Chicago Blackhawks' top draft pick Artyom Levshunov will miss prospect showcase with an injury

Artyom Levshunov was going to provide his first look in a Chicago Blackhawks sweater this weekend at the Tom Kurvers Rookie Showcase this weekend in St. Louis.

That will have to wait as the Blackhawks' top draft pick this year will not be skating in the showcase.

The foot injury will shelve Levshunov for a few weeks.

While not having him skate in the prospect showcase is not the end of the world, it would have been nice to see him play amongst his peers.

Also, he probably would have skated on the top pair with either Ethan Del Mastro or Nolan Allan. Instead, Del Mastro and Allan will skate with potential Rockford IceHogs teammates Landon Slaggert, Frank Nazar, and Colton Dach.

Seeing what the first line and top pair can do at least lessens the blow of not getting a glimpse of what Levshunov can do playing with his peers.

Levshunov is not the only Hawks first-round pick who will be missing the showcase because of injury. Marek Vanacker is also out as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn labrum.

The Blackhawks have only two prospects from this year's draft playing in this showcase.

Third-round pick AJ Spellacy and sixth-round pick Ty Henry are part of the roster. The Hawks will play the St. Louis Blues prospects on Friday night and then the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

Levshunov was going to be the headline star for the Hawks in this showcase since he was the No. 2 overall pick this year. However, Nazar and Slaggert get an opportunity to shine as they make their case to start the season with the Blackhawks rather than the IceHogs.

Levshunov playing well in the showcase would not have made his case for making the NHL roster as the front office seems very firm on him playing for the IceHogs this season. It looks like Del Mastro and Allan are destined to spend another season refining their games in Rockford.

That is not a bad thing as that process worked out very well for developing Alex Vlasic. If those three prospects develop into outstanding defenders, then that is a defensive group a team can win Stanley Cups with. So long as Kevin Korchinski and one or two of those players can improve their offensive game.