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Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)

Blackhawks Fans Need to Be Patient With Levshunov

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Matteo Giuliano | Last updated Feb 3, 2026 2:30 PM ET

Artyom Levshunov, the Chicago Blackhawks’ second-overall pick in 2024, has had a difficult second half of the season. He was recently scratched from the lineup, and his replacement, Sam Rinzel, has played two strong games, including scoring his second goal of the season against the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

While it’s been rough for Levshunov, and Blackhawks fans have been right to criticize him, everyone has to remain patient.

Normal Development for NHL Defensemen

Levshunov has heightened expectations after being selected second-overall, but defencemen typically take longer to develop than forwards. Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill was smart to shelter Levshunov early in the season, and he impressed many in those minutes, which allowed him to move up the lineup, but there have been some growing pains with increased responsibility.

It’s frustrating to watch, but Levshunov is just 20 years old and has only one season split between the NHL and the American Hockey League (AHL). I looked at every defenceman drafted in the top 10 between 2005 and 2015 to see the start of their careers vs the rest of their careers – I picked that time frame, because it gave me a wide range of defencemen who have already finished their careers or are well established in their roles.

In that decade, 35 defencemen were selected in the top ten (eight of them in 2012), and of those, 16 were worthy of where they were selected, while seven had good NHL careers but probably did not pan out as the franchises that drafted them had hoped.

Not everyone can be Aaron Ekblad, Drew Doughty or Victor Hedman, who stepped right into the NHL and made an immediate impact. Of the 16 picks that were hits, 11 took at least a year playing in junior, Europe or the AHL before getting their first real taste of NHL hockey.

Five of the hits stepped right into the NHL, but not all of them made an immediate impact. When Seth Jones made his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators, he played 77 games and recorded 25 points, including six goals. But what really stood out was his goals-for percentage (GF%) and his expected-goals-for percentage (xGF%).

Jones posted a shocking GF% of 36.28 and an xGF% of 47.38. He may have been a bit lucky in his rookie year, as outlined in the discrepancy between the GF% (actual results) and xGF% (what was expected to happen based on his play). However, he was still losing his minutes.

Noah Hanifin also wasn’t stellar when he first entered the league. In 79 games in his rookie season at 18, he posted 22 points and lost his minutes, posting a 45.97 GF% and 46.6 xGF%. Meanwhile, some of the 11 top-ten picks who didn’t step into the NHL right away include Alex Pietrangelo, Hampus Lindholm, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Zach Werenski.

Give Levshunov Time

Levshunov’s underlying stats are brutal, and at times, the eye test backs it up. My colleague Jim Precourt wrote a fantastic piece breaking down some of Levshunov’s struggles. Those struggles are real, and based on the reaction on X, some are beginning to grow tired of it.

His skill set is too good to give up on, and he needs time to grow into his game. It’s rare to find a player with his offensive instincts, and his skating is incredible.

Artyom Levshunov one-handed puck protection to get the puck in deep pic.twitter.com/6jDp6tDXP0
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 5, 2026

His skating, strength and confidence at just 20 years old are encouraging. He struggles in the defensive zone like most young offensive-minded defencemen, and his eagerness to pinch can be an issue.

Learning moment for Levshunov: He simply shouldn’t have pinched when Kaiser had pinched right before. If your partner’s not back, you can’t go there. https://t.co/N465Qqrrhb
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 23, 2026

But a lot of the weak points in his game can be improved with experience and maturity, and sometimes young players have a tough time adjusting to NHL competition. In college, young players, as talented as Levshunov, can often get away with aggressive pinches because not everyone is as big and fast as they are. It may be taking longer than some would like, but development isn’t linear. There will be ups and downs, but Levshunov deserves a little bit of grace at just 20 years old.