(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 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 pool, there comes a time when you have to go abroad to compete with the best. That’s what Juraj Slafkovsky did when he left Slovakia for Finland at 14, and it’s why David Reinbacher developed more in Switzerland than in 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 2021 second-round pick. 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 traffic,” explains Zeev Buium, met by La Presse 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 to our hockey in LA. It’s crazy that they made these sacrifices. »
Let’s say 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. »
Buium now presents himself as a hope who has invited himself into the discussion to come out in 5th place, 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 ranked 1st 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 attempt games, you may make mistakes, but it will also work sometimes! »
So Buium is good at the offensive stuff, and at 6′ and 183lbs, his size isn’t a nuisance like some offensive defensemen. His strengths mean that he could hear his name somewhere in the top 10. On the other hand, the renowned Bob McKenzie, who bases his rankings on surveys of executives, places him in 13th place.
We are told that the Canadiens are among the teams that like Buium, however. But liking him in absolute terms, and liking him at fifth place ahead of other top 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 so are the questions:
– 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. Can he avoid injuries, especially to the head?
– Will Xhekaj establish himself as a top 4 defender? 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 ever be able to play 2 minutes per game on a good team?
– Can Harris and Struble become second-duty guards?
The answer to all these questions will not necessarily be no. But the exercise shows that there exists 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 at ranks 1-4, Hughes judged that the best defender was worth more than the fifth forward.
