Buium predraft bug

The 2024 NHL Draft kicks off Friday, with the Blue Jackets holding the No. 4 overall pick in what could be one of the more interesting drafts in recent years.

Canadian center Macklin Celebrini is all but guaranteed to go No. 1 overall to San Jose, but things are wide open after that. There isn’t much of a consensus in the scouting community on who will go next, with a plethora of two-way centers (Cayden Lindstrom, Konsta Helenius, Berkly Catton, Tij Iginla), productive wingers (Ivan Demidov, Cole Eiserman, Beckett Sennecke) and dominant defensemen (Artyom Levshunov, Zeev Buium, Zayne Parekh, Anton Silayev, Sam Dickinson) all in the mix to go just about anywhere in the top 10.

MORE: Draft consensus poll | CBJ draft hub

Our annual consensus poll (above) detailed what all the options are, but as the draft nears, we’re taking a closer look at some of the top players available. Throughout the leadup to the draft, we’ll count down from No. 9 in our consensus poll ranking to No. 2. 

The profiles continue today with third-ranked Zeev Buium, a national championship-winning defenseman from Denver University who had a memorable freshman campaign.

We’ll list Buium’s vitals, his accomplishments in his career to this point, share a couple quotes from the player himself at the NHL Scouting Combine and conclude with expert opinions on the standout. 

Zeev Buium: The Vitals 

Position: Left-shot defenseman

Age: 18 (Born Dec. 7, 2005) 

Height/Weight: 6-0, 186

Hometown: Laguna Niguel, Calif.

The Accomplishments 

  • Posted an 11-39-50 line and plus-33 rating in 42 games for the NCAA title-winning Denver squad to become the first NCAA freshman defenseman to post at least 50 points since 2002-03. 
  • Led all defensemen in college hockey in points and tied for fourth in goals among blueliners. Also tied for fourth in Division I in plus-minus with his brother, Shai. 
  • Was named a first-team West All-American, conference rookie of the year, conference offensive defenseman of the year, a first-team all-league choice and to the NCAA Frozen Four all-tournament team as a freshman at Denver. 
  • Played this season as the second youngest player in NCAA hockey behind only Celebrini.
  • Had 12 multipoint games on the season, including four-point efforts Nov. 25 vs. Yale and Jan. 20 at Omaha. 
  • Played on Team USA’s gold medal-winning team at the 2024 World Juniors, posting three goals and two assists in seven games. His three goals led tournament defensemen. 
  • Also played in the IIHF World U-18 championship in 2023, notching a 1-5-6 line in seven games. 
  • Is a graduate of the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he posted nine goals and 53 points in 112 games over two seasons.
  • Is the No. 4-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.

What’s Next

NHL projection: While Buium isn’t a classicly large NHL defenseman, he should be a solid top-four defender in the NHL and a potential top-pair blueliner thanks to his ability to play in all three zones as well as create offense at a high level. 

Why CBJ should draft him: In a defense-heavy draft, Buium might be the most complete choice on the blue line. He plays like a modern defenseman who can get teams out of the zone and make plays, and he’s been on nothing but winning teams the past couple of years.

Why they should not: With the Blue Jackets at the top of the draft, there might just be more talented prospects they can’t pass up, and they have some depth on the left side of the defense going forward with Zach Werenski and Denton Mateychuk.  

In Buium’s Words

“I think I’m not a shutdown defenseman, but I do take pride in that game. I want to be a guy that can play those big minutes. For me, the guys at Denver, the coaching staff and players, everyone knows how much work I've put into it, how much effort we put into it. For me, it’s just working on it every day and trying to perfect it. Obviously, it’s not gonna be perfect, but the closer I can get to minimizing all kinds of mistakes I can make and be very consistent with my defensive game, the better off I’ll be.

"I love to be creative. I love to make plays. Obviously when you’re doing that, you’re gonna mess up sometimes, but that’s the game. That’s hockey. For me, I love to be creative and try to find space for my teammates and myself, and when the puck is on my stick, I’m pretty confident that I can make a pretty good play. For me, it’s trying to add more tools to my game as well and still try to be an effective player offensively

“I feel like I’m really good at reading defenders’ heels and trying to work around them. If I can just make one move and get around them, I’ll try it, but I’m pretty quick and it’s more on instinct.”

The Experts Say

Looking around the Internet, prospect experts have given their take on Catton’s game. Here’s what a few of them have to say.

Chris Peters, FloHockey: If there’s an area of Buium’s game that dramatically improved year over year, it’s his defense. He got stronger as the year went on and Denver as a whole became a better defensive team on their way to the NCAA title. As we watch Quinn Hughes, Adam Fox and Cale Makar command the league as they have the last few seasons, Buium’s freshman campaign was better than all three of those guys. I still don’t think it’s a safe projection to assume that Buium will automatically follow in their footsteps to the top of an NHL D corps, but he’s got all the makings of that kind of player.

Tony Ferrari, The Hockey News: Buium’s game is built on his intellect and ability to make the right play in any given situation continually. His offensive game is impressive because of his reads, knowing exactly when to attack off the blueline and when to defer to teammates. In transition, he is an excellent passer who hits teammates in stride but won’t force a pass. He will skate the puck out of the defensive zone and into the attacking zone if needed. In his own end, Buium plays a tactical, positional game.

Hadi Kalakeche, Dobber Prospects: The now-confirmed 6’0 defenseman has done nothing but blow past expectations and doubts all season long and has solidified his spot on our top 5. The combination of mobility, skill, two-way IQ, pro-level habits and composure have earned Zeev Buium the reputation of “most complete defender in the draft” from our team. As he enters the NHL draft, we expect Zeev to hear his name called early on day 1 and we fully expect him to make waves quickly.

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