The University of Denver Pioneers hockey team only had to replace one defenseman from a team that reached the Frozen Four last season. The word “only” in that sentence is about as misleading as it gets.
That one defenseman happens to be one of the best players in program history: Zeev Buium, who spent his Friday afternoon setting up the Minnesota Wild’s first goal against the Colorado Avalanche after an incredible two-year run with the Pioneers.
Buium was the No. 12 pick in the NHL draft. He was arguably the best defenseman in college hockey for two years in a row.
That said, the Pioneers haven’t flinched this season without him.
“Really, I haven’t thought about Zeev at all. It’s a part of what we do,” DU coach David Carle said. “Really good players come here, really good players move on and really good players come in and replace them. Wouldn’t want to have it any other way.”
The Pioneers lost Buium, goaltender Matt Davis and a slew of essential forwards from a core group that won the 2024 national championship and wasn’t far off from a repeat a year ago. They are going to welcome the Minnesota Golden Gophers to Ball Arena on Saturday in the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.
They’ll do so as the No. 4-ranked team in the nation in both major polls. The Pioneers are a national title contender again, with one of the deepest and deadliest rosters in the country. And the defense corps has been a huge part of that.
“I think we’ve built so much,” Pioneers defenseman Boston Buckberger said. “We brought in Eric Jamieson. We have a lot of guys that played a lot of games. We’re pushing each other every day. We get to practice and we learn from each other. Jameson has even taught a few things, so we’re just pushing each other every day to get better as a group collectively. And he’s so good. He’s been learning and morphing into the system that we play in. Everyone wants to step up. I think we’ve kind of shown that here throughout the first bit of the season. Hopefully, we can keep it going in the right direction.”
Jamieson is the only freshman in the group, but he’s also not a typical first-year college hockey player. A year ago, he was the captain of the Everett Silvertips, a team that won the Western Hockey League’s regular-season championship.
The rules have changed in college hockey, and Jameson is part of a wave of CHL players who are now on NCAA rosters. The 20-year-old freshman has five goals and nine points in 14 games for DU, and has been a stalwart on the club’s second defense pairing.
“(Buium) is a pretty tough guy to replace. Pretty good player, obviously,” Jamieson said. “I think everyone was really welcoming to me. All the ‘D’s have been super nice; they helped me kind of transition. That’s been really good. I’m not going to fill those shoes quite the same way, but I just want to try and contribute in the way that I can.”
While everyone can agree that Buium’s talent and production would be nearly impossible to replace by any one player, the Pios are collectively one of the most dangerous offensive defense corps in the nation. The top pairing is leading the way.
Junior Eric Pohlkamp has 10 goals, which is the most of any defenseman in the country. His partner, Buckberger, had the game-winning goal in both ends of a home-and-home against archrival Colorado College.
“Both of those guys are so dynamic,” Pios captain Kent Anderson said. “Whenever they are on the ice, we’ve got a good chance to score. Being able to see those guys practice every day, they’re special players and great for this team.
“We have a lot of guys that played a lot of games. We’re pushing each other every day. We get to practice and we learn from each other. Jamieson has even taught a few things, so just pushing each other every day to get better as a group collectively.”
Quentin Miller has looked like a star in the making while trying to replace Davis in net. The Pios might not have a game-breaking star up front, but they do have a deep collection of future pros at forward.
And this defense corps looks like one of the best in the country, even with an incredible talent like Buium off to the NHL.
“Not to be rude, but the media were the only people talking about it,” Carle said. “There’s no conversation around like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to replace Zeev.’ We’ve had a lot of really good defensemen come through over the last number of years, and we’ve had a lot of really good defensemen come in and replace them.
“The show goes on. That’s what makes this place great.”
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