Carolina Selects Austin Levi with 85th Overall

I saw Levi play about 50 times last season, so I think I have a pretty good grasp of what kind of player he is. He’s big, and with a frame that big, he’ll be able to pack on a lot more muscle. He skates really well as Brock pointed out, which is a real plus when you’re as big as Levi is. His decision making improved over the course of the season, and it definitely needed to. Early on, he found himself out of position quite a bit, and that hurt him. As the season wore on, he got better and better at reading the play.

As good as his skating is, his turns and his transition from backward to forward and vice-versa needs work. He’s a fearless fighter, and got into plenty of scraps. He’s not the BEST fighter, but he won more than he lost, and he’s more than willing to fight anyone who touches his goalie.

He’s very strong, but that hasn’t translated into a slapshot just yet. He’s definitely got the potential for that, but as Brock said, I think he lacks the confidence to shoot very often. Rookie and 2nd year defensemen in Vellucci’s system find themselves riding the pine if they waste offensive zone possessions with ill-advised shots that lead to turnovers, and that fear was definitely alive in Levi’s heart for the first 3/4ths of the season, though the Whalers never benched him at any time.

The intriguing thing about Levi is that he recently took part in Whalers rookie camp (despite the fact that he has played two OHL seasons), and played exclusively at forward. At the time, I figured that either the Whalers were overloaded at D and were looking at converting him to a forward, or that some NHL team wanted to see him play forward to see how he’d do. Well, I can tell you that he looked spectacular as a forward. For someone as big as he is, who hits as hard as he does, who plays as nasty as he does, and who skates as well as he does, he’d be very effective as a forward. And surprisingly, his offense is what really stood out. The kid had some moves.

He’s a great locker room guy, has a good work ethic, and he has the durability to play a ton of minutes effectively. He’s still raw, but when he’s ready for the NHL, you’re going to like what you have.

BTW, your first rounder next year is going to be Garrett Meurs. Watch that name this coming season.

I have some insights on most of your picks (I’m kind of a draft nerd) and I’ll post that here later. Suffice it to say that you guys had an incredible draft. Skinner is going to be one hell of a player, and you’re going to love the crap out of Shugg. Both of them are heart and soul guys, and both of them are absolutely as clutch as they come. I also attend most of the NTDP games, so I’ll share my thoughts on Faulk as well.

Have you guys heard much about Michal Jordan? I don’t know offhand if he’s gotten any ice time in Carolina during the preseason or anything, and I know he went to the AHL after the Whalers were done. His defense can make you nervous at times, and his biggest weakness on the powerplay is his difficulty keeping the puck in the attacking zone when the puck is passed up the boards, but his offensive ability is stellar. He doesn’t have much of a slapshot, but he’s an absolute sniper with his wrister, his vision is incredible, his passing skills are first rate, and he has been known to dominate games with his offense. As an Avs fan, he reminds me a lot of John-Michael Liles in that they both have a keen ability to sneak into the slot for a scoring chance, and they are both wicked accurate with their wristers. Jordan is bigger, and probably has better defensive upside. Wouldn’t surprise me if he put up nice numbers in Charlotte this coming year (he’d be both an overager and a Euro, so he’s not coming back to Plymouth), and I look forward to seeing him in the NHL one day.

Michael, your link to OHL Prospects Blog is a January 7th post by one of the writers who was not an early fan of Levi’s. The primary writers are Brock Otten & Ryan Yessie. Brock’s always been a little higher on Levi, though he’s also been honest about the developmental challenges ahead. Ryan was finally won over toward the end of the season by Levi’s strong play heading into and during the playoffs. In his last report of the season, 5/31, Yessie said of Levi:

Scouting Report: Levi is a physically devastating defenceman, who has matured nicely over this past season. At first viewings he had an issue going out of position to deliver the big hit, but as the season progressed he became comfortable throwing hits as the opportunities came and maintained his positioning. He makes a decent first pass most of the time, and doesn’t appear to have too much in terms of offensive potential, but his positioning is respectable and he has shown more than enough capability in terms of throwing the devastating hit to make him a legitimate fan favorite, 3rd pairing defenceman that should get a regular shift at the highest level.

I thought Ryan had not seen enough games early on or maybe had caught Levi on a couple of bad nights. Some see a lot of potential in his offensive game, but I think it’s a matter of confidence and maturity. The skills is there. I saw almost every Whalers game & about 50% of the Windsor games, so I also got a good look at Shugg & Skinner, too. All I can say is the Canes did extremely well last weekend. Wouldn’t be surprised if every one of these boys eventually plays under the RBC lights. I hear Faulk is awesome, too, but I haven’t seen him play with my own eyes yet. I’ll definitely be keeping tabs on these kids in the coming years.

Click to see all of the OHL Prospects Blog posts on Levi

Video

Pretty good article on Levi. Not much we didn’t already know, but maybe new for some.