Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson talks Levshunov & more after NHL Draft Day 1 | CHGO Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson talks Levshunov & more after NHL Draft Day 1 | CHGO Blackhawks

with the getting Le sh off I mean you know when when did you know this is this is the guy for us um well we always really liked him I think the final final decision probably in the last few weeks um you know you want to get all the information you want to get everything in order and then you don’t want to rush it either so um yeah I would say in the last couple weeks I don’t know exactly when but um you know fairly recently it wasn’t for example right after the uh the lottery what so you I just think the total package um you know he can offensively he can drive offense he can skate he’s super mobile he’s got good size he’s aggressive he’s he’s a physical Defender and um and we just think there’s there’s more upside to come and so uh just the the the package as well as the potential growth left to come is is it was just so intriguing and and um something we really felt that would just make us a much better organization number one def you see him as a potential number certainly has that upside yes you’ve had eight first round picks in the last three drafts you have envisioned that you’d be able to kind of make that work get get that many over when you started out this process certainly not no especially given um the first draft we didn’t have any day of um it’s and you know I it’s very cliche to say like we we targeted all these guys that we wanted but we it’s it’s very much true like you know I after year one I thought okay we can’t get all the guys who wanted and then last year we got all the guys we wanted and then this year I thought there’s no way it’s going to work out again and it just did and and um you know we’ll see if we’re right you know I’m not I’m not saying uh we’ve got this all figured out but um just to set a plan in motion and then to be able to execute on that plan when so much of it is out of your control is it’s really exciting so when did you start talking about a a plan to get back into the the first round for third G uh we we always it was always something that was uh talked about even for quite some time there were a number of teams that were looking to move back and you saw there were a couple trades where teams were moving back moving back and um we were in on all those and we we I think we got one of the last trades in that that had occurred and so there was there was some tense moments there where we didn’t know if mer would make it to us um just with all the teams trading up and us not being able to to get a trade over the finish line and so um it it was it was just something that was always we knew there was an option because there were teams willing uh because they didn’t have many picks the rest of the you know for the second or third rounds so there was there was the option there and so just glad we were able to get one over the line with Carolina and there Kyle what what did you make of the Vegas feel with M Michael Buffer and Seline Deion and just uh a bit of Blitz and glamour yeah I know it was really cool I when Selen was up there I took a picture and sent it to my mom uh probably pretty excited about that um and but yeah no it was really it was so unique and and what an unbelievable facility I I’ve never been and my first time walking in and even seeing the inside and was was just when I got here today about 2 hours or an hour and a half before the draft and so but even standing on stage and looking out at that that audience was was pretty incredible and it was very unique just given the the scale of things and and and the uh the setup in there so it it was pretty special do you think the NHL might reconsider it’s going back to its different drafts question for someone else I don’t know I’m not going there Mom’s big selenon fan I don’t know but she’s like I don’t know Canadian and I’m Canadian and I don’t know if we all know each other apparently I don’t know all all the PS that you that you do have or did have do that allow you to just not think twice about just going up and get getting Mar like moving up and not worry about sorry what was that I was I was distracted by what I said about the stupid Canadian just having the the accumulation of draft Pi was just like not a second thought of just going up and getting married and not waiting no we we we liked him enough where it it was necessary to do that it was um we you never know we don’t think he would have been there at 34 but um we just had him high enough on the list and enough value in him as a player where um it it was a no-brainer to try and move up even though it was you know nine spots or whatever we we ended up uh ended up moving I can’t remember if that’s right it’s probably wrong seven seven spots and um but you know it wasn’t a far move but the value he had in him necessitated uh taking that step you talk about moving up and getting all the guys you wanted uh you moved up a few weeks back to get 18 was was there a guy you were targeting in that range he was definitely part of the group yeah 100% And what what part of of his game did you the yeah he’s well he’s had two produ seasons in the Keegan um he he put up you know some good numbers in the USHL which is traditionally not the easiest um the easiest League to put offense up in and then just the physical package you see him and there’s so much room to fill out so much room for growth um he plays with a real like a real Edge and real physicality and so there’s there’s a lot of appeal um around uh both the offensive side and then the the abrasiveness that he plays with where do you expect next uh I’ll probably talk with uh uh Dan milstein and and and kind of give him our idea of what we think and what we believe is the best path um I’ll let him hear that first though from a League wide standpoint why aren’t there ever any trades for draft that actually it used to be chaos every year probably yeah I I my hunch is that um it doesn’t feel like a ton of time and especially with you know players with uh no trade Clauses the extra steps that you probably have to take with um central registry you know it’s it’s such a break neck Pace down there that even just putting numbers of picks on a paper and getting it in and that feels like you’re extremely rushed and so I would lean towards that um it’s my it’s my thought off the off the there was demod off close on your board or were you thinking defense the whole time yeah I won’t I’m not going to go into who is there but we weren’t thinking defense the whole time um there were there were defenseman and forwards that were in the cluster um of players that we were considering um he’s a great player great person uh and so he was definitely high up there guys took two US HL guys in the first round what’s attractive going to the USL um it’s a great PL path for players um you know it’s it’s sort of unique too he took a Canadian from Quebec that went to the USHL and then a b Russian that went to the USHL so two non-traditional um you know paths I would say traditional path for college but not for people from you know maybe Quebec or bellarus to to go through that path so but it’s it’s a great League it’s it’s gotten far better I think the last couple years um and so it’s it’s you know it I think it’s a great opportunity for young players to develop and get ready for the college ranks or if they decide to go major junior or turn pro out of USHL it’s uh you know I I believe it’s a great path for players and it’s it’s a really high quality of junior hockey and so um you know we love the league and and I think it shows uh you know League wide that you know really really good players are coming out of That League so that’s you know it wasn’t a reason why we with those players we have to like the players first rather than the league but it is a great League over 62 Center going to North Dakota also speaks French were you trying to recreate Jonathan Taves I didn’t think about that to be honest that’s funny um no we weren’t trying to recreate Jonathan Taves we won’t put that on him but um yeah shout out to to Troy Murray too former North Dakota Alum he was uh asking myself and Norman kyber if we needed any help before the draft and I joke to him and I text fact that we’re not taking any any players that are going to North Dakota and lo and behold we take someone going to North Dakota so um maybe Troy influenced things a little bit there but um no you know it’s it’s a great path nor North Dakota is a great program and obviously um Jonathan experienced a ton of success coming out of there and so um even if Sasha can can bottle a fraction of that we’d be pretty excited Kyle I’m sorry but what was it about Ry that that really screw out um yeah like I said it’s just the total package um the ability to play both sides of the puck um the uh the upside uh the physical you know I think there’s still physical growth to happen in terms of filling out and getting even stronger than he is which is um pretty scary to think about but I think just the ability to impact the game on both sides of the puck and to log big minutes which uh I I believe he will do um at the NHL level I guess how does he def um yeah you know I I just think with the with the size mobility of of of leov and and the abrasiveness that he plays with he’s a you know he’s he’s a great um compliment to the group but also you know his ability with the puck and the ability to um turn defense into offense is just you know it’s it’s something um that he does very well and it’s just just a really appealing ad to the group um with Merck I think you watch his game and he just he plays so hard he gets his he gets his nose into to every battle he’s not afraid um scores greasy goals uh and I believe his game is extremely translatable to the pro level uh I think he could play that way at any level and have an impact and um I was fortunate enough to see him multiple times uh one time I went to see Nick lardis uh play in in Branford but he was hurt he just had his wrist injury and so I actually watched the game with Nick um and saw Merck play and and was really impressed in the first viewing and I probably ended up seeing him six or seven times and and just came away every single time really impressed and he always impacted the game very positively so um yeah I just love the mentality plays with you partially answered this already but how aggressive you were with making more trades today and this draft you talk that up to past drafts that you’ve had more quality than quantity for this this go around um not no I would I would just say merri falling necessitated it rather than a trying to go over quality over quantity um we just didn’t know if we would get him at 34 and so we decided to sacrifice 50 and 34 to get to 27 just to make sure we got him and um yeah really happy with that decision this talk about the atmosphere vas theere itself yeah I know it was incredible it was um you know the the atmosphere the the spectacle of it um you know standing on the stage and making pcks and looking up and seeing just that wall of people was was pretty unique um actually after our third pick I wait we were waiting for Merck to get down there and I took a picture because I just wanted to make sure that I documented that view just cuz it was so incredible so it was a great event uh incredible atmosphere and incredible uh location so really happy about [Music] it like the May

Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson was busy on Day 1 of the 2024 NHL Draft, selecting Artyom Levshunov with the second overall pick and Sacha Boisvert at 18. Then, he jumped back into the first round to grab Marek Vanacker with the 27th pick. Hear about why he chose Levshunov over Russian winger Ivan Demidov and much more!

The CHGO Blackhawks Podcast is an ALLCITY Network Production

BECOME A DIEHARD! https://www.allchgo.com/diehard

BUY OUR NEW 16-BIT SHIRT! https://chgolocker.com/collections/chicago-blackhawks/products/chgo-16-bit-27c-tee

PARTY WITH US: https://bit.ly/3SRS03z

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports

ALL THINGS CHGO: https://linktr.ee/chgosports

WEBSITE:
http://allCHGO.com/

BUY MERCH:
http://CHGOLocker.com

FOLLOW ON SOCIAL:
Twitter: @CHGO_Sports
Instagram: @CHGO_Sports

GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER:
http://www.allchgo.com/newsletter

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

#Blackhawks #ChicagoBlackhawks #HopOnTheRide