Red Wings prospect Shai Buium is a junior at the University of Denver, but has the equivalent of a master’s degree in winning college hockey.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman played a strong game Thursday to help Denver down Boston University 2-1 in overtime at the Frozen Four to earn a spot in the NCAA championship game against Boston College. That game will be played Saturday at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Michigan, with Detroit prospect Kienan Draper, lost to Boston College in the semifinal.

San Diego native Buium was a member of the Denver team that won the 2022 NCAA championship. That team also included Detroit prospects Carter Mazur and Antti Tuomisto who are currently playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins.  In Buium’s three seasons at Denver, the school’s cumulative record is 92-28-4.

This has been Buium’s best season at Denver: he posted seven goals and 28 assists for 35 points for Denver’s high powered offense.  Buium (drafted 36th overall by Detroit in 2021) was also second on the team with a plus-32 plus-minus

"We're gonna go win this thing"

After their thrilling Overtime win, Shai Buium of @DU_Hockey is as confident as can be for the NCAA title game #9sports pic.twitter.com/PDSKQgfpmg

— Scotty Gange (@Scotty_G6) April 12, 2024

Buium Impressive vs. BU

A strong skater, Buium was a force defensively for the Pioneers in the win against Boston University. He was plus-2 in the semifinal with one shot on goal.

Buium’s younger brother Zeev also plays for Denver. He is a Luke Hughes-style, puck carrying defenseman who is projected to land in the middle of the first round. Bob McKenzie ranked him 13th in his TSN mid-season rankings. Craig Button, also of TSN, has him fourth. Zeev Buium is also fourth among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting rankings. Sportsnet has Zeev ranked 20th.

According to tankathon.com, the Red Wings this morning have a 94.7% of picking  14th in the June draft.  The Red Wings do seem to have more prospects on defense than forward.

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