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Artyom Levshunov rewrote several Belarusian NHL records in a single night

There is a new record in the NHL! For the first time in history, six Belarusian players have appeared in the world’s strongest ice hockey league in a single season. On March 11th, Artyom Levshunov, from Zhlobin, made his debut for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Open source photo: Artyom Levshunov (in the centre) makes impressive debut in Blackhawks vs Avalanche match 

This is not the first achievement associated with the hockey player’s name. Last year, he was selected second overall in the draft, and that is the highest Belarusian pick ever. Previously, the record belonged to Ruslan Salei, drafted ninth overall. In addition, Artyom has become our youngest debutant in the NHL — his first appearance on the ice in an official match was at 19 years, 4 months and 10 days old.
Levshunov’s debut for the Chicago Blackhawks could have happened earlier, but during pre-season training, the hockey player injured his leg in training and spent about a month recovering from the injury. He started the season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs and scored 22 points (5+17) in 50 games.
In his first NHL match — against the Colorado Avalanche — Levshunov was slotted on the third defensive pairing. He spent 20 minutes and 55 seconds on the ice. Afterwards, Artyom said, “I felt good. I’ll gain confidence step by step. For sure, I’d like to score a few goals. There were good chances, but… Next time. Everything’s just great. I’d like even more ice time.” 

Open source photo 

FACTS ONLY

Artyom Levshunov:
• The 17th Belarusian hockey player to play in the NHL, and the seventh Belarusian defenceman in the league
• The sixth Belarusian to take to the ice in matches this season: in addition to him, Aliaksei Protas, Yegor Sharangovich, Aleksei Kolosov, Ilya Solovyov and Vladislav 
Kolyachonok have played
• The second Belarusian hockey player in the Chicago Blackhawks: Alexander Andrievsky played one game for the team in the 1992/1993 season

By Tatiana Pastushenko