Red Wings Move Up a Second Time to Draft San Diego Defenseman

The Red Wings pulled off a trade to move two spots in the second round to draft 6-foot-3 mobile defenseman Shai Buium whose parents moved from Israel to San Diego years ago.

GM Steve Yzerman gave the Vegas Golden Knights the 38th pick and the 128th pick for the 36th pick where he took Buium who plays for Sioux Falls in the United States Hockey League. He will play college hockey at Denver. His younger brother, Zev, is also considered an NHL prospect.

“I think my strength is my hockey IQ –I think I read the game well,” Buium said. “..I think my game has matured.”

The Red Wings had also moved up in the first round, trading with Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill, to draft goalie Sebastian Cossa.

Scouts View Buium as All-Around D Man

Red Line Report, an independent scouting review, compared Buium to Montreal’s Joel Edmundson

“Can fire it from the point — hard and heavy,” Red Line said in its report. “Gets it off quickly and makes good use of a quick snap wrister.”

Dan Stewart of Draft Prospects Hockey calls Buium “a big, two-way defender who moves well for his size.”

“The guy really grew his game when he moved full time to Sioux City from Shattuck St. Mary’s this season,” Stewart said.

Buium’s Mom Played Pro Basketball

His mother, Miri, was a professional basketball player and his father was in the Israeli military. Shai was six when he asked his mother  whether he could play hockey.

“I fell in love with the game, and asked my mom if I could play a couple of times,” Shai said. “Eventually she said ‘yes’ just to try it out. Thankfully, she let me

What was her reservation? “It’s expensive in California,” Shai said. “It was a luxury..she never really told me.”

Buium played for the Los Angeles Junior Kings program for going to Shattuck St. Mary’s. “Growing up Detroit was my favorite team when (Nick) Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk was there,” Buium said.   “This is like a dream come true to be drafted by the Detroit Red Wings.