Artyom Levshunov, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, has been activated by the Chicago Blackhawks and sent to join the Rockford IceHogs. The former Michigan State Spartan had been sidelined with a fractured foot, but is healthy to resume activities and will start his professional career in the AHL.

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Levshunov told reporters Tuesday that he had actually sustained the fracture during offseason training about a month before realizing something was wrong. He had been skating on it and eventually decided to get it checked out and the fracture was discovered.

The 19-year-old from Belarus participated in Chicago’s morning skate ahead of their Tuesday night game against the Vancouver Canucks, his first activity on the ice with the team, before being sent to the IceHogs.

Levshunov is Chicago’s most important young player not named Connor Bedard, as the team believes he could one day lead their blue line. Selected No. 2 overall in last June’s draft, he was the first defenseman taken in a very crowded field of blueliners in the 2024 draft class.

A true two-way defenseman, Levshunov was among the best players in the NCAA for a resurgent Michigan State squad. He had 35 points in 38 games as a true freshman, helping lead the Spartans to a Big Ten championship. Levshunov was the Big Ten’s Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and was a second-team All-America selection.

Prior to his collegiate career, Levshunov starred in the USHL for the Green Bay Gamblers, scoring 42 points in 62 games during the 2022-23 season. He was an all-rookie and third-team all-star after that campaign. 

Now Levshunov will join fellow top prospects Kevin Korchinski and Frank Nazar in Rockford, making the IceHogs one of the more exciting teams to track in terms of high-profile NHL prospects. The new arrival will be welcome as Rockford is 1-2-0 to start the season after an opening-night victory.

Levshunov is expected to join the IceHogs on the road for their pair of games against the Manitoba Moose Saturday and Sunday before returning home for a game against rival Chicago Wolves on Nov. 2. You can see all of those games right here on FloHockey.

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