Blackhawks Draft Artyom Levshunov

Good morning Chicago fans! In the biggest debate since Justin Fields vs. Caleb Williams, fans advocating for Artyom Levshunov over Ivan Demidov came out on top.

Whether you were on the Levshunov side or not, just be grateful it was a debate between two youthful people. Here’s to a new week and new hope after the NBA and NHL drafts!

RESULTS

L - Giants 5, Cubs 4: How about starting a third straight week with a blown save?

• Justin Steele dominated (7.1 IP, 2 ER, 9 K) to lower his season ERA to 3.08, but he remains winless on the season ☹

• The offense seemed to be clicking but left 12 men on base, hit 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position, and kept the Giants within striking distance

• Colten Brewer and Drew Smyly combined for the blown save as Smyly walked in the winning run

L - Giants 5, Cubs 1: The offense disappeared again.

• Kyle Hendricks found a time machine a few weeks ago and was very good again in this one (7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)

• Cubs hitters only managed 4 hits as the Giants had their second straight bullpen game due to a handful of injured starters.

L - Giants 4, Cubs 3: No run support on a bullpen day gave the Cubs their 4th straight loss.

• The Giants’ 7-8-9 hitters all hit a HR

• The Cubs hit 1-for-7 with RISP and had 4 ridiculous outs on the basepaths

• Pete Crow-Armstrong scored from 1st on a single in the 4th inning ⚡

W - Cubs 5, Giants 3 (F/10): They barely avoided the sweep in San Fran!

• Shōta Imanaga had a nice bounceback (6.0 IP, 3 ER) but gave up all 3 runs in the 6th inning (2 scored on a wild pitch and an infield single)

• Ian Happ was the hero with a 2-R HR in the 10th inning!

• Let me guess, RISP struggles? 2-for-12 🤢

L - Brewers 4, Cubs 2: The Cubs fell flat to start a huge series in Milwaukee.

• All 4 Brewers runs came on a grand slam against Jameson Taillon after catcher’s interference and an infield single with 2 outs

• Cubs hitters struck out 13 times and only had 5 hits

W - Cubs 5, Brewers 3: A nail biter that ended with a W!

• Justin Steele was fired up and yelling in the dugout after the 3rd inning following defensive mishaps that led to 2 runs - hopefully his passion helped spark the team!

• All Ian Happ does is hit late inning home runs!! Another 2-R HR, this time in the 8th inning, gave the Cubs the lead! 💪

• 1-for-12 with RISP…

L - Brewers 7, Cubs 1: With a big series win on the line, the Cubs remained lifeless.

• After a Nico Hoerner leadoff HR, the Cubs had 1 hit and 0 runs the rest of the game

• A 7-run 4th inning took out Kyle Hendricks. Brice Turang capped it off with a grand slam after Ian Happ lost a fly ball in the sun.

WEEK RECORD: 2-5

SEASON RECORD: 39-46 (Last place, 11.5 GB)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Nico Hoerner

Nico provided a much-needed spark this week from the leadoff spot, hitting 10-for-29 (.344) with 5 R, 2 HRs, 3 SB.

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Dansby Swanson Diving Catch

ROSTER MOVES

Thursday: Signed RHP Vinny Nittoli to a major league deal, placed Javier Assad on the 15-day IL with a right forearm strain

Friday: Placed Keegan Thompson on the 15-day IL with a rib fracture, recalled RHP Ethan Roberts from AAA, selected RHP Jorge Lopez from AAA, DFA’d RHP Vinny Nittoli

• Nittoli only survived a day 😂 he was in camp with the Cubs in 2023 and pitched at AAA Iowa that year

NEWS & NOTES

Kyle Hendricks reached 10 years of MLB service time 👏

Matt Shaw was named the Southern League Player of the Week in AA for June 17-23! He hit .428 with 4 HRs and 9 RBI 💪

TROPHY TRACKER (6/10 ➡ 🏆)

NEWS & NOTES

No Bears news this week! The team is still on summer break 😎

TROPHY TRACKER (6/10 ➡ 🏆)

🏒 NHL DRAFT 🏒

Round 1, Pick 2 ➡ D Artyom Levshunov, Michigan State (NCAA)

Round 1, Pick 18 ➡ C Sacha Boisvert, Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)

🚨 Traded 2 2nd round picks (#34 & #50) to Carolina for another 1st round pick (#27) 🚨

Round 1, Pick 27 ➡ F Marek Vanacker, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)

Round 3, Pick 67 ➡ F John Mustard, Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)

Round 3, Pick 72 ➡ F AJ Spellacy, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)

🚨 Traded 2025 3rd round pick to Carolina for another 2024 3rd round pick (#92)

Round 3, Pick 92 ➡ F Jack Pridham, West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)

Round 5, Pick 138 ➡ C Joel Svensson, Vaxjo Lakers HC (J20 Nationell)

Round 6, Pick 163 ➡ D Ty Henry, Erie Otters (OHL)

Connor Bedard was on stage in Vegas to announce the Artyom Levshunov pick for the Hawks. That was a cool moment to start the night! Bedard instantly became the face of the franchise when he was drafted and continues to thrive in the role.

I wanted Levshunov at #2. His upside is a big, physical #1 RHD who could potentially pair with Kevin Korchinski for the next decade. The Hawks have a ton of impressive defensemen in their prospect pool, but nobody projects as a top guy. Taking a chance at an elite player to lead that group was a great choice for the future of the franchise.

😮😮 The Blackhawks reportedly wanted to move up to #4 to draft Ivan Demidov. They almost got both players everyone wanted! The Blue Jackets turned down the Hawks’ offer of a 2025 1st and 2025 2nd.

Boisvert was drafted higher than some expected, but he fits the Blackhawks mold very well. He seems to be a well-rounded center with size and toughness. He grew up boxing and will definitely be his teammates’ first defender, so don’t breathe the wrong way on Bedard (see Hitting the Links below). He’s a skilled goal scorer and could be the long-term 2C or 3C.

The rest of the picks fit the Kyle Davidson team build perfectly - speed, speed, speed. Drafting mainly forwards aligns with their organizational needs, and they even ended up with more size in this draft to help balance out player builds for their future roster.

There are legitimate questions about trading up 2 spots to #18 way before the draft and taking someone who may have been available later. Moving up multiple times and not picking at all in the 2nd round was also an interesting choice.

The Blackhawks have now used 8 1st round picks in the last 3 drafts - the most in a 3-year span in the NHL since 1974-1976. If there is ANY approach to start a rebuild, this seems like a great one!

Speaking of speed:

The future defensive core as of today:

Korchinski-Levshunov

Vlasic-Jones

Rinzel/Del Mastro/Kaiser/Allan

NEWS & NOTES

Traded a 2027 4th round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for F Ilya Mikheyev, rights to UFA and old friend F Sam Lafferty, and a 2027 2nd round pick

• This was a salary dump by the Canucks who will retain 15% of Mikheyev’s $4.75M cap hit over the next 2 seasons

• Blackhawks hoped to sign Lafferty before free agency, but he now intends to test the open market

• Mikheyev can be a major contributor in the middle 6 if he is fully healed from ACL surgery. In 2021-2022 (pre-surgery), he was in the 95th percentile in skating speed. He’s also 6’3”, scored 21 goals in 21-22, and can help out on the penalty kill.

• 2027 was the first year Kyle Davidson did not already have an extra 2nd round pick

Connor Bedard won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the rookie of the year! 🥇

• He won despite only playing in 68 games due to injury and finished his rookie season with 22 goals and 39 assists (61 points)

• First the Calder…next the Hart? Then the Conn Smythe???

Blackhawks legend Jeremy Roenick was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame!!!

Gave the qualifying offer to restricted free agents Isaak Phillips and Louis Crevier

Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane re-signed for 1 year with the Detroit Red Wings

Circa Sports will be the jersey patch sponsor on the home red sweaters

Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers came back from 3-0 to force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final. It was a fun series, and the Florida Panthers took home the Cup. Now that McDavid lost in the Final, Bedard can be the next Connor to hoist the Cup!

TROPHY TRACKER (2/10 ➡ 🏆)

🏀 NBA DRAFT 🏀

Round 1, Pick 11 ➡ Matas Buzelis, F, G League Ignite

Another Chicago kid stays home! Buzelis joins Bears OT Kiran Amegadjie as Hinsdale natives recently drafted by their hometown teams.

Buzelis is a 19-year old 6’9” forward coming off of one season in the G League.

He elected to play in the G League after high school to play against professionals, learn how to face bigger guys, and grow accustomed to the grind of the league. He struggled on a team that went 2-32 (!!!) but showcased his abilities and confidence against strong competition.

His strengths are his athleticism, blocking, transition game, and work ethic. He needs to work on his 3-point shooting after only shooting 27.3% in the G League. Bulls player development coach (and shooting specialist) Peter Patton definitely has his hands full with Josh Giddey and Buzelis both on the roster!

I like the pick. Buzelis was mocked as a top-5 pick by many experts and has a lot of promising skills. Adding size and talent to the frontcourt was essential for this team. People rave about his character and drive to be great, so I’m optimistic for his development into a good NBA player.

On the one hand, the Bulls actually drafted an athletic, positionless, poor shooting prospect like I facetiously wanted them to avoid. On the other hand, Buzelis is legitimately an exciting prospect with star potential who could be their future SF.

Side note…was this a special AK selection? Buzelis’ parents grew up in Lithuania 🤔

NEWS & NOTES

Signed Patrick Williams to a new 5-year, $90M contract 💰

• PW hasn’t shown much since being drafted 4th overall in 2020, but keeping a young player for $18M/year is good business

• He already has 3-point shooting and defensive capabilities, but he needs to improve as a rebounder if the Bulls intend to keep him at PF long-term

• It has been a hard watch at times, but injuries have not done him any favors. Let’s hope Williams can develop with the other young guys and become a great player for this team.

Torrey Craig picked up his player option ($2.8M) to remain with the Bulls

Gave the qualifying offer to restricted free agent Adama Sanogo

Old friend Andre Drummond signed with the Philadelphia 76ers

Arturas Karnisovas met the media after the draft and was unclear about the direction of the team for the first time. He would not declare an outlook for the team until after they see who is available in free agency and what roster moves they are able to make. I’m guessing they still want to improve the roster and win more games, but the dominos could fall the other way if certain players sign elsewhere. Any DeMar DeRozan news will be the first sign.

The Kings were reportedly close to acquiring Alex Caruso for the #13 pick in this year’s draft.

Hired Eric Waters as the new Director of Health and Performance. He previously worked for the Bulls as an assistant trainer from 2000-2004.

TROPHY TRACKER (1/10 ➡ 🏆)

DJ Moore

DJ Moore was in Manchester, England to lead an event with the Mini Monsters program. It looks like he had a great time going through drills and having fun with the kids!

Moore also brought his family overseas and was able to take his kids to London. I appreciate the combination of family time, enjoyment of the offseason, and being willing to serve a bunch of kids. That’s my WR1!

The Blackhawks should sign an elite forward.

For two years, Kyle Davidson has been clear. His plan was to draft and develop players. He needed to stock a barren prospect cupboard and see who could blossom at the NHL level. He stuck to his vision of assessing his own players before making a major addition from outside the organization.

Based on recent reports, Davidson may alter his plan if the right opportunity presents itself. He said he wants to add talent to the top 6, and others have reported that he is now comfortable with a long-term deal if the value is advantageous for their future.

I agreed with his plan since he was hired in 2022. This was going to take a long time, and there was no need to throw money at the best players in the league to join a last place team fighting to score a single goal each night.

Now that three drafts are under his belt, I am fully on board with adding an elite player this offseason.

It’s true in every sport. You win with stars. You need the right role players, you need sufficient depth, you need the right schemes and coaching. But if you don’t have stars, you aren’t winning championships. Connor Bedard is the face of the franchise and will be the best player for the next Cup-winning Hawks team. But you need more.

Many of the Hawks’ top prospects won’t reach the NHL until 2025-2026 or later, so the contention window seems to be a couple years away. However, signing someone now for 7-9 years will line them up with the future timeline while building important chemistry and raising the standard. Others may only sign for 2-3 years and won’t be a part of a contending team, but they can definitely improve the winning tendencies in the locker room.

Jake Guentzel, Martin Necas, and old friend Teuvo Teravainen have surfaced in rumors. Guentzel is most likely headed to Tampa Bay, though. Or they could get creative and somehow acquire Jonathan Marchessault, Leon Draisaitl, or Steven Stamkos.

The options may appear limited, but the Blackhawks have a ton of assets at their disposal. Find a top talent now.

Corey Pronman - Blackhawks Draft Grades (The Athletic)

Chicago Bulls - All Access with Matas Buzelis (X)

Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus - Blackhawks Free Agency Primer (The Athletic)

Jerry Crasnick - Kyle Hendricks reaches 10 years of service (MLBPA)

Scott Wheeler - Sacha Boisvert and Boxing (The Athletic)

Thanks for reading! If your mind wasn’t swirling enough from all the sports news, just wait for free agency in the NBA and NHL this week. I love this time of year!

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