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Pios Bros - Nov. 13 2023 - Vol. 77 Issue 6 - Ryan Kennedy

THE DENVER PIONEERS ARE one of the top-ranked NCAA teams in the nation, and if you want to get past the Pios, you’ll have to get past the Buium brothers.

Junior Shai Buium is a 6-foot-3 defenseman and a second-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings, while freshman Zeev Buium is an offensive blueliner and a projected first-round pick in 2024.

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Zeev now comes in at six-foot, but growing up in San Diego with Shai and eldest brother Ben (who also played hockey) helped harden the youngest child, as his siblings often roughed him up when they were playing together. “Yeah, we did, for sure,” Shai said. “He’s such a tough player on the ice now. Me and my older brother were much bigger than him growing up, and we’d really get on him. We wouldn’t treat him like our little brother, and I think that helped him develop.”

Shai and Zeev both played at Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school in Minnesota when they were younger, with Shai moving on to the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers and Zeev joining USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. “Moving away from home at 13 to go to Shattuck was taking the next step,” Zeev said. “And my last year with the L.A. Jr. Kings, we saw the NTDP, and they were so good. We saw all the facilities, and it was somewhere I knew I wanted to play. It definitely takes you to the next level.”

So, living in a dorm is old hat for Zeev, even though his December birthday means he started his NCAA career as a 17-year-old. After two years with the NTDP, he could have played another year of junior elsewhere, but that was never really on his mind: he wanted to be a Pioneer as soon as he could. “Since the moment I committed, the coaching staff and I both knew I was going to come in as a true freshman and hopefully make an impact,” he said. “So far, it’s going well, so I think it was the right decision.”

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Indeed, Zeev was a point-per-gamer for Denver early on, and he even set up Shai for a goal against Providence College in the third game of the season. “It was a pretty special moment,” Shai said. “Both of our parents were there, too. It was one of the things we were looking forward to doing, and it happened pretty quickly, so we were happy about that.”

The brothers weren’t on the same pairing to start the season, but they have played together on the power play, which is where Shai cashed in on Zeev’s feed. The chemistry there is a bit of a no-brainer. “For sure,” Zeev said. “I know his game, (and) he knows mine. Watching him play, knowing what he likes, I know exactly where he wants the puck and when he wants it, and he knows the same for me.”

While freshmen such as Zeev have to live in campus dorms, Shai lives off-campus – but, of course, his little brother visits so the two can watch NHL games together.

Now in his third year with Denver, Shai continues to hone his two-way game and is thankful for the development camps he has attended with Detroit since the Red Wings drafted him in 2021. “I learned a lot there and got good feedback on what they like and what they want to see more of,” he said. “Skating has always been a part of my game to develop, and being a better skater will help me defensively. And I’m a big guy, so they’d like to see me be more physical.”

As for Zeev, he recently received an ‘A’ rating from Central Scouting, which means he is predicted to be a first-rounder in 2024. He cites his skating and hockey IQ as strengths, and he loves to make plays on the ice. He’s still working on rounding out his game, but the foundation is there. And despite being the little brother, he looks back on those early days fondly. “They definitely beat up on me a lot,” Zeev said. “A lot of mini-hockey, roller skating, all the extra stuff away from the rink. We all loved hockey, and they would team up on me, but as a young kid, you don’t notice it. You look back on it and wish you could go back to those days.”

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