If they really feel that he is “too good” for college hockey and/or doesn’t have much more to learn, I think it makes a lot of sense. Having him in the system is also something that would be good in terms of monitoring development.
blazer026
Fine with either honestly. 3 teams in 3 years for a 16 year coming from Belarus would be tough though id imagine.
Beaver_Tuxedo
If your named the consensus best defensemen in the league last year what’s the point to going back to that league? It doesn’t really make sense for development
_Victory_Fap_
As he should
sillygirlwannabe
i see no issue here
ThatFio
Korchinski and Levshunov pair would go crazy. Let them play 25 minutes a night in all situations and cook.
cam_barker_4_norris
Good to get him used to playing a pro schedule 72 games instead of 38 in college
Not a bad choice. Realistically he’s not NHL ready (that’s totally okay, he’s a D-man) so the two options are back at college and Rockford.
Levshunov had a good statistical year, but his point production came a lot from disorganized play, higher than normal secondary assists, throwing pucks on net without direction and relying on teammates to put them in, and finally playing up as a forward. Offense needs more work to be dynamic and zone defense needs work to be effective at the next level. Effort is inconsistent, and he needs to learn to play more in structure and reduce turnovers.
Here are the pros and cons of each.
MSU: Levshunov has proved he’s comfortable at this level. More comfortability means less pressure and mistakes that naturally will occur when working to improve the above will be less impactful. He can continue to eat #3 minutes but work to be smarter around the ice and improve his ability to be dynamic and not just make simplistic passes. MSU has weird defensive structure, but this gives Levshunov the opportunity to be the leader on both ends of the ice and establish better knowledge of positioning and reacting. Long story short – he knows he can succeed at this level. It gives him a stress free opportunity to build skills he currently doesn’t have with less opportunity to reinforce bad habits when he goes through inevitable growing pains.
AHL: While Levshunov is comfortable in college, he also gets FAR fewer games, less coaching, and less time to review tape. The AHL gives him time to get into the Hawks system, work with high end partners in similar systems to Chicago proper, and just play more hockey. While it will be more painful in terms of growth, it will force him to reinvent his game, both on offensive creation and defensively, which could bring him to the NHL level faster, and more comfortable in playing a pro level game. Unlike at MSU they will stop him from playing as a forward on the rush and in the zone and instead prioritize defensive responsibility and smart playmaking.
You can’t go wrong with either. I think I’d prefer staying at MSU, unless the Hawks commit to putting Korchinski down to the AHL all year. If they both are in the AHL then I’d like them to both play top pairing minutes as a tandem and grow together/develop chemistry.
12 Comments
I would also prefer this
More time to hit the weights and cultivate mass.
Makes sense
If they really feel that he is “too good” for college hockey and/or doesn’t have much more to learn, I think it makes a lot of sense. Having him in the system is also something that would be good in terms of monitoring development.
Fine with either honestly. 3 teams in 3 years for a 16 year coming from Belarus would be tough though id imagine.
If your named the consensus best defensemen in the league last year what’s the point to going back to that league? It doesn’t really make sense for development
As he should
i see no issue here
Korchinski and Levshunov pair would go crazy. Let them play 25 minutes a night in all situations and cook.
Good to get him used to playing a pro schedule 72 games instead of 38 in college
I would prefer Rockford as well, but I do not think it is a bad thing if he goes back to Michigan State. Powers did a pretty nice article of the pros and cons of each
[https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5612243/2024/07/02/blackhawks-artyom-levshunov-nhl-michigan-state/](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5612243/2024/07/02/blackhawks-artyom-levshunov-nhl-michigan-state/)
Not a bad choice. Realistically he’s not NHL ready (that’s totally okay, he’s a D-man) so the two options are back at college and Rockford.
Levshunov had a good statistical year, but his point production came a lot from disorganized play, higher than normal secondary assists, throwing pucks on net without direction and relying on teammates to put them in, and finally playing up as a forward. Offense needs more work to be dynamic and zone defense needs work to be effective at the next level. Effort is inconsistent, and he needs to learn to play more in structure and reduce turnovers.
Here are the pros and cons of each.
MSU: Levshunov has proved he’s comfortable at this level. More comfortability means less pressure and mistakes that naturally will occur when working to improve the above will be less impactful. He can continue to eat #3 minutes but work to be smarter around the ice and improve his ability to be dynamic and not just make simplistic passes. MSU has weird defensive structure, but this gives Levshunov the opportunity to be the leader on both ends of the ice and establish better knowledge of positioning and reacting. Long story short – he knows he can succeed at this level. It gives him a stress free opportunity to build skills he currently doesn’t have with less opportunity to reinforce bad habits when he goes through inevitable growing pains.
AHL: While Levshunov is comfortable in college, he also gets FAR fewer games, less coaching, and less time to review tape. The AHL gives him time to get into the Hawks system, work with high end partners in similar systems to Chicago proper, and just play more hockey. While it will be more painful in terms of growth, it will force him to reinvent his game, both on offensive creation and defensively, which could bring him to the NHL level faster, and more comfortable in playing a pro level game. Unlike at MSU they will stop him from playing as a forward on the rush and in the zone and instead prioritize defensive responsibility and smart playmaking.
You can’t go wrong with either. I think I’d prefer staying at MSU, unless the Hawks commit to putting Korchinski down to the AHL all year. If they both are in the AHL then I’d like them to both play top pairing minutes as a tandem and grow together/develop chemistry.