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00:00and the Blackhawks with the number two pick in the draft and they are they we
00:07heard from Kyle Davidson yesterday and he said that they have gotten some phone
00:12calls I think it was reported Pierre LeBron reported that they had gotten
00:17multiple calls for the number two pick and Kyle Davidson said well we've heard
00:22from a couple teams but we you know they're taking the pick we decided we
00:26know who we're taking he said they had you know healthy argument discussion and
00:32the general feeling around the league is that there are two guys they're choosing
00:37from and Ivan Demidov is the the Russian forward playing in one of the minor
00:44league kind of KHL leagues it would take him a year to get here the other guy is
00:51call him Artie he said call me Artie Artie Artie Levchenov so it's Artie and
00:57he he's this kind of giant defenseman who is currently he finished up his
01:06freshman year at Michigan State and he's meant to be like a big character like a
01:12big personality and and affable yet very various very fun-loving kind of guy his
01:21signature move was riding his bike all over Michigan State campus and
01:27apparently into the winter he didn't mind the snow he'd like to ride his bike
01:32through it which is pretty wild but he did at Michigan State and he's already
01:37been in the United States he's already done like the acclimation period of
01:44moving to a new place he's a freshman Michigan State had quite a year yes six
01:48two to ten good size you would think that he would be ready to go sooner
01:53rather than later although there would be the possibility that he returns to
01:58Michigan State for a year I don't know if that's in the cards if the Hawks take
02:01him tonight but there does seem to be a growing sense that if Kyle Davidson has
02:07made his mind up you would think that he is he's done so because of the
02:13certainty that a pick would present and there's more certainty with left you
02:16know than there is with Demidoff I think because of the availability with
02:20Demidoff they went down to Florida they took him out to dinner with the agent
02:24and all that stuff with Lev Shanoff they are the only team that took him out to
02:30dinner let's take a listen this is this is Artie Lev Shanoff telling you what
02:36went on with his dinner with the Blackhawks
03:06do you feel you have a strong feeling that you'll be a Chicago Blackhawks in three weeks?
03:10I think any team will be good for me I just yeah just want to be drafted and I
03:16think any team we have a good organization right I think everyone try
03:22to care about their players and I think I just want to be in the NHL like some day
03:29it's my dream to play there
03:31so he wants to put his dream to play in the NHL
03:35I don't know if you could hear everything he said that the Blackhawks
03:38were the only team that took him out to dinner yes said they had good
03:41conversation he said they had a couple beers yes he did now he's 18 where was
03:47the meeting I don't care they went out to dinners in Florida I'm guessing in
03:51America in America because where he's from in Belarus he's not the drinking
03:57age is probably 18 well I'm not surprised that he's had a beer he just
04:01What's the drinking age in East Lansing?
04:03It's 21
04:05I know but on campus
04:07What's the real drinking age?
04:09Threshold there
04:11but he did say that he was out with the Blackhawks and they had a couple beers
04:14and he if you see the video of him we've posted it on our Twitter feed he like he
04:21looks it's hysterical a couple beers like the way he says it but he's
04:26completely fluent in English he's already lived in America and he's the
04:32kind of guy that could help you immediately right as opposed to the end
04:35of the year I'd be surprised if a guy as good as he is wouldn't kind of follow
04:41the same path of Connor Bedard in other words I'm with you being immediately
04:46I'm with you I only mentioned that as a possibility maybe it is to create some
04:51leverage maybe it is to to maintain just all ranges of outcomes because
04:58returning to Michigan State is one of those possibilities I think that if he
05:02gets drafted second tonight to the Blackhawks he's going to be a Blackhawk
05:07he does still have AHL I think rights he can still go that route perhaps but
05:13you're drafting somebody at that point I think you're ready for him to contribute
05:16rather quickly he's he's got a really good backstory an interesting backstory
05:21to Molly I know that all these guys tend to have these tonight we'll start to
05:27hear from where they came from and what they overcame part of Lefshanov's battle
05:32an obstacle was that he lost his father to kovat and he was apparently it was
05:38family had difficult time hard times and went to an agent who obviously brought
05:46him to America they started looking at programs he landed at Michigan State had
05:51a terrific year it's a good story in the Chicago Tribune over the weekend by Phil
05:55Thompson about his background and what Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale
05:59had to say about the development of Lefshanov and how he's ready now the
06:04last time the Hawks went the route of getting a Michigan State defenseman
06:08turned out pretty well Duncan Keith turned out to be a pretty good pretty
06:14good defenseman for the Blackhawks that is one of those comparisons you'll make
06:17just because of the the program that they will be coming from to the NHL that
06:23is not the burden you want to place on anybody's any young 18 year old
06:27shoulders that's a lot to live up to but he is a dynamic player and I do think he
06:31might be the guy tonight yeah I again he's a he's a big personality he'd be a
06:39fun guy to have on that team I just I just wonder David if I mean it seems to
06:47me watching Conor Bedard and then watching the you know they did like a
06:52little tape of him and you know you're just kind of thinking wow Blackhawks got
06:58so lucky it's so great to have a guy that good in town do you need to make
07:04every decision it should Conor Bedard be like Caleb Williams in other words
07:10once you get that quarterback don't you have to make every decision sort of
07:16around the quarterback we want to get better here here we want to help them by
07:19doing this and doing that don't you kind of reminder don't you need yes help on
07:25the forward line for him and maybe some size for him and if you get a guy and
07:30I'm not I'm just I'm just asking the question if you get a guy who's been
07:34compared to Nikita Kucherov wouldn't that help Conor Bedard as much as a
07:39great big defenseman and they got they listen they need guys on the they need
07:45blue liners I'm not saying they don't I'm just saying support size all that
07:51stuff I'm talking about not just this year talking about moving forward I
07:55understand it's a very good question and I think you could answer it a couple
07:59different ways I think the first over overall understanding you have the
08:04premise you have to accept and and be guided by if you are Kyle Davidson every
08:08single day is that every single decision you make is related to one question how
08:14will it affect Conor Bedard definitely what you do in the draft though is that
08:22I think you look at it in total and maybe number two there is a defenseman
08:27maybe there's a forward and maybe you have to make a choice there I think
08:31you're always going to be guided by the best player available maybe the most
08:36accessible player as well if Lefshanov can help you and they're gonna be fewer
08:43headaches than maybe Demidov coming from Russia maybe that's going to be the
08:47guiding principle but both guys will help Bedard because the complete team
08:51will help Bedard and you want to have you you want to have a strong defense as
08:57well so in the Caleb Williams context a pass rusher helps a quarterback as much
09:03as a wide receiver sometimes right and I understand that and I understand you
09:09know like you look at Conor Bedard and you say that is the generational talent
09:15so you got to build around it but you also you've got a pretty good blue liner
09:20and and Alex Vlasic he probably was better than you thought he was going to
09:25be might been a little bit underrated and he's on a long-term contract it's
09:31team-friendly you got Kevin Kerchinsky right he's already up and playing I just
09:39wonder if you if you take another blue liner if you take Levshanov then do you
09:47have to get more forward help somehow and and that's something that that was
09:54said yesterday that the two returning injured players he views as almost like
10:00free agent acquisitions right and if that's the case then you know get Tebow
10:07in here I want that I want them to get more kind of veteran help up front
10:13the trade they made with the Canucks helps do that and they're having the
10:18same thought because that's why they went out and they got Mikheyev from the
10:22Canucks that's why they have the negotiating rights with Sam Lafferty who
10:25they are likely to sign if reports are accurate before free agency begins they
10:31have two guys who could fit into your bottom six forwards and now you start to
10:37upgrade with young players developing you got Khrushchev coming back he plays
10:42well with Bedard you got Frankie Naser who's a goal scorer you've got Slaggart
10:48who is somebody else that you're going to work into the mix and you have the
10:52free agent period where you could you mentioned table Tara Vinen he's out
10:56there and you wonder if they're gonna pursue him because that's been rumored
10:59as well tonight though Molly I do think they're always gonna be guided by Kyle
11:05Davidson wanting whoever is rated the highest on the board I think he's still
11:10a draft Nick at heart and and he's committed to he's committed to being
11:17guided by that and I don't think he's gonna overreact and start to wanted to
11:22get maybe a goal scorer or an offensive minded guy if he has a chance to get
11:26somebody in left enough who could just be the highest rated player on the board
11:30yeah we'll see that's the thing except for Celebrini let's say we're well
11:35forgetting Macklin Celebrini is gonna be the number one overall pick and that's a
11:39pity that they didn't win that pick and but you know what you're gonna get a
11:43really good player at number two and you're gonna get another player at 18
11:47but I you know and I you're right I think that was a sneaky good trade
11:52because you got so much back but but he said that he said that Taylor Hall and
12:00at the naysayers edit he thought that they were big upgrades that were coming
12:06back from injury yes well they they will be because they'll give you the veteran
12:10yeah experience you're talking about the skill with Taylor Hall and it's to see
12:15you is a guy that with speed gives you that element that you lacked and you're
12:20playing with a dynamic player in Bedard who just does a little bit of everything
12:26they're going to be better and they have to be this is the year regardless of all
12:31the the focus that will be on the future this weekend as a draft unfolds today
12:36starting tonight at 6 and tomorrow the present has to be better as well and I
12:42think Kyle Davidson realizes that and he also talked about how they already know
12:46what they're going to do and and which what we talked about just in terms of
12:51everything related to kind of a dark this is how Kyle Davidson sounded about
12:55the debate with what they're going to do with second overall pick it's been
12:59significant there's just you know there's great options and and so when
13:03you have great options then you you you have to talk it through you have to
13:07really break it down and you know it's been it's been really fun it's been
13:11really exciting it's been good for the group to to have that opportunity to
13:15talk about different options and different avenues that we could take
13:19this and so yeah no tons of debate but really healthy and productive yeah
13:25I mean that's great that they know what they're doing it's great that they
13:29argued it through so I think that when we when we look at the decision they
13:34make they got some good choices as you heard him say and apparently they they
13:38had to kind of go to the mattresses over this mm-hmm and I think that's that's
13:43great I think that's what you got to do I'll be very curious to see which of
13:47those two guys is going to be a Chicago Blackhawk it's interesting to see the
13:51evolution of Kyle Davidson because I think when you hear him speak there he
13:55does it with confidence he does it with conviction and I think you you hear him
14:02and maybe this is just the Bedard factor maybe it's the Bedard bounce Molly
14:06because when when he talks about approaching this draft with all the
14:10picks they have and they have two in the first round tonight there's an element
14:13of belief that he's going to do the right thing and maybe that's overstating
14:19it but would you say that you have confidence in Kyle Davidson doing the
14:23right thing tonight yeah I do I have confidence in him I really like what
14:28he's done um you know what I like is like they brought in at the end of the
14:33season Landon Slaggart came the nerd aim kid and Frankie nays are and they still
14:40have what is his name Oliver Moore who's yeah speedy guy and the other guy they
14:45got last year yeah and I think you know what's going on with Lucas Reichelt did
14:51he improve enough they brought him up and he wasn't doing it he went back down
14:55he came back up and all of a sudden he was a different player so I'm saying
14:59they've they've got development going on and they've got enough prospects that
15:03you feel like in a couple of years two three years they're gonna be a contender
15:09maybe you do get that sense now Adrian from Oceanside text in from 630 and this
15:14is something that you see also in the hockey community if you're paying
15:18attention to such things this week the Hawks have a bunch of top four defensive
15:21prospects take the star in all caps Demidoff is a star there's a belief that
15:26he is if he is and you said that he's been compared to Kucherov and he's got
15:31his Kucherov take him right I how hard is that I don't think I don't think
15:37there's going to be a choice tonight where it makes you feel like they did
15:40the wrong thing if it's not one of those two if it's one of those two you're
15:44gonna feel good about the Hawks in the future and Shelley said take the
15:47defenseman Shelley did say that and he knows something about defensemen maybe
15:52that colors his perspective but I also think he he hears things and he's been
16:00pretty adamant that this is the guy that they should probably take and if he's
16:05that adamant I wonder if that's what he's hearing yeah I'm curious you know
16:12do you also if a guy's a big personality and he's you know gonna be
16:18going out for beers do you want him around kind of his heart I'm not I'm not
16:24baking on him I'm just saying like it's every decision you make has to also have
16:31him fit into the lock on but there's pretty serious minded that's 18 year old
16:36yeah pretty focused now what's interesting about that is if you are if
16:41we're looking at the election off as this bigger-than-life personality a guy
16:45who likes to be the life of the party then you wonder will he have a bigger
16:50effect than Conor Bedard or what kind of a dart have a bigger effect on him it's
16:53great question because kind of a dart is going to be the unquestioned leader of
16:56this franchise he also the dart is is such that he will continue to be the guy
17:03that he is he's like a he's like a gym rat hockey guy like a rink rat type of
17:09guy who I believe is is going to be just concentrating on improving getting
17:14better etc no doubt about it and he's a voodoo keen he is a voodoo keen and
17:18according to the reports again everyone sounds like they're dedicated when you
17:22talk to their college coaches or the people in their background but left
17:25shun off is another one of those rink rats a guy that they have to pull off
17:29the ice and and say that you're done now and you you wonder if that approach and
17:34maybe they just know more about him yeah because here he's here and they've been
17:39able to study him closer I am very intrigued by the question that we asked
17:43during the pick six about the 18th overall pick yeah because in most years
17:47in any year you're gonna get a very dynamic player if he's a top 20 prospect
17:52and the Hawks have an opportunity to get two of those guys tonight I was reading
17:57that the draft they believe the draft is like 20 players deep so they were at 20
18:02they moved up they moved up two spots yeah do they have someone in mind do
18:06they that's what you wonder you wonder there's the athletic did a look at it
18:11there's like eight guys as they mentioned as possibilities I think you'd
18:14mentioned the Michael Hague US Steel the Chicago sorry Chicago Steel prospect if
18:21the guy works at US Steel draft him you gotta like his work ethic yeah that was
18:30some shift yeah eight hours yeah he leads the league in minutes strong like
18:36bull yes it's fun though the draft is always fun I think when you have a team
18:42like the Hawks so it it is time for them to start looking about talking about
18:48thinking about making the playoffs again next year's winning time yes I don't
18:53think next year I think it's the year after the winning time probably wrong I
18:58just think that that these guys are coming they're just maybe not coming as
19:02fast as you want to flirt with the fringe you got to be you got to be in
19:05the mix you can't be you can't be checking tankathon in February now this
19:10is a beautiful text from a listener who says I want Connor to get his Roma dunes
19:16a and I gotta tell you that sounds pretty good that does something you will
19:21get you will get a guy at number two that is awful good but be nice if you
19:27get Caleb and Roma dunes a in this draft in fairness I wonder if Frankie
19:32Naser could be that Roma dunes a yeah I think Frankie Naser scored a goal in
19:36his first NHL game his debut last spring a couple days after finishing in the
19:41Frozen Four with Michigan yeah this is a kid who is dynamic and this is a kid who
19:45could be the yin to Connor Bedard's yang and Michael Hague the kid from US Steel
19:51he he's committed to Michigan yeah so he'll be going there to replace
19:58presumably Frank Naser likely I don't know what his plans are but if you
20:05draft 18th you are more likely to maybe lean toward more development if you
20:10draft the second of all you're more likely to lean toward the NHL all right
20:15great stuff three one two six forty four