ZEEV BUIUM

Defense
5’11/165
Left
University of Denver/NCAA

Related: Tij Iginla

Zeev Buium, a native of San Diego, has blown away expectations as a freshman at the University of Denver. With 25 points and a plus-13 in 18 games, he’s been the best defenseman on a top-five-ranked Pioneers team, vaulting himself into the conversation as a potential top-10 pick. Buium is a steady two-way defender who can quickly process his best breakout option and execute it swiftly to become part of the rush. His trademark mobility is as present as ever and is now employing multiple layers of deception at multiple levels. Whether it’s his evasiveness in transition or his speed on the rush, very little can keep Buium from where he wants to go on the ice. Not only is Buium a great skater with the puck in the offensive zone, but he can use his mobility to get back on defense and limit the opponent’s scoring chances. There have been questions about his consistency, if he is to be a top pair defenseman, because at times he looks like the best player on the ice, but other times he can be invisible. Although he has a slim frame, and scouts have questioned his ability to defend at a high level at the next level, his skating ability should intrigue teams enough to use a top 15 pick on him, and perhaps even a top 10 pick, as he has the potential to be a top 4 defenseman.

Size/Strength Below Average
Skating Excellent
Shot/Scoring Good
Puckhandling Great
Physical Play Average
Offensive Play Great
Defensive Play Good
Hockey Sense Excellent
Competitiveness Great

Strengths

1. Steady two-way defender who can quickly process his best breakout option and execute it swiftly to become part of the rush.
2. His trademark mobility is as present as ever and is now employing multiple layers of deception at multiple levels. Whether it’s his evasiveness in transition or his speed on the rush, very little can keep Buium from where he wants to go on the ice.
3. His passing game is remarkable, as he can identify soft ice regularly even at this intermediate level.

Areas of Improvement

1. Small-framed, undersized defender
2. Still needs to round out his defensive game

Scouting Report

With all the hype in the NCAA regarding Celebrini and Levshunov, it’s easy to forget Zeev Buium is playing there as well. A shame, because he’s been fantastic since arriving. Buium, a native of San Diego, has blown away expectations as a freshman at the University of Denver. With 25 points and a plus-13 in 18 games, he’s been the best defenseman on a top-five-ranked Pioneers team, vaulting himself into the conversation as a potential top-10 pick. His trademark mobility is as present as ever and is now employing multiple layers of deception at multiple levels. He’s a plus-level skater who plays an extremely involved game in all three zones, whether that’s activating into the rush or off the point, shaking pressure on exits or across the blue line, working in and out of give-and-goes, or playing tight gaps against the rush. He’s a very busy player on both sides of the puck and he gets in and out of his transitions and footwork so quickly that he can play that style. Whether it’s his evasiveness in transition or his speed on the rush, very little can keep Buium from where he wants to go on the ice. His passing game is remarkable, as he can identify soft ice regularly even at this intermediate level. However, a lot of this was already well-documented, what isn’t is how well he’s evolved defensively as well. He has become much better at anticipating play, and become a rather proficient stick-checker as well. When he is being beaten, it’s usually a matter of pure athleticism as he is playing exclusively against older, bigger men, a task hard enough before his relatively slim 5’11, 165lb frame is considered. If he continues on this path, he can make his placement on draft day a very difficult conversation. Because of this many of his critics have questioned his ability to be a top pair defenseman at the next level, but his skating ability and offensive upside mask his defensive deficiency, as he could be a premier puck-moving defenseman in the league. His IQ is Elite and he processes the game at a high level, which makes it possible for him to dominate the game despite being undersized. Zeev Buium is comparable to Cale Makar in terms of his Skating ability and ability to create offensive chances. Zeev Buium has the potential to be a top 10 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft if he continues to show he can sustain the elite offensive upside that he has early in the season and during the 2024 WJC.

Skill: Zeev Buium is a tremendous skater who uses his mobility to create offensive chances and create transition opportunities.

NHL Comparable: Cale Makar

NHL Potential: Top 4 Two-Way Defenseman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibMm9X2ssz0

Season	Team	League	GP	G	PTS
2022-23	US National U18 Team	NTDP	63	5	40
	USNTDP Juniors	USHL	23	2	12
	USA U18	WJC-18	7	1	6
2023-24	University of Denver	NCAA	24	7	33
	USA U20	WJC-20	7	3	5

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