
Defenceman — shoots Right
Born October 28th, 2005 — Zhlobin, Belarus
Height 6’2″ — Weight 209 lbs [188 cm / 95 kg]
Skating
When watching Artoym Levshunov play, his skating is one of the main things you notice. It’s quick and very agile, which he uses well. It allows him to be a modern defenceman, who can jump into the play and make a play, while also keeping his feet moving to make it back to help defensively. While the offensive mindset seems to be slightly more of a priority at times, his skating limits the damage of it. The quick and mobile skating is especially impressive when looking at Levshunovs size. He isn’t a small defenceman but has the explosiveness and strong skating mechanics to keep up with most players in the class.
The strong skating also allows Levshunov to be a strong outlet in transition and on the rush. He is often the player leading the rush and loves to carry the puck through the midzone to start the offence. However, he can also be the trailer, who leads the second wave of attack with strong shooting and playmaking. A thing that at speed makes him extremely hard to cover.
Offensive Game
As mentioned above, the offensive aspect of hockey is Levshunovs bread and butter. He is a wicked offensive defenceman, who can dominate from the point with an arsenal of weapons. The first is his willingness to shoot. He never seems scared to send the puck towards the net, and his shot is fairly powerful. While his desire to shoot can lead to a few too many blocked shots, it creates a lot of chaos around the net. Either due to screens or with rebounds, which has resulted in a good amount of assists this season.
Another part of his game is his playmaking, as he has many capabilities to control the game from the point. Especially on the power play, where he can dictate the pace and make both the picture-perfect pass that splits the defence or find the shot for a rebound. His passing in general is good and it helps make him a dual threat offensively that is hard to cover. Especially since he competes well and always seems to be moving with or without the puck. He is also hard to get the puck off due to his size, which helps his ability to control the offence at any given point.
Defensive Game
The main concerns for Artoym Levshunov come in the defensive zone, where his flaws are exposed. His positioning especially can be very inconsistent along with his overall decision-making defensively. His desire to get involved and pinch offensively can leave him scrambling to get back and unable to recover despite his strong skating, as he simply fails to spot the danger in time. On top of that, he can often look very insecure about whether to cut down the passing lane or the puck carrier. A lack of assertiveness defensively has been costly at times this season.
There are clear signs of improvements over the last couple of months, as he has grown more confident in his game. It’s a lot less chaotic and more controlled, and his decisions are getting better. However, he will need to continue to improve in these areas before he is ready for the NHL.
Projection and Comparison
Overall there is a lot to like about Artyom Levshunov. His offensive abilities have a high ceiling, and so does his skating. Mix that with an NHL-ready body and it’s hard not to see a player who can be perfect in any team’s top four. The defensive game has to improve, however, and the floor for Levshunov is low. If he fails to develop in his own zone, he could be one of those who never stuck it in the NHL and will be back in the KHL by the age of 25. Therefore there are risks assigned to picking him, but the good should outweigh the bad. Especially with the signs of improvement in the last half of the season. His game is reminiscent of Brent Burns, but this is a stylistic comparison only and not one based on skill and ability.
Highlights
The following is a compilation of some of the highlight packages and features of Artoym Levshunov that are available on YouTube.
Check back later for our latest draft article.
Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
