It’s not a question of if at this point, only how high.

The question concerns Denver hockey rising sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium and when he will be selected in Round 1 of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft on June 28 in Las Vegas.

Buium, who finished as NHL Central Scouting’s No. 4-ranked North American skater, has a real chance of going in the first five picks. If that happened, Buium would be the highest-drafted Pioneer ever. Craig Redmond went sixth overall in 1984 to the Los Angeles Kings.

What isn’t up for debate is Buium will become only the fifth DU player ever drafted in the first round. The others were Redmond, Joe Colborne (16th in 2008), Beau Bennett (20th in 2010) and Henrik Borgstrom (23rd in 2016). That is an incredible statistic.

The program that has won more NCAA Division I hockey championships than any other (10) has had so few first-round picks. It says a lot about the Pioneers’ development process as much as anything.

But back to Buium. The 18-year-old has been on an upward trajectory for the past few years, but that went into hyperdrive during the 2023-24 season. Not only did he win a gold medal as the youngest member of Team USA at the 2024 World Junior Championships, but he played a huge role in DU winning Title No. 10 in April.

It’s easy to point to his 50-point campaign (the first by a DU freshman in 40 years and the first by an NCAA freshman defenseman in more than 20 years) as a prime reason for his pro potential, but there’s more. Buium is a shifty skater with premier edge work. That enables him to transport the puck with relative ease. He’s also adept at making the right reads, as his 39 assists attest.

What really stood out from season’s start to finish to me was how much he improved defensively. He was decent to begin with, but Buium elevated that part of his game, especially in the postseason.

He needs two wheelbarrows to haul around all of the honors he collected as a freshman — AHCA First-Team All-American, NCHC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the Year, All-NCHC First-Team and All-Rookie Team and Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.

After Friday night, Buium can add one more — NHL first-round pick.

Four Incoming Denver Freshmen Are Projected NHL Picks

The Pioneers announced five incoming freshmen on June 26, and four are strong candidates to go in the first three or four rounds.

Forwards Hagen Burrows, James Reeder and Jake Fisher and defenseman Tory Pitner were ranked inside the top 100 in the final NHL CSS ratings for North American skaters. They and defenseman Alec Whipple comprise the first five members of DU’s 2024-25 freshman class.

Burrows was ranked 68th after a season in which he won Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey while piling up 59 points (19 goals) in 28 games at Minnetonka High School. From there he had 22 points (9 goals) in 25 games for Sioux City of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He’s 6-foot-2, 176 pounds and has the versatility to play center or right wing.

Pitner was ranked 90th after putting up 24 points (8) goals in 50 games for Youngstown of the USHL. Like Burrows, he originally was scheduled to come to DU in 2025 but was pushed up a year. The 6-foot, 180-pound Pitner was an alternate captain for the Phantoms.

Reeder was 92nd after a 60-point, 20-goal season for Dubuque, which reached the USHL’s Clark Cup Finals. Reeder sky rocketed up the CSS rankings from 152nd at the mid-term poll. The 5-10, 168-pounder also was an alternate captain.

Fisher was rated 97th after scoring 47 points (23 goals) in 51 games and adding six more points in 12 playoff games for Clark Cup champion Fargo. He is 6-2 and 192 pounds.

All are 2005 birth years except Pitner (2006).

Two More Future Pioneers Could Be Picked

A pair of 2025 recruits also stand chances of being selected on June 29 – defenseman Finn McLaughlin, a 6-1, 186-pounder who played with Fisher at Fargo, and left wing Brendan McMorrow, a 6-foot, 175-pounder who played at the U.S. National Team Development Program. McLaughlin ranked 132nd and McMorrow 147th.

The class of 2025 also includes two other players ranked earlier in the season who fell out of the final rankings — LW Hunter Anderson, who split time between Muskegon and Sioux Falls, and center Reid Varkunji, who skated for Salmon Arm of the British Columbia Hockey League. All except Anderson (2005) are 2006 birth years.

At this point there are four other players projected to join the aforementioned at DU in 2025 — Forward Lucs Sawchyn (Chicago/USHL) and centers Jake Stuart (USNTDP U-17), Sam Spehar (Sioux Falls Power 16U) and Cooper Pierson (Muskegon). All are 2007 birth years except Pierson (2005).

Comings and Goings

In addition to the four players who departed early to sign NHL contracts, two more members of last season’s team — defenseman Lucas Olvestad and forward Tristan Lemyre transferred out. Lemyre went to NCHC rival Western Michigan, while Olvestad headed to UMass.

Denver brought in two transfers — defenseman Eric Pohlkamp (Bemidji State) and forward Samu Salminen (UConn). Salminen orginally was a Pioneers recruit who changed to the Huskies two years ago.

©First Line Editorial 2024