As the 2024-25 NHL season enters its final regular season phase, it comes as little shock to fans and pundits alike that the Chicago Blackhawks are wrapping up year number (fill in the blank) of their "rebuilding" phase. This franchise is barely a decade away from winning the Stanley Cup and yet it seems likes there's some sort of hockey curse over this franchise as the Blackhawks continue their exile from the NHL playoffs with another losing season come April.
Chicago currently sits with a dismal overall record of 20-27-9 and a 3-5-2 record in their last ten games. To add insult to injury, the Blackhawks dropped a 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in a race to see who can fall the hardest in the Western Conference standings.
Despite the obvious distraction from the Macklin Celebrini-Connor Bedard draft pick matchup, the Blackhawks seemed to put an exclamation point on the old sports phrase "wait until next year" because this franchise seems to be driven toward waiting another year in their endless rebuild to bring things together and find winning ways again.
Yes, patience is a virtue and with ten Blackhawks players under the age of 23, this organization still needs time to build the nucleus of a winning tradition once again. It should be noted that no less than eight rookies have made their NHL debut with Chicago just this season with other player call-ups from the AHL Rockford IceHogs likely between now and the end of the regular season.
Will Artyom Levshunov play a key role in upping the ante for the Blackhawks next season?
Yes, the Blackhawks have Connor Bedard and over time, the Connor in Chicago may become just as much the face of the franchise as the other Connor up in Edmonton (it should be noted, however, that Connor McDavid has yet to win a Stanley Cup with the Oilers - writer's comment) but of course in reality, Bedard is just one player on the ice at any given time.
Although he is obviously talented and will no doubt finish up with a stellar NHL career, betting the farm solely on one great teenage player is like betting all of your winnings when you hold a pair of twos in a poker game.
While the spotlight in Chicago still shines brightly for Connor Bedard, a new star may just be making his presence known quickly on the ice for the remainder of this season and well into the future for the Blackhawks' organization.
Blueliner Arytom Levshunov's debut this week with Chicago could be just as heralded as Connor Bedard's was at the beginning of last season. Yes, Levshunov is another teenager on the ice but this particular defenseman brings an impressive resume with him already and had three shots and two blocks in his NHL debut and played well against San Jose on Thursday night.
Levshunov brings a blueliner O-Zone attack mentality to the Blackhawks.
Levshunov was the second-overall draft pick in the 2024 NHL draft (behind Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks) and was the highest NHL draft pick from the country of Belarus ever in league history. Levshunov gained valuable playing experience at the NCAA level last season while at Michigan State and was in the top ten scoring as a defenseman with nine goals and 26 assists in 38 games at the collegiate level.
Levshuov also garnered both Big 10 Defenseman of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards last season and his 6'2", 208 pound frame easily paid dividends at the professional level with five goals and 17 assists with the AHL Rockford IceHogs prior to his NHL callup this week.
Even more importantly than his defensive play, Levshuov registered 137 shots on goal (SOG) while with Rockford which means that the Blackhawks now have on their roster a blueliner who understands how to attack in the offensive zone. Shots mean goal scoring chances; goals scored means more wins and more wins means that the Chicago Blackhawks could have a bright future starting next season.