Michigan State hockey defensemen named Big Ten’s 2nd Star of the Week

Michigan State hockey freshman Artyom Levshunov recieved Big Ten 2nd Star of the Week honors after big performance against Penn State.

Another week, another Spartan is making waves in college hockey. Artyom Levshunov, the freshman Michigan State hockey defenseman from Belarus, added an accolade to his name this past weekend. It was announced on Tuesday that Levshunov, received the second star of the week for his outstanding performance over the weekend against Penn State. He is joined by first star Gavin Brindley (Michigan) and third star Sam Rinzel (Minnesota).

As reported over the weekend, Levshunov had a great series against the Nittany Lions. In the Friday night shutout, he recorded a secondary assist on Joey Larson’s 13th goal of the season. On Saturday, he was instrumental in the 7-3 dismantling that occurred in Happy Valley. He assisted on three goals and added a goal when he clapped a slapshot that the goalie barely saw. The four-point affair on Saturday night set a career high for points scored in a game. The five-point total impressed many people around college hockey.

While this is Levshunov’s first star of the week honor, he now joins a growing list of Spartans who are getting these accolades. Levshunov is now the fifth Spartan to receive this accolade. Others earning those honors this season include Trey Augustine (who has been honored twice), Gavin O’Connell, Joey Larson, and Nicholas Müller. The only teams with more honorees are Wisconsin and Minnesota who both have six.

NHL draft speculations

This accolade may not shift Levshunov’s draft ranking for many teams. To be fair, though, you can’t get much higher than a projected top five pick. What this does show is that Levshunov is a great all-around player. He can hold his own on the blue line with his physicality and he can make plays happen in the offensive zone. This will be important for teams this summer at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas.

Earlier this week, NHL Central Scouting VP Dan Marr was discussing Levshunov on the ‘NHL Draft Class’ podcast and said, “He is the most complete package for a defenseman and probably the most NHL-ready of anybody in this draft class.” This also comes after NHL Central Scouting ranked him as the No. 2 overall North American skater. The only person in front of him is the projected No. 1 overall pick, Macklin Celebrini. It seems that the NHL might be where he plays next year at the rate he is performing.

Levshunov and the No. 7 ranked Spartans will be looking to continue their hot start to the second half of the season this weekend. They have a home and home series against the No. 15 ranked Michigan Wolverines. Friday night will be at Munn Arena in East Lansing at 7 p.m. Saturday’s game will be at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m.