ST. LOUIS — Zeev Buium will be center stage on Friday as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. However, the University of Denver sophomore defenseman and first-round pick of the 2024 NHL Draft (No. 12) has more imminent, pressing matters to focus on.
A second straight national championship.
And when the Pioneers (31-11-1) face the Western Michigan Broncos (32-7-1) in the first semifinal of the 2025 Frozen Four (5:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2) at Enterprise Center on Thursday, the 19-year-old will be focused on knocking off the Broncos, who have won two of three previous games against the Pioneers this season. Then he’ll focus on being on stage with Isaac Howard (Michigan State) and Ryan Leonard (Boston College) to see who wins the prestigious award as college hockey’s top NCAA player.
“I wouldn’t really call it revenge or anything,” Buium said of facing the Broncos. “We’ve obviously played them a couple of times in the regular season. They got the best of us in the NCHC (4-3 in double overtime on March 22 in St. Paul, Minnesota). This is the biggest one right now.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to play them again. I think our team is ready. I think we’re ready for the challenge, and obviously we’ve been here before. So I think we’ve prepared the right way, and we’re just ready to play.”
After Denver and Western Michigan, it will be the Boston University Terriers (23-13-2), in their third straight Frozen Four, taking on the Penn State Nittany Lions (22-13-4) at 8 p.m. (ESPN2).
Buium, who last season registered the first 50-point season by a Denver freshman since 1983-84 (John McMillan, 57; Dwight Mathiasen, 51), has followed it up with with 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists) while guiding the Pioneers, who defeated Boston College 2-0 at the 2024 Frozen Four to win their second championship in three seasons, through a challenging season in which they are seemingly peaking at the right time.
The Pioneers have won five of their past six games, including wins against Providence (5-1) and top-ranked Boston College (3-1) in the Manchester Regional Final on March 30.
“Obviously the regional games are aggressive, and that BC game especially was very aggressive and a lot of bumps,” Buium said. “I think just getting back to what we do, sticking to our process obviously. We’re pushing ourselves in practice, (pushing) each other and preparing for what’s to some.”
Buium is a perfect example of how NCAA hockey can develop players to become impactful players in the NHL, which Buium will one day very soon be for the Wild.
“I think it’s a great path for players to come, whether that be one year, two years, three years, four years,” Denver coach David Carle said. “Whatever really they need that’s decided upon between them, their team, their NHL club, their agents. It’s a great path to play against bigger, stronger, great coaching, great leagues, great teams all over the country. The player pool is only getting deeper, obviously, with the rule change, and I think it’s only going to get better over the next number of years.
“It’s a great development path. I think you are seeing it more and more. NHL teams are trusting of the college programs. The amount of money and resources that is going into obviously all of athletics, but in college hockey, it feels like there’s a bigger commitment than ever by many programs around the country to invest in the resources that help the kids develop. It’s a great model to play games on the weekends, to practice during the week, to get the lifts in. I think more and more people are getting their eyes open to that.
“I think in that respect the game is in a really good place.”
