(Buffalo) Are you angry about traffic jams? Do you find that your local area is lagging behind in the column of bridges per million inhabitants? Put yourself for a moment in the shoes of Zeev Buium and his family.
Buium is from San Diego, not exactly the birthplace of hockey. “There was only one ice rink, we sometimes had barbecues after the games. It was a great way to learn to love hockey,” recalls Buium, one of the best defenders expected in the 2024 draft.
Except that, for any player who comes from a small hockey area, there comes a time when you have to go into exile to compete against the best. That’s what Juraj Slafkovsky did when he left Slovakia for Finland at age 14, and it’s the reason David Reinbacher mainly developed in Switzerland rather than his native Austria.
Buium had to go to the Los Angeles region, attracted in particular by James Gasseau, a Gaspé resident who had been living in California for around thirty years. Gasseau first recruited big brother Shai Buium, Detroit’s second-round pick in 2021. Then Zeev Buium.
“From San Diego to Los Angeles, it’s two hours without traffic,” exclaims Gasseau, on the other end of the line. At one point, they rented a house closer to Los Angeles. It was impressive, the support from the parents. »
“It was two and a half hours with the traffic,” explains Zeev Buium, met by The Press last week at the draft evaluation camp, and we did it three or four times a week. After a while, we moved to Laguna Niguel, which was halfway there. That way, they could drive an hour to work in San Diego, and an hour for our hockey in Los Angeles. It’s crazy that they made these sacrifices. »
Let’s just say that Buium logged miles, even if he wasn’t behind the wheel. “Today, I hate being in a car. I would rather walk 10,000 miles than drive! But it had to be done. »
Intriguing hope
Buium now presents himself as a hopeful who has invited himself into the discussion to go out on 5e rank, when the Canadian’s turn comes to speak. However, he is there in the role of the neglected, let us point out.
But Buium had a meteoric entrance into the college ranks. In 42 games at the University of Denver, he had 11 goals and 39 assists. His 50 points earned him 1er rank among NCAA defensemen, even though he was not yet 18 when the season began.
The end-of-season tournament allowed him to enhance his CV. In the final, he offered himself an anthology game to prepare for the insurance goal that led Denver to the championship. If he wanted to demonstrate that he can stand up when it counts, he wouldn’t have done it any other way.
“I made a few plays like that this season,” he notes. I’ve had a bit of luck, but I’m trying to attract players to make games. When you try games, you may make mistakes, but it will also work sometimes! »
I try to play that way: being smart and responsible, but a little spectacular too.
Zeev Buium
Buium is therefore good at offensive stuff, and at 6 ft and 183 lbs, his size is not a nuisance, unlike some offensive defensemen. His assets mean he might hear his name somewhere in the top 10. On the other hand, the renowned Bob McKenzie, who bases his rankings on surveys of leaders, places him at 13e rank.
Alignment of the stars
We are told that the Canadian is, however, one of the teams that like Buium. But loving him absolutely, and loving him fifth in front of other high-level prospects, are two very different ideas.
But we can hear you protesting from here: “The Canadian is overflowing with left-handed defenders. Don’t throw any more away, the yard is full! »
True, with Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris, Jayden Struble and youngsters Lane Hutson and Adam Engström, the options are numerous. But the questions also:
– Matheson’s contract expires in two years. Will the Canadian be the team that grants him his next contract? If the answer is negative, you should consider exchanging it before the contract expires.
– Guhle, who was already playing with a tinted visor, saw his season end when he suffered a concussion on April 4. Will he be able to avoid injuries, especially to the head?
– Will Xhekaj establish himself as a defender of top 4 ? If so, he will also have to stay healthy, since he has just had surgery on both shoulders during the last two seasons.
– Hutson is a fabulous offensive defender, but with his small size, will he one day be able to play 22 minutes per game on a good team?
– Can Harris and Struble become second pairing guards?
The answer to all these questions will not necessarily be no. But the exercise shows that there is a universe in which drafting a left-handed defender would make sense, even if Kent Hughes has already expressed his preference for an attacker.
His decision will also be made based on what happens in ranks 2 to 4, after the expected selection of Macklin Celebrini at the first level. If only one defender is claimed among the choices of Chicago, Anaheim and Columbus, will the Canadian be better served with the fourth attacker of the 2024 vintage, or with the second defender? Last year, after four forwards were claimed in ranks 1-4, Hughes judged that the best defender was worth more than the fifth forward.
Top defensive prospects in the 2024 draft (in alphabetical order)
Zeev Buium
Left-handed
6 ft, 183 lbs 2023-2024: 11-39-50 in 42 games with the University of Denver (NCAA)
Make no mistake: if HockeyDB lists him at 6’2″, he is actually 6′ tall. “I was measured in Denver and told to keep my shoes on, so it made me 6’2!” he says, a little amazed. My brothers are tall and my mom played basketball, so I have maybe half an inch, an inch to go. »
Sam Dickinson
Left-handed
6’2″, 199 lbs 2023-24: 18-52-70 in 68 games with the London Knights (OHL)
Is Elvis dead or alive? Did man really walk on the Moon? And did Sam Dickinson have dinner with the Canadian in Buffalo? So many questions that torment the most curious minds. The colleague of Quebec Journal Kevin Dubé had however seen him waiting for a vehicle in the company of members of the CH staff. Questioned Saturday in Buffalo, Dickinson said he only had dinner with the Utah team. But now Radio-Canada colleague Marc Antoine Godin affirms that Dickinson broke bread with Montreal. End of suspense in three weeks.
Artyom Levshunov
Right-handed
6’2″, 208 lbs 2023-24: 9-26-35 in 38 games at Michigan State (NCAA)
If choices were made purely on the basis of charisma, he would be drafted ahead of Celebrini in the top spot. The Belarusian has been playing in North America for two years, which gives him a certain level of certainty that players playing in Russia and Belarus cannot offer.
Zayne Parekh
Right-handed
6 ft, 179 lbs 2023-2024: 33-63-96 in 66 games with the Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
His arrival at the evaluation camp was delayed for an excellent reason: he had just won the Memorial Cup. In these circumstances, several players would have skipped the physical tests on Saturday, but not him. “I might not have the best results because I haven’t started my summer training. But I want to demonstrate that I am a competitor,” he said during Friday’s press briefing. Besides, the numbers speak for themselves and earned him the title of defenseman of the year in Canadian junior hockey.
Anton Silayev
Left-handed
6’7″, 211 lbs 2023-24: 3-8-11 in 63 games with Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)
The most ambitious see him as a future Victor Hedman. Or, in the words of a recruiter: “If you are lucky enough to pick up a Zdeno Chara…” All of this, however, remains very abstract for the many decision-makers who have only seen it on video. As he plays in the KHL and Russia is banned from international tournaments, Silayev finds himself in a position comparable to that of Matvei Michkov last season. It remains to be seen when it will cross the Atlantic…