Michigan State’s Levshunov selected 2nd by the Blackhawks
Las Vegas — It was no surprise that Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov was selected in the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday.
Levshunov, a 6’2″ and 200lb Belarusian native, was selected second in the first round of the draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said his staff had a healthy debate in making the decision.
“There are great options. And when you have great options, you have to talk about them,” Davidson said Thursday. “If it was a no-brainer, we probably would have known about it months ago or whenever the lottery happened.”
According to the prevailing opinion, Chicago’s selection will be split between Levshunov and Russian Anton Silayev and Russian striker Ivan Demidov.
Although Levshunov left his native Belarus two years ago to play in North America, Russian talent raises questions because NHL teams have not been allowed to enter the country to scout and get to know players since the war in Ukraine.
Davidson has not yet met Silayev, who is listed at 6’7″ and 215 pounds, but had the opportunity to meet Demidov last week at a meeting of Russian players in Florida organized by a player’s agent.
“A really impressive young man,” Davidson said of Demidov. “That was really great information for us. And kind of a great jumpstart to the draft process that was necessary to get everything in.”
San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier began rebuilding the franchise by selecting Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 pick.
Just 18 years old, he’s the kind of cornerstone Grier can use to expand the growing pool of promising talent and rebuild a franchise in the midst of its longest playoff drought, which has now lasted five years.
At 6’0″ and nearly 200 pounds, Celebrini became the nation’s youngest college hockey player, second in goals with 32 and third in points with 64 in 38 games. Although he is from Northern British Columbia, Celebrini played for the Junior Sharks program for one year after his father, Rick, was hired as vice president of player health and performance for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
Round 1
1. San Jose Sharks: Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University
2. Chicago Blackhawks: Artyom Levshunov, D, Michigan State
3. Anaheim Ducks: Beckett Sennecke, RW, Oshawa
4. Columbus Blue Jackets: Cayden Lindstrom, C, Medicine Hat
5. Montreal Canadiens: Ivan Demidov, RW, Russia
6. Utah Hockey Club: Tij Iginla, C, Kelowna
7. Ottawa Senators: Carter Yakemchuk, D, Calgary
8. Seattle Kraken: Berkly Catton, C, Spokane
9. Calgary Flames: Zayne Parekh, D, Saginaw
10. New Jersey Devils: Anton Silayev, D, Russia
11. Buffalo Sabres: Sam Dickinson, D, London
12. Philadelphia Flyers
13. Minnesota Wild
14. San Jose Sharks (by PIT)
15. Detroit Red Wings
16. St. Louis Blues
17. Washington Capitals
18. Chicago Blackhawks (by NYI)
19. Vegas Golden Knights
20. New York Islanders (from TBL via CHI)
21. Los Angeles Kings
22. Nashville Predators
23. Toronto Maple Leafs
24. Colorado Avalanche
25. Boston Bruins (via DET and OTT)
26. Montreal Canadiens (by WPG)
27. Carolina Hurricanes
28. Calgary Flames (from VAN)
29. Dallas Stars
30. New York Rangers
31. Anaheim Ducks (from EDM)
32. Philadelphia Flyers (from FLA)
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