LD Zeev Buium - University of Denver, NCAA (2024, 12th, MIN)

[rt]

What's your projection .. ?

Top 20 D?

 

[rt]

I ran some numbers, going back to 2010. Fifteen years including this draft. Looking at top 15 pick D by league.

In the NCAA there have six picks (Oleksiak, Hanifin, Werenski, McAvoy, Hughes, and Power).

Q. Hughes had the most points (29) and best points per game at (0.78).

The average NCAA D T15 pick over this span was picked 8th, played 35 games, had 5g 17a 22pts (0.62ppg).

Levshunov has 37gp 9g 26a 35p (0.95ppg). 2nd best.

Z.Buium has 39gp 11g 37a 48pts(1.23ppg). 1st best.

I’ve seen much made about his team, so just Adding to this:

London GF: 322
Dickinson Pts: 70
21.74%

Saginaw GF: 303
Z. Parekh Pts: 96
31.68%

Calgary GF: 250
Yakemchuk: 71
28.40%

Denver GF: 198
Z. Buium Pts: 49
24.75%

Mich. St. GF: 145
Levshunov Pts: 35
24.14%

 

[montreal]

not shift by shift but pretty close, the vid is 99% Buium. His assist is at the 11:25 mark.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I think he’s a very good “skater”. Very effective. He’s got an ugly stride and lacks separation speed. His straight line speed isn’t great. And those things do matter. But he does a ton with his feet that makes his “skating” good in my eyes. Great in small areas, quick bursts, change of speed and direction, and through players. Elusive and quick. Not exactly fast or powerful. But he’s plenty strong. And I think all of these things make up “skating”. He’s like the Cole Perfetti of defense. Haha.

But that's exactly the argument against Buium. I don't think too many people think his skating is so prohibitive that he won't be an NHLer. He's an offensive defenseman and there are folks out there with Buium as the top defenseman on their board or in their top 5. There are expectation that a player of that caliber can the those things you reference. You're not drafting him to match up against other team's top lines.

Yesterday's game was a prime example. I give a lot of credit to UMass. They had a clear gameplan and executed. Competed hard. But with Buium specifically - he had issues with retrievals and quite a few o zone turnovers at the line. The pace was fast and a lot of what Buium was doing wasn't working. Now one meh game, doesn't a erase a season's worth of good games and there are certainly pros to Buium's game. He's got great hands. He's creative. He can see the ice and make plays. But I do question if he's dynamic enough to dance around the o zone with the degree of success he does today or if his game in the NHL is more built around reads and quick puck movement.

My opinion is I see Buium as a good 3. Maybe a 2 with a high end partner, but ideally a 2nd pairing puckmover who can play on your powerplay. Not a bad pick at 5th overall historically speaking, but not really what you're shooting for in that range.

Its interesting how skating is judged. I tend to agree with rt. Going back to last season with the NTDP my thought has been that skating is more-so a 'strength' of Buium's game, but watching more this year I do see the criticisms, specifically that he doesn't have separation speed. He is very shifty though.

Skilled puck handler & a shifty/elusive enough skater to buy himself time in tight areas. He's not Quinn Hughes by any-means when it comes to creating space but he should be good enough to buy himself time to make a play, and he's a smart enough player to make good plays with the puck. It won't be dynamic individual offense like Hughes, but it could be extending team possession in the Ozone or making a strong play through the neutral zone.

But I do ultimately agree with snipes on projection. I have him ranked 8th atm but I view him as a very good #3 that can contribute good enough offense, move the puck well, & be a reliable enough defender to play big mins. Not necessarily a dynamo at either end but a guy you'd love on your 2nd pair or playing with a true #1D.

That he doesn’t bring anything great. He’s a 6’0 defenseman that skates only okay and plays only okay defense and is better than okay offensively but probably never one of the leading OFD in the league.

NHL teams like to have players in defined roles. It may not be obvious to them what his role will be.

I think he's a pretty reliable player in all areas though. He won't be an offensive dynamo but he's smart/skilled enough to make above average plays & will produce some offense. Skating wise I said above, doesn't have separation speed but he has a legit shiftiness too him.

And on the defensive end I do think he's reliable enough to be a legit top 4D & he also has a bit of an edge to him imo - which might be underrated. Not a perfect player but pretty good in all areas & probably a good bet to reach his potential, which is half the battle.

 

[rt]

Its interesting how skating is judged. I tend to agree with rt. Going back to last season with the NTDP my thought has been that skating is more-so a 'strength' of Buium's game, but watching more this year I do see the criticisms, specifically that he doesn't have separation speed. He is very shifty though.

Skilled puck handler & a shifty/elusive enough skater to buy himself time in tight areas. He's not Quinn Hughes by any-means when it comes to creating space but he should be good enough to buy himself time to make a play, and he's a smart enough player to make good plays with the puck. It won't be dynamic individual offense like Hughes, but it could be extending team possession in the Ozone or making a strong play through the neutral zone.

But I do ultimately agree with snipes on projection. I have him ranked 8th atm but I view him as a very good #3 that can contribute good enough offense, move the puck well, & be a reliable enough defender to play big mins. Not necessarily a dynamo at either end but a guy you'd love on your 2nd pair or playing with a true #1D.



I think he's a pretty reliable player in all areas though. He won't be an offensive dynamo but he's smart/skilled enough to make above average plays & will produce some offense. Skating wise I said above, doesn't have separation speed but he has a legit shiftiness too him.

And on the defensive end I do think he's reliable enough to be a legit top 4D & he also has a bit of an edge to him imo - which might be underrated. Not a perfect player but pretty good in all areas & probably a good bet to reach his potential, which is half the battle.

How would you rank him against Levshunov, Dickinson and Yakemchuk?

 

[95snipes]

Its interesting how skating is judged. I tend to agree with rt. Going back to last season with the NTDP my thought has been that skating is more-so a 'strength' of Buium's game, but watching more this year I do see the criticisms, specifically that he doesn't have separation speed. He is very shifty though.

Skilled puck handler & a shifty/elusive enough skater to buy himself time in tight areas. He's not Quinn Hughes by any-means when it comes to creating space but he should be good enough to buy himself time to make a play, and he's a smart enough player to make good plays with the puck. It won't be dynamic individual offense like Hughes, but it could be extending team possession in the Ozone or making a strong play through the neutral zone.

But I do ultimately agree with snipes on projection. I have him ranked 8th atm but I view him as a very good #3 that can contribute good enough offense, move the puck well, & be a reliable enough defender to play big mins. Not necessarily a dynamo at either end but a guy you'd love on your 2nd pair or playing with a true #1D.



I think he's a pretty reliable player in all areas though. He won't be an offensive dynamo but he's smart/skilled enough to make above average plays & will produce some offense. Skating wise I said above, doesn't have separation speed but he has a legit shiftiness too him.

And on the defensive end I do think he's reliable enough to be a legit top 4D & he also has a bit of an edge to him imo - which might be underrated. Not a perfect player but pretty good in all areas & probably a good bet to reach his potential, which is half the battle.

Elusive is a good word to use.

Agree with the bolded here too. I think this year was most likely his big breakout year, but I think he's pretty safe to play and have a career.

 

[majormajor]

He won't be an offensive dynamo but he's smart/skilled enough to make above average plays & will produce some offense.

I'm wondering how this conclusion is drawn.

Zeev doesn't have the separation ability with his skating, we can all see that. He won't be regularly walking defenders in the NHL. But there are #1D and #1 PP QBs in the NHL that don't do that. They're not all Hughes, Makar, or Josi.

Vince Dunn and Josh Morrissey are very good skaters but don't have to walk opponents to score. Adam Fox obviously doesn't have elite skating to walk opponents. It's a lot easier to judge a player's skating and other physical abilities than to guess how they will think the game at the NHL level, and I'm not saying that Buium is going to be as good as Fox, but he is that style of player that processes faster. And with 50 pts in the NCAA, Buium has done as much as any draft eligible D possibly could to prove that he can be an offensive dynamo without elite skating or shot.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Devils in a bit of a dilemma on the left side with Siegs and Bahl trailing off this year, what's a good run down of this guy who's projected near that Devils first round pick?

 

[CaptainShark]

Devils in a bit of a dilemma on the left side with Siegs and Bahl trailing off this year, what's a good run down of this guy who's projected near that Devils first round pick?

Wow, dunno if I have ever seen a lazier dude…

 

[coooldude]

Devils in a bit of a dilemma on the left side with Siegs and Bahl trailing off this year, what's a good run down of this guy who's projected near that Devils first round pick?

Seven pages of good run down to read! A lot of good discussion in the last two.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Wow, dunno if I have ever seen a lazier dude…

Or I was just asking to see if someone who hadn't post had any more thoughts on him...... Only on HFBoards would asking more opinions be looked down upon lol

 

[coooldude]

Or I was just asking to see if someone who hadn't post had any more thoughts on him...... Only on HFBoards would asking more opinions be looked down upon lol

Wouldn't have been looked down upon if you had said "I just read through the last few pages, (insert observation here), does anyone else have new opinions from the Devils point of view on this guy vs (other option)?"

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Wouldn't have been looked down upon if you had said "I just read through the last few pages, (insert observation here), does anyone else have new opinions from the Devils point of view on this guy vs (other option)?"

Noted, I guess. Not sure how just not answering my post instead of doing this is any better but HF at its finest lol

 

[coooldude]

Noted, I guess. Not sure how just not answering my post instead of doing this is any better but HF at its finest lol

Go read the 7 pages of commentary dude!

 

[WarriorofTime]

Noted, I guess. Not sure how just not answering my post instead of doing this is any better but HF at its finest lol

Nobody likes the guy who comes in and just says "hey tell me about player"

 

[CaptainShark]

Or I was just asking to see if someone who hadn't post had any more thoughts on him...... Only on HFBoards would asking more opinions be looked down upon lol

Might just be my bad cause I am not a native speaker, but asking for a run down sounds like asking for a summary and not for new/fresh/other opinions.

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I'm wondering how this conclusion is drawn.

Zeev doesn't have the separation ability with his skating, we can all see that. He won't be regularly walking defenders in the NHL. But there are #1D and #1 PP QBs in the NHL that don't do that. They're not all Hughes, Makar, or Josi.

Vince Dunn and Josh Morrissey are very good skaters but don't have to walk opponents to score. Adam Fox obviously doesn't have elite skating to walk opponents. It's a lot easier to judge a player's skating and other physical abilities than to guess how they will think the game at the NHL level, and I'm not saying that Buium is going to be as good as Fox, but he is that style of player that processes faster. And with 50 pts in the NCAA, Buium has done as much as any draft eligible D possibly could to prove that he can be an offensive dynamo without elite skating or shot.

Yeah that's fair.

When you say dynamo I think of the best offensive D/offensive creators. I guess that Makar/Hughes/Josi/Karlsson class. Could he be along the lines of Dunn? Sure. He definitly could play on your 1st PP but I wouldn't project him to be among the top OFD in the league when it comes to creating offense by himself.

How would you rank him against Levshunov, Dickinson and Yakemchuk?

Personally have it:

Yakemchuk
Dickinson/Silayev/Buium
Levshunov

All top 10-12. You could probably make a case for any to be the best.

Yakemchuk has the most elements for me, combined with very high compete level. Dickinson/Silayev look like the best matchup D (tho Silayev is a bit of a project). Buium is right there with those 2, more offense but less defensive upside. Levshunov is the one I'm least confident in for some reason, great tools but glaring mistakes at times too. Could be a top pair TWD or could be a Myers/Ristolainen type.

 

[rt]

Yeah that's fair.

When you say dynamo I think of the best offensive D/offensive creators. I guess that Makar/Hughes/Josi/Karlsson class. Could he be along the lines of Dunn? Sure. He definitly could play on your 1st PP but I wouldn't project him to be among the top OFD in the league when it comes to creating offense by himself.



Personally have it:

Yakemchuk
Dickinson/Silayev/Buium
Levshunov

All top 10-12. You could probably make a case for any to be the best.

Yakemchuk has the most elements for me, combined with very high compete level. Dickinson/Silayev look like the best matchup D (tho Silayev is a bit of a project). Buium is right there with those 2, more offense but less defensive upside. Levshunov is the one I'm least confident in for some reason, great tools but glaring mistakes at times too. Could be a top pair TWD or could be a Myers/Ristolainen type.

Yakemchuk is also my favorite.

 

[thrillhous]

Might just be my bad cause I am not a native speaker, but asking for a run down sounds like asking for a summary and not for new/fresh/other opinions.

Don’t worry, you are generally correct.

 

[MNRube]

I don’t see a reason he can’t be an elite scorer in the NHL just like he is in NCAA.

 

[Castle8130]

Really loved what i saw from him. Even though he didn’t get a point, he was clearly one of the best players in the game. He was up there with Devine, Celebrini, and Hutson

 

[Junohockeyfan]

This kid is going to be a star in the NHL.

 

[User1996]

I’m fairly convinced we’ll look back on 10 years and Zeev will be the best of this crop of D.

 

[pman25]

His little plays are so good. So many smart, nifty, slick touches to generate breakouts. Love his game.

Really I don’t think I like any other defenders more than him in this draft. And I really like all of them tbh…

 

[BKarchitect]

It’s gonna be real interesting to see where he goes because there is a lot of physical traits versus well-honed hockey IQ stuff to debate when it comes to Zeev versus the rest of the top of the field.

That’s not to say Buium isn’t physically gifted or that the others all lack IQ but from a measurable/tools standpoint you’ve got some real thoroughbreds in guys like Levshunov, Silayev, Yakemchuk…even Dickinson is a 6-3 stud who can skate like the wind.

Now Shai is a big boy and maybe Zeev isn’t even done growing but he will probably never standout in some of the ways that each of those other guys do as pure specimens of clay.

But Buium at this point blows them all away in terms of two-way feel for the game and it’s clear at this point concerns about his skating or size (I mean he’s not even small, he’s just not a behemoth) are definitely fading.

But I think where he goes versus the rest is going to say a lot about what an organization values in terms of traits versus hockey sense.