I want Zeev Buium.
IQ is off the charts.
His offensive ability, creativity and execution is a sure-fire bet to translate so well to the NHL.
We will regret not picking Buium if we pass on him, IMO.
You guys remember how P.K changed our team when he stepped in? Buium is better all around.
Move up and/or draft a Forward with #26.
Buium is creative and smart, sure. But I've watched him a lot in the NCAA this year trying to gauge his play and checking-in on other BC rookies like Perreault, Smith, and Leonard, as well as Cutter Gauthier.
From those games I watched, it clearly became apparent to me that Buium has an identifiable and exploitable pattern out there when deking from the blueline. It's almost always the same move he makes, or slight variations to it.
Every time Buium gets possession of the puck trying to challenge defenders 1-on-1 he moves his body and positions his stick and puck so as to confront the oncoming forechecker near the center of the ice, then he moves the puck backwards a bit trying to bait hesitation by the forechecker, then he moves the disk to his right to try and shield it from checking, and then tries to outskate his opponent while bracing for impact and maintaining possession, looking to either keep possession and round-out the net before dishing the puck, or using quick backhand passes to send it to teammates.
Having a go-to move is par for the course for every player, true. But Buium's overreliance on it may make his long-term transition to the NHL tougher offensively than some project when he eventually makes it to the NHL and opposing players get some more reps against him and "figure him out" if you will.
While not a true one-trick pony with the puck on his stick while he walks the blueline (which would be more true of a guy like Will Butcher), Buium'll still need to diversify his approach to trying to extend possessions from the blueline in the future.
He is certainly no Erik Karlsson manning the point, able to beat you any number of ways inside and out, with elite-level feints/quick reads. That's for damn sure.
Now, does that make Buium a bad defenseman? Absolutely not.
Buium's borderline elite in transition, smart, quite polished defensively, incredibly good at establishing and maintaining puck possession, and he has a very nice and projectable pro skillset to boot.
So yeah, I really love Buium's play, and have him as the third-best defenseman in this draft after Dickinson and Levshunov, but I genuinely think he benefited quite a bit from playing for a very high-scoring team this year in BC and that his pure offensive tools and PP QB abilities aren't as good as some public scouting sources portray.
If we don't draft him and he's still available I don't think we will have missed on a Quinn Hughes/Adam Fox/Cale Makar type though Buium's potential is obviously very high still.
As for the draft, I'd like us to draft Demidov, but if we end up with any of Dickinson, Levshunov, Buium, Silayev, Iginla, Catton, Lindstrom or Sennecke I won't be mad.