Saturday was the second day of the World Junior Summer Showcase to help determine the rosters for the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, to be held in Ottawa from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.
PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Zeev Buium realizes a return to the University of Denver not only will benefit his development but also will make it tougher on the Minnesota Wild to turn him away once he does decide to turn professional.
The 18-year-old defenseman is among eight returning players from the United States team that won a gold medal at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship participating in the World Junior Summer Showcase at USA Hockey Arena here through Aug. 3.
Buium was first among defensemen for the U.S. at the 2024 WJC with three goals and a plus-11 rating while averaging 18:06 of ice time in seven games. He was chosen by the Wild in the first round (No. 12) of the 2024 NHL Draft after Minnesota moved up one spot to select him, trading the No. 13 selection and a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Philadelphia Flyers for the No. 12 pick.
Buium said he knew returning to Denver, which won the NCAA championship last season, was his best option at this point in his career.
"We had conversations about [turning professional] but after having a really good, productive season as a freshman and such a good year defensively, I felt really good with where my game was at and I thought, ‘You know, if I can build on that going into next year I'm going to look a lot better by the end of the year,’" Buium told NHL.com. "That was a big point for me, and the Wild respected that. ... They thought the same thing. I want to try to win back-to-back World Juniors and back-to-back college championships. It's really hard to win two in a row, and you want to be on those teams, experience that, see what it's like and kind of get that experience."
Buium, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Rookie of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the Year, led NCAA defensemen and was fifth among all freshmen with 50 points (11 goals, 39 assists) in 42 games.
Here are three things learned Saturday:
Hemming to play in Barrie
Emil Hemming, one of four Finland players at the WJSS returning from the 2024 WJC, has had quite a week.
On Thursday, the 18-year-old forward signed with Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League, where he'll play this season before possibly turning professional. He was picked by the Dallas Stars in the first round (No. 29) of the 2024 NHL Draft.
"Obviously, I want to get used to the pace here and the ice," Hemming said. "The game is a lot of faster here and that was the biggest reason why I decided to come over to play in North America. Barrie has a lot of good import players, too, so I think that would be a good next step for me."
Hemming, a right-handed shot, was chosen No. 15 by Barrie in the 2024 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft on July 3.
"I'll need to improve all skills every day, but if there was one thing I needed to work on, I'd say the quickness and protecting the puck," he said.
Hemming said he'll return to Finland after the summer showcase to continue training before joining Barrie later next month. He had 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in 40 games for TPS in Liiga, Finland's top professional men's league, last season. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Stars on July 15.
"Turning pro is something that had been in my mind, but there's no specific year that I need to turn pro," Hemming said. "I want to have a good year in Barrie and then, maybe think about moving up to the American Hockey League or the NHL."
Better late than never
Sweden arrived a day late to the summer showcase due to a canceled flight out of Stockholm on Thursday, but 19 of the 25 players invited to the event practiced Saturday.
"The luggage and equipment are spread out," Sweden coach Magnus Havelid said. "We were checked in and ready to take off to Frankfurt, Germany, but there were activists on the ground at the airport so we couldn't leave Stockholm. We did have one goalie, six defensemen and 12 forwards on the ice today, so that was good. Hopefully, the rest of the luggage will come as soon as possible for the guys who were off ice (Saturday)."
Because Sweden had one goalie at practice, Joey Slavick of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team volunteered his services as the second goalie.
Havelid said defenseman Tom Willander, chosen by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round (No. 11) of the 2023 NHL Draft, will not join the team in Plymouth. The 19-year-old right-handed shot was injured during Canucks development camp and will remain off the ice until he is healthy. Havelid said Willander, who helped the country earn a silver medal at the 2024 WJC, will likely join Sweden in December during its selection camp for World Juniors.
Unfinished business
Ryan Leonard, selected by the Washington Capitals with the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, said his decision to return to Boston College for the upcoming season was all about helping the Eagles win more hardware.
"We have some unfinished business, honestly," he said. "Maybe if our game against Denver goes the other way (a 2-0 loss in the NCAA Frozen Four championship game), it could have been a little bit different and I could have played the end of the season with the Capitals. But Washington has been really supportive. They told me whenever I was ready, they'd be grateful and happy. Leaving my team after losing that last game against Denver was just something I couldn't do."
The 19-year-old forward, who had six points (three goals, three assists) in seven games for the U.S. in the 2024 WJC, ranked second in goals (31), was tied for first in power-play goals (13) and finished tied for third in points (60) as a freshman last season.
"We were 2-for-4 in 2023-24, winning the regular-season crown and Hockey East Tournament but we lost the Beanpot and the national championship game so, obviously, you want to go 4-for-4," he said. "On top of that, I just want to fine-tune my game and know that'll help me at the next level."
