Demidov vs Levshunov at #2 For The Blackhawks? | LIVE CLIPS

[@Elrond_Hubbard1]

Even looking at this from a need position, which I think is a mistake, the Hawks are in far better shape prospect wise at D than offense. At two, they should be looking for stars, and I haven't heard anyone pegging Levshunov as a star in the making. As a matter of fact, I keep hearing his decision making and defense are areas of concern. At the very least, Demidov is widely considered special with the possibility of being the best player in the draft. I'd take that over the benefits oh having a right-handed shot defenseman.

[@ChicagoBlackhawksCentral]

Definitely see your point.

[@aszewci]

Agree with this take. We should completely disregard "need" -- Hawks need everything. We have no idea how any of the prospects are going to turn out. This is #2 overall, hopefully the last time we'll have a pick this high (barring lottery luck) for a while. We absolutely have to go with BPA. The argument for Demidov is his extremely high upside. His hockey sense is unreal, and he's someone who (it appears) can "think" the game like Bedard, which Kurashev recently acknowledged is lacking on the Hawks. The only arguments against Demidov are that (1) because of circumstances that have nothing to do with his ability, he's been playing against lower competition, (2) he skates kinda weirdly, and (3) he's maybe kinda small (though reports vary on his current size). The arguments for Levshunov are his physical traits, his point production, and the desire for the Hawks to draft a (RH) blue-chip defensemen. The arguments against Levshunov are that he doesn't have very good hockey sense (often out of position and commits costly turnovers) and is just okay defensively. Watching his tape and not just looking at his stats, the (mostly offensive) highlights just look so-so, and the lowlights look...bad. From all this (which is a combo of my own opinion and what I've seen written from scouts), I see Levshunov peaking as the 2nd or 3rd best defensemen on a playoff team, not the elite player that some Hawks fans seem to think he is, simply by virtue of him being the consensus top defensemen in a strong class of defensemen. And I see Demidov peaking as a 100-point winger who can either play on Bedard's line or lead his own line. The choice to me is obvious, and I will be disappointed if we take Levshunov.

[@Elrond_Hubbard1]

@@aszewci Very eloquently put!

[@kevinpatterson633]

They should go with Lindstrom. Who would you rather have Marner or bigger,faster,meaner Tkachuk

[@ChicagoBlackhawksCentral]

Would be an interesting pick at #2. Don’t know if the potential is greater than Demidov or Levshunov at that spot tho. #GMKD