Blackhawks sign entry-level contract for Artyom Levshunov and draft him from Michigan State

The Blackhawks’ new promising defenseman, Artyom Levshunov, signed his three-year entry-level contract on Saturday, indicating where he will play in the 2024/25 season.

The contract, which comes with a salary cap hit of $975,000, means the No. 2 overall pick will not return to Michigan State University for his sophomore year of college.

Instead, Levshunov will join the Hawks for training camp in September and theoretically compete for a spot on the NHL roster, but he will likely begin the regular season with Rockford in the AHL.

“Signing Artyom gives us the opportunity to continue his development internally and (allows him) to take the next step toward professional hockey,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “He is a strong two-way defenseman who has all the tools to be a top player in the NHL and we look forward to continuing his development at the professional level.”

If the 18-year-old defenseman plays fewer than 10 NHL games, his contract will be extended by one year and will expire in 2028. In fact, it could be extended again in 2025/26, but he will probably already be in the NHL by then.

Hawks assistant general manager Mark Eaton recently analyzed the benefits of having Levshunov in Rockford, where he will play significantly more games – against tougher competition – than he would have in the Big Ten.

“Being able to get hands-on every day is a huge advantage,” Eaton said. “That’s the line we take with our amateur talent: recognizing that they all play for different coaches, they all play in different systems. So if we have the opportunity to have him in-house and … have (our) development staff work with him on a daily basis, (we can) start to bridge the gap between where he is and where he wants to be.”

Levshunov is 1.88 m tall and weighs 95 kg. He is tall and physically strong. However, since he only arrived from Belarus less than two years ago, he has relatively little experience in hockey at the highest level. That will soon change.

“He’s going to get more and more comfortable playing the North American game, which is different from Europe,” Eaton added. “Learning the professional game is a process that every young player goes through. The sooner he starts getting that experience and getting comfortable here, the more it will benefit him.”