CHICAGO – Artyom Levshunov has gotten a glimpse of NHL life with the Chicago Blackhawks late this season, and the defenseman is making the most of every minute of it.
“I want to work hard, focus every day and work hard. And every game, play hard,” Levshunov said. “We have to win. The most important thing for us as a group, for the team, for everyone. For the fans, too. We have to work for it and play hard and get the wins. Focus on work. That’s it.”
Levshunov, selected No. 2 by the Blackhawks in the 2024 NHL Draft, has enjoyed his time with the Blackhawks since being recalled from Rockford, their American Hockey League affiliate, on March 9. He’ll continue to hone his game at this level when the Blackhawks play the Colorado Avalanche at United Center on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, ALT2, SN1, TVAS).
The 19-year-old has five assists in 10 games with the Blackhawks (21-44-9), who have been eliminated from playoff contention. He’s also averaging 20:59 of ice time per game, second on the Blackhawks behind defensemen Alex Vlasic (23:22).
Levshunov has adjusted to the NHL game pretty well and has the Blackhawks, who continue to rebuild, excited about the latest piece of their prospect puzzle.
“I think the more encouraging part is he’s only begun to scratch the surface of what he’ll ultimately become,” Blackhawks assistant general manager overseeing player development Mark Eaton said.
Eaton has been interim head coach for Rockford since Dec. 4, when Anders Sorensen was given the same title for the Blackhawks after Luke Richardson was fired.
“As he becomes more physically mature, more used to the North American culture, more used to professional hockey and what it takes to be successful in the day to day in pro hockey, you’ll see him start to take off,” Eaton said. “This sample he’s gotten is going to serve him well and motivate him going forward.”
Levshunov (6-foot-2, 208 pounds) was thrown into the fire immediately. His first NHL game came in a 3-0 loss at the Colorado Avalanche on March 10. He also played his first few games on the top defense pair with Vlasic.
“I mean, right away you saw his ability to come in and play in Colorado against a really good team. It’s not easy to do that,” Vlasic said. “Going down to five D (Alec Martinez sustained an undisclosed injury in the first period), (he) played some big minutes. He was big for us on that back end there. A lot of skill with the puck, a lot of confidence. He’s a big, strong guy so that kind of stood out.”
Much like Vlasic, Levshunov also benefitted from some time in Rockford. Vlasic had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 56 games in 2022-23 before having a great rookie season with Chicago in 2023-24, when he had 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 76 games while averaging 21:29 of ice time per game.
Levshunov had 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 50 games with Rockford this season.
“I learned a lot playing there,” Levshunov said. “It’s fast and hard hockey. Not as much as in the NHL but still it’s good hockey there. I learned a lot playing in the AHL. It helped me to take another step in my career.”
Eaton said Levshunov learned as much off the ice in Rockford as he did on it.
“The biggest thing with a lot of young pros, especially with ‘Arty’ as young as he is, third year in North America, is the day-to-day habits of being a professional,” Eaton said. “The preparation before practices, taking care of yourself after games to make sure you’re ready for the next day, next game. That was the maturation process there.
“As far as on-ice goes, a lot of the habits young defensemen need to learn, especially ones who are heavily offensive minded, is learning the defensive part of the game. The little habits that need to be there for defending and learning to take pride on the defensive side of the puck as well is an area he made major strides in from the start of the season.”
Nevertheless, it would’ve been understandable if Levshunov was hesitant, especially in his NHL debut.
“I mean, first shift was like, everything was flying in front of me. Then I got used to it every other shift,” Levshunov said.
Defenseman Connor Murphy said he was impressed with how well Levshunov fit in from the start.
“I remember my first few games, you’re worried about defending high-end NHL players, so you end up playing a little more passive and he wasn’t doing that at all,” Murphy said. “You saw him a bunch of times stepping up on their breakouts in the offensive zone and breaking plays up. I think he’s confident in his skating ability and his strength. He’s a bigger, strong guy for his age already.”
There’s a lot to like about Levshunov. Sure, it’s going to take time for him to develop into a full-time NHL defenseman, but he’s well on his way, and he’s enjoying every minute of it.
“It’s amazing. It’s the NHL. It’s awesome to be here, to play in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks,” Levshunov said. “I mean, it was my dream for my whole hockey career. I was dreaming to play in the NHL and it’s happening.”
