Buium Day to Day for Start of Red Wings Camp

Youngsters Ondrej Becher (80th, 2024) and Shai Buium (36th, 2021) are the only players listed as injured heading into the start of Detroit Red Wings’ training camp on Thursday.

“Becher has a sprained ankle that he did prior to coming to Detroit,” Detroit GM Steve Yzerman said. “I think skating on his own, so he’ll be out for a little while.”

Buium, projected to be a regular in Grand Rapids this season, was injured blocking a shot in Game 2 of Red Wings’ prospect series against the Dallas Stars.

“He’s kind of day to day,” Yzerman said. “We’re doing some more tests at this stage. It doesn’t look like it’s anything serious, and hopefully it’s not. But still, he potentially might miss a few days.”

The Becher injury is disappointing because the Red Wings only drafted him two months ago. They wanted to get a look at him because no decision has been made about where he will play next season. He’s too old for junior hockey, but is he ready for pro hockey? A full training camp would have helped the Red Wings determine what stage he’s at in his development.

Ready or Not

It’s an unlucky turn of events for San Diego native Buium. Detroit’s director of player development Dan Cleary said Buium worked extremely hard this summer in Detroit to be ready. After helping Denver win its second NCAA championship in three season, Buium signed with the Red Wings with enough time to play one AHL game.

Buium is a big, strong defenseman who can skate a puck out of trouble. He should get a true opportunity to play in Grand Rapids because Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson are projected to play in Detroit this season.

“At the end of the day I watched how he played quite a bit,” Cleary said. “Obviously a very successful career in Denver. He can certainly run a power play. He’s smart — makes his good hockey sense work for him. He’s got a good little feel. He can find the middle of the ice well. And he certainly knows what he’s got to work on. But he’s gotten stronger, he’s gotten quicker, he’s in better shape, but the pro game’s tough. American League is a tough league. It’s hard. So it’s gonna be growing (pains) for sure.