Southern California native Zeev Buium revealed at Draft Combine Weekend that he had an interview with the Anaheim Ducks.
The 2024 NHL Draft Combine is in the books. Many of the top prospects in the draft took part in exercises and interviews at the combine in Buffalo, with Southern California native Zeev Buium being one of them.
Buium told media at the combine that he interviewed with the Ducks. When asked by Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers if it would be neat to be drafted by them since he’s a Californian, Buium said it would be an honor.
This is one of the few reports coming out of the combine so far about which prospects the Ducks have sat down with for interviews.
Buium completed his freshman season at Denver University this past year, where he helped lead the Pioneers to an NCAA Championship.
He led all Denver (and NCAA) defensemen in points (50) and was second on the team overall in points as well. He also led the team in assists with 39.
He was also part of the American team that won gold at this year’s World Juniors. He had five points (including the game-winning goal in the gold medal game) in seven games while primarily playing alongside Chicago Blackhawks prospect Sam Rinzel.
Dark Horse Anaheim Ducks Draft Target: Southern California Native, Zeev Buium
Buium is left-handed, which may be the only roadblock for the Ducks if they were to draft him at third overall because of the depth they currently possess on the left side of the blue line.
Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger and Jackson LaCombe all took big steps in 2023-24 and are expected to play big roles this upcoming season as well.
Zellweger and LaCombe have both played their off-side at the junior and pro level, but general manager Pat Verbeek has expressed his preference to keep both of those players on their strong sides moving forward.