Artyom Levshunov is showing progression in early days of season

The Chicago Blackhawks took home a much needed 4-2 win last night in their home opener versus the rival St. Louis Blues. It was important for this team to rattle off their first win of the season after a brutal three game losing skid in their opening road trip. Hopefully this gives this young squad momentum that they can carry forward.

The big story of the game was Patrick Kane's return to the United Center. Tuesday night was "Showtime's" first home game for the Blackhawks since February 21st, 2023. It also marked 19 years since his Chicago debut on October 6th, 2007.

The Blackhawks did not disappoint in their presentation as they welcomed Kane back home in a cinematic way. The crowd, especially, was impressive, giving the game a playoff-style atmosphere.

Kane's homecoming may be the legacy moment from that event. In terms of the game itself, the story has to be the play of the Blackhawks youth core. Anton Frondell and Artyom Levshunov in particular impressed as the two connected on a beautiful goal that showcased both players ability.

Levshunov is the one to spotlight as he has shown significant progression so far in his sophomore campaign.

Arty Levshunov playing with more confidence

Let's be honest: the Blackhawks defense has not been good to start this season. Chicago has given up 17 goals through four games so far; that is more on the blueline than Spencer Knight or Arvid Soderblom. The inexperience of the back-end has been evident in the early days as this team has had a hard time shutting down the opposition.

In the midst of these struggles, Levshunov has been one of the bright spots. There is a case to be made that Levshunov has been the top defenseman for this team to this point. Bowen Byram has gotten off to a slow start in his new home. Alex Vlasic has been streaky. Wyatt Kaiser has not looked as strong as last year. Sam Rinzel had a rough first couple games, but had his best performance against St. Louis. Ian Cole is hard to judge; every guy he's been paired with is over a decade younger than him. Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro have only played one game.

Somehow, year two Levshunov has arguably been the most consistent of the lot. That is not a statement one would have expected to hear after the way his rookie season went. Levshunov's highs were noticeable last season, unfortunately his lows trumped those moments. Despite a freshman year of struggle, that is not to say there were not flashes of brilliance present that showed what kind of defenseman Levshunov can become down the line.

Levshunov's issue last season was confidence. His problem was overthinking with decision-making on the ice, leading to turnovers and miscues defensively on his own end. This is understandable for a 20 year old playing in his first full season in the NHL. And doing so on a team that finished 31st in the NHL. There is a reason defensemen often take longer to develop than forwards; they have more responsibility on their plate. They log more minutes and have to defend the other team's best on a nightly basis.

Levshunov's youth showed last year and was a reminder of the developmental learning curve defensemen face in this league. Matthew Schaefer's do not grow on trees. Most guys take years to come into their own.

The key that shows whether a promising young player will turn out is how they respond to adversity. Levshunov did not have a good rookie year and he knew it. He responded by putting in the work over the offseason, spending more time in Chicago ironing out his game.

As a result, Arty has shown the strides that the Blackhawks brass should want to see in his first four games of the season. He is finally playing with more confidence and letting his natural instincts take over. The raw tools are there with Levshunov; he is starting to lean into them more. You are seeing him use his deceptive speed on the ice and utilize his puck-handling ability. His play to Frondell in last night's game may have been the premier moment of his NHL tenure.

That is the player that general manager Kyle Davidson envisoned when he selected Levshunov with the second overall pick in the 2024 draft. That is the defenseman Davidson felt so confident in that he choose him over Ivan Demidov. Whether that turns out to be the correct call in the long haul remains to be seen.

Levshunov may not become the elite star player that Demidov appears on track to become. It might not matter. If Levshunov asserts himself as one of the draft's best defensemen, as most scouts envisioned, Davidson will not regret that decision.

Of course, this is not to say that Levshunov's season has been perfect. There are still the usual shifts that show there is still a long way to go in his development. The hockey IQ still needs a lot of work. The power play is a clear area he is still having a hard time with. The realm where this is most clear is the zone entries when it comes to making drop passes to the forwards breaking the puck into the opposing end.

Thankfully for Arty, this will not be something he has to worry about as much this year, with Byram taking over as the number one power-play quarterback. However, you do eventually want to see him become comfortable in that role. His defensive game also needs more work if the team is ever going to feel confident relying on him on the penalty kill.

With that said, there is no doubt Levshunov has looked like a better player right now than he had at any point last season. The next step will be translating that improvement into the course of a campaign. Levshunov had a roller-coaster year last season; can he have less of those fluctuations in performance this time around?

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