DENVER – University of Denver hockey sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium has been named to the United States' preliminary roster for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, USA Hockey announced on Monday.
 
Buium is one of 28 players that were named to the U.S. National Junior Team's initial roster in preparation for the upcoming World Juniors from Dec. 26, 2024 to Jan. 5, 2025 in Ottawa, Ontario. Training camp is set for Dec. 16-17 in Plymouth, Michigan, before pre-tournament games in Ontario on Dec. 21-23. Team USA's final 25-man roster is expected to be announced by Dec. 24.
 
The San Diego, California, native is looking to make his second-straight World Junior team after helping the Americans win gold at the 2024 tournament in Sweden. Buium recorded five points (3g/2a) in seven outings in last year's under-20 tournament and scored an insurance marker in the Gold-Medal Game against host Sweden.
 
A product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, Buium also won gold medals with Team USA at the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship, 2022 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament in Michigan and the 2021 Under-17 Four Nations Tournament in Finland. He helped the United States to a pair of silver medals at the 2021 Four Nations Tournament in Slovakia and 2023 Four Nations Tournament in Finland.
 
Buium presently leads all NCAA defensemen in scoring with 16 points and 13 assists in 14 games played. He also led all rear guards in the country a year ago with 50 points on 11 goals and 39 assists for the first 50-point season by a freshman in the NCAA since 2002-03 and the first by a DU rookie since 1983-84. He was the third Denver rookie blueliner to register at least 50 points in a season in program history.
 
The Denver D-man scored three goals on Nov. 15 at North Dakota to become the 12th Denver rear guard to record a hat trick and the first since Ryan Caldwell on Feb. 14, 2004 against Minnesota State. He was also the first Pioneer blueliner to accomplish the feat on the road since Ian DeCorby at St. Cloud State on Dec. 29, 1990.
 
Selected at No. 12 overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2024 NHL Draft, Buium was the second-highest drafted player in Denver history. He is one of 24 players on the United States roster that has already been drafted and is one of seven first-round picks.
 
Joining Buium on Team USA is head coach David Carle, who returns in the same role after leading the Americans to their sixth gold medal in the last 20 years a season ago. Also on the United States' staff is DU director of hockey operations/video coach Travis Culhane and equipment manager Nick Meldrum, who will serve in the same capacity as well for the second straight year.
 
Former Denver assistants Steve Miller (University of Minnesota) and David Lassonde (USA Hockey) and St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson and Augustana head coach Garrett Raboin are also on Carle's staff as assistant coaches.
 
The United States has won a medal in seven of the last nine IIHF World Junior Championships, marking the best medal stretch in U.S. history. The seven medals include three golds (2024, 2021, 2017), one silver (2019) and three bronze (2023, 2018, 2016). The United States has won 22 of its last 26 games over the last four World Junior Championships, with two gold (2024, 2021) and one bronze (2023) medal during that time.
 
USA will be in Group A with host Canada, Finland, Germany and Latvia and will play their preliminary-round games at Canadian Tire Centre, home of the NHL Ottawa Senators.
 

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